Association of Colleges
Cream of the College crop at the AoC Beacon Awards
11 February 2010
A Sixth Form College which helps Manchester’s Moss Side students achieve top A-level grades has won a prestigious education award today.
Loreto Sixth Form College, based in Hulme, serves students from areas of high social deprivation, and has won the Association of Colleges’ President’s Award at a ceremony in London.
More than four fifths of the students go on to study in higher education and their results have placed the College at the top of a Government league table against all the odds. It was chosen from 23 AoC Beacon Award winners as an outstanding example of achievement in further education by the President of the AoC Charitable Trust, paralympic gold medalist Giles Long, MBE.
The announcement came as Kevin Brennan MP, Minister of State for Further Education, presented all the winning Colleges with the prestigious Beacon Awards. He said: “The AoC Beacon Awards celebrate the greatest successes of the Further Education sector in responding to the needs of students, local businesses and the communities they serve.
“Colleges are vital to giving people the skills and qualifications they need and play an important role in creating partnerships with employers. It is right that these institutions are recognised for their hard work.”
Loreto Sixth Form College won the Department for Children, Schools and Families Award for the Successful Delivery of Level 3 Qualifications for its ‘Adding Value in the Inner City’ project. The Award recognises successful delivery of Level 3 qualifications to 16-19 year olds.
Although based in an area of high social deprivation, the College has forged strong links with local schools and kept barriers to achievement as low as possible by recruiting students with minimum qualifications, narrowing the gap between young people from different socio-economic backgrounds.
Through advice, sustained support and careful monitoring of their progress, Loreto Sixth Form College has helped students to achieve higher grades than the national average in their A-levels. AoC Charitable Trust President Giles Long, MBE, selected the Sixth Form College for the President’s Award as he was impressed with the work they were doing to help students overcome the odds stacked against them.
He said: “This project stood out for me because of its aim of providing a pathway to channel young people towards bettering themselves through education in an area of Manchester where the odds aren’t necessarily in their favour.
“I am a big believer that talent is gifted irrespective of class, but it is the harnessing of that talent that is not only crucial for the individual but for the nation as a whole. Loreto Sixth Form College seems to be filling an important gap where it is most needed.”
A spokesperson for Award sponsors, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said: “Loreto Sixth Form College has achieved excellent results at Level 3 for students, many of whom have minimum entry qualifications and are from disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
“The ‘Adding Value in the Inner City’ project provides a structure to deliver these successes. The College’s investment in innovative teaching and learning and very high quality support and guidance, which starts at school stage and continues through to gaining HE places, contributes to this success.”
The AoC Beacon Awards, now in their 17th year, recognise the achievements of Colleges in a variety of categories, such as widening participation, excellence in the use of technology and in science or mathematics. They celebrate and reward outstanding teaching and learning in Further Education Colleges through the UK. Details of the AoC Beacon Awards for 2010/11 will be available in April.
Ends
The full release is available here:
AoC Beacon Awards National Presentation Ceremony Press Release
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