Cardiff and Vale College celebrates another record year of A Level and Level 3 success
Cardiff and Vale College is celebrating another record year of success with more students than ever before achieving their AS and A Level, BTEC and other Level 3 qualifications.
As a popular destination for A Levels, around 1,000 learners have studied A Levels at CAVC this year across an impressive 40 different subjects. A wide range of subject areas from Ancient History and Classical Civilization through to Business Studies, Art and Design, Drama and Theatre, Digital Technology, Economics, English Language, French, Government and Politics, Media, Music, Physical Education, Spanish and Welsh seeing 100% pass rates.
The College also celebrated the achievements of learners taking a wide variety of other Level 3 qualifications, such as BTECs, either as standalone qualifications or alongside A Levels, in subjects ranging from Journalism to Applied Science, Fashion to Sport. A further 1,000 students received the results of their BTEC and other qualifications at Level 3, all enabling progression to university.
And hundreds of learners were celebrating their progression, with more than 600 applying to university and confirming places with Oxbridge, Russell Group and other leading universities across the UK and globally.
CAVC Principal Sharon James-Evans said: “It is always a pleasure to celebrate our learners on A Levels and Level 3 Results Day as these young people embark upon the next chapter of their lives. Well done everyone!
“We are very proud of all of our learners who are picking up their results today. Their achievements are a testament to their hard work over the last two years, and to the College staff who have worked incredibly hard to support their learners to achieve these outcomes. It is fantastic to see so many take these results, and the wider skills and experiences they have gained during their time at CAVC, and stand out from the crowd and progress on to leading universities and fantastic alternative progression routes including higher apprenticeships.”
One learner who made the most of what CAVC has to offer is Carys Williams who, after gaining A*s in Sociology and Psychology and an A in Religious Studies, is off to study Human Sociology and Political Sciences at Cambridge University.
“I’m over the moon – I’m so, so relieved and very happy,” Carys said. “It’s been really good, especially the support I’ve had from my tutors.
“I left school to come to college because I wanted a new space. The flexibility and freedom I have had here felt more like a stepping stone to university whereas staying at school would have felt the same – coming to college has helped prepare me and develop things like my time management.”
Carys signed up to the CAVC Scholars Programme, which is designed to offer learners the opportunity to broaden their learning experience beyond the traditional A Level Curriculum and offers support with applications to elite and leading universities.
“It was really good to be on the Scholars Programme,” she said. “It was nice to be in a class with other people who are going through the same processes and sharing the same outcomes.”
Michael Sung gained A*s in Biology and Maths, and As in Chemistry and Physics. He will now be progressing to study Medicine at Imperial College, London.
“I’m more relieved than anything – I didn’t sleep well last night with the anticipation!” Michael said. “But it all paid off in the end.
“I really liked the freedom of being in college; it felt more like to going to university in a kind of way. It was great being able to access all of the facilities and the staff were all friendly – I felt really supported.
“I’m really excited to be going to Imperial College, London – it’s hard to describe but I’ve always wanted to do it. Coming to the College has helped me much more than the sixth form in my school would have done.”
CAVC also offers stand out opportunities for all students alongside their study, including its renowned sports academies.
Basketball Academy player Lance Macaraig has achieved academically as well as representing the CAVC Basketball Academy as it became the first ever Welsh team to win the UK-wide Association of Colleges Sport Champions and playing for Wales U17s.
Lance gained a B in Physical Education and Cs in Maths and Digital Technology. He is going to Queen Mary University of London to study Mathematics with Foundation.
“I feel relieved – after some of the exams I had confidence so I’m happy with that,” Lance said. “It’s not my first choice of university but it’s very promising for basketball and my parents are from the Philippines and there are organisations for people from the Philippines in London so there are more opportunities that I wouldn’t have had with my first choice."
Lance’s time in the Basketball Academy supported him in developing his elite sport skills while balancing it with his studies.
“My coach made sure we were all aware that we were student athletes,” Lance explained. “That we were students – the academic side first then focus on basketball. I felt like this was the College I wanted to go to as the experiences on offer were just what I wanted.”
Tomos Davies achieved A*s in French and Sociology and a C in English Language and is progressing to the University of Bristol on a French and Russian Studies degree.
“I’m really pleased – I was not expecting to get an A* in French and I’m going to university to study French so I’m really happy,” Tomos said.
“I really liked it here; it was a big change from secondary school and it really helped me thrive as a person – I loved the diversity and the autonomy. Without the College I wouldn’t have been able to get this far.”
Ella Moyse achieved A*s in Business, EPQ and Psychology and a C in Maths. She is progressing to Aberystwyth University to study Business Management.
“I’ve liked it because it was new to me and the opportunities have been amazing,” Ella said. “I’ve loved every moment of it and the teachers were so good – I loved the opportunity to take on a project and research it myself.
“The College has definitely helped me – I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without CAVC.”
There were also learners on other Level 3 courses collecting their results at CAVC today. Grace McDonald achieved a Level 3 BTEC in Children’s Care with Play and Learning Development and is progressing to Cardiff Metropolitan University to study Early Years and Professional Practice with Practitioner Status.
“I started on a Level 1 course and I worked my way up for four years and doing this course has led me to the degree,” Grace said. “I want to inspire learners with Additional Learning Needs and show them anything is possible.
“My time at college has been the best. The tutors in the Childcare Department and the ALN Department have been incredible. The support that the college offers; the learning coaches, wellbeing and academic support has been great and I've had my family and friends around me too.
Mason Perry also gained a Distinction and two Merits in Cyber Security. He is progressing on to the BSc in Cyber Security offered by CAVC.
“I really enjoyed the course,” Mason said. “I particularly enjoyed working on programming and learning about how individuals use computing and how computing has impacted the world.
“The teachers are really supportive and have really helped me.”
Imran Duriez achieved A* in French, B in English and Cs in Maths and Psychology and is off to Aberystwyth University to study Accounting and Finance.
“I chose CAVC because a lot of people I know told me it was a good place to study and that people here get really good results so I thought I’d get really good results too, which I have!” Imran said. “The College has helped me achieve my ambitions massively."