Northampton College celebrates 'phenomenal' improvement in national league table

Northampton College has rocketed up 178 places in a national league table in three years, according to new figures published today.
Northampton CollegeNorthampton College
Northampton College

Data released as part of the latest 2016/17 National Achievement Rates Tables (NART) shows Northampton College is ranked 31st out of more than 200 colleges for 16 to 18-year-old education and training.

Pat Brennan-Barrett, principal at Northampton College said: “These results are phenomenal and are testimony to the rock solid professional approach of our staff and students to improve our performance so markedly in just three years.

“At Northampton College we concentrate on developing each individual’s wider skills for employability, innovations, communication and work ethic. Many of our students are the employers of the future. We take great pride in our students’ success.”

The figures include an improvement in the GCSE maths and English resit pass rates for 16 to 18-year-old students, with the college now ranked 15th nationally for maths and 18th for English. The data has revealed that 95 per cent of Northampton College students pass their course.

The college performed well across all levels of course provision, coming out as the best college in the South East Midlands region for level 1, 2 and 3 courses.

A major investment programme has seen an overhaul of the college’s facilities, with new buildings in both Northampton and Daventry completed in recent years and plans in place for a state-of-the-art £4.75million Advanced Construction Engineering centre to be built at Booth Lane.

Chair of governors at Northampton College, Geraldine Schofield, said: “We have an exceptional team of teaching staff to help meet the educational challenges we face and a Board of Governors which has helped guide, challenge and support our long-term strategy.”

The latest tables follow on from positive finding in last year’s NICDEX college rankings, which saw the college named the second best in the country based on student and employer satisfaction as well as the proportion of younger and adult students who move on to good quality work or further study.

Patrick Leavey, deputy principal at Northampton College, added: “We have focused on supporting our students, equipping them with the skills they need to excel both in the classroom and in the workplace. Our retention rates have improved significantly, allowing us to work with students for longer and encourage them to keep on learning.”