This year A-level students studying across Art & Design, Photography, English Language and History of Art came together to celebrate their achievements this morning on campus for results day. This year’s grades marks a record achievement for the course with two high-achieving students leading their year groups achieving AAA at AS and A*A*A* at A2, with the majority of fellow students achieving well over average scores securing A and B level qualifications.
Final year student Grace Derry, who now holds the record for the highest mark at A-level in the course’s documented history, submitted three final pieces which demonstrated the different skills she has developed throughout her course, including a “portrait that combined realism with abstract elements for Art & Design to explore the concept of reflected appraisal. For History of Art I explored the theme of intersections by painting birds onto handmade tiles, and for my photography final submission a photo-book documenting flowers from growth, bloom through to seed formation.”
Speaking of her achievement, she said, “I am absolutely delighted and incredibly proud to have achieved these grades. They mean so much to me and are a reflection of all the hard work and support I’ve received over the last two years.”
“I have really enjoyed my time at the college. A highlight has been the friendships I’ve made and the amazing memories we’ve created together. The course has taught me to approach challenges from different perspectives and introduced me to new skills, including screen printing and working in the darkroom. We have had the opportunity to visit various studios and galleries, which have all greatly inspired my work, as well as two amazing trips to London.”
“My tutors have been very supportive and encouraging throughout the course. They have challenged me to push my work further. When I decided to study maths independently alongside my art subjects, my tutors were incredibly supportive. I have also made the most caring and supportive friends.” Grace will be heading to university to study design engineering. She said, “I am excited to combine creativity with technical problem-solving and apply the skills I have learnt in this course.”
First year student Phoebe Purdy, who received a triple A score for her first year, said, “I wanted to study A-levels here because of the range of subjects that are offered. I hadn’t seen History of Art anywhere before, so I was very interested. I have really enjoyed my time on the course and have made some amazing friends. My final outcomes have had a very close look at sewing and textiles. Through studying I have learnt that sewing is also a form of art. I have managed to develop my embroidery and sewing skills, which I think will help me in the future. I am really pleased with my final outcomes, which are two capes and a zine that focuses on the decay of industry work in Teesside.”
Speaking of her final grade, she said, “I am so happy with my results. It feels like all the hard work has paid off and gives me even more confidence going into my second year.”
Lecturer Katie Slater commended first year Phoebe’s development over the year and her ability to achieve such a desirable outcome despite facing extra health challenges. Katie explained, “Phoebe has ME, which limits her energy and could have had a big impact on her attendance. However, she loves it here so much she has actually had a really good attendance record. Her grades show just how committed and determined she has been this year. When she was notified of her predicted grades earlier in the year she almost broke down in tears. We are really proud of her.”
Speaking of studying with ME, Phoebe said, “With my ME I have had so much support that it has made it possible for me to stay on this course. My illness is a large part of my life but since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to manage it well and develop my skills further. The support from the school and my teachers has been really appreciated. I think without this support I wouldn’t have been able to stay on this course, so I am so happy because of this. I really love being able to have these opportunities and chances. I have had a lot of challenges and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish the AS level. I managed to overcome these challenges because of my love for the subjects and how amazing the support system was. I really pushed myself because I wanted to stay here in second year.”
Phoebe and Grace are not the only high achievers on the programme. Eighteen-year-old Gemma Hollingworth, who joined us from Ingleby Manor Free School, who scored a triple A score in her first year and ABB in her second year, described studying on the programme as “the best two years of my life, I genuinely mean it with all my heart.”
She specifically mentioned the course’s encouragement to try different mediums, highlighting her love for photography, Fashion and Textiles, which she explored in her final exams, which saw her create handmade jumpers and bags out of second-hand scraps of material, a handcrafted ceramic gramophone for History of Art and a book exploring the beauty of birds for photography: “I’ve really found my passions and feel so thrilled to have found them so early in life as now I get to fulfil it for the rest of my life. If I hadn’t studied A-levels and tried out all of the different media of art that you get to, I’d have never realised just how much I adored fashion and textiles. It’s something I love to do in my spare time now and would’ve never thought to try.”
Fellow student Molly Golden, who achieved ABB and joined us from Macmillan Academy, agreed that the programme has also opened her to new subjects, commenting, “I have loved my time studying A-Levels as it has helped me develop as an artist and try out new techniques. When starting my time on A-Levels, I was unsure whether I would enjoy photography as I had never done it before and it didn’t appeal to me that much, but thanks to the amazing staff and being able to experiment with different types of photography it is now my strongest subject and I am happy that I did it.”
Gemma also highlighted the sense of community that is fostered on the programme, “I also feel like I’ve really found my people studying here. I’ve made the most gorgeous group of friends and can’t wait to see them thrive in their next steps, and I hope to stay in touch as they’re honestly like family to me now.”
Gemma said she wanted to join the college after feeling mismatched to the more academic environment of her school. She explained, “I had a really hard time in school and felt a lot of pressure on me during exam season. When I’d finished my GCSEs I knew I wanted to get out of the academic exam setting and when I visited an open day at the Northern School of Art it felt immediately like where I wanted to be. I was able to study photography, which is my passion. I felt I was capable of taking that step and wanted to challenge myself.”
Speaking of her reaction to her final grades, she said, “Honestly I’m thrilled. I knew going into this that A-levels would be a lot of work but it’s really paid off with the grades I’ve gotten. I think getting these grades has given me lots of confidence in my ability and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future! I’m very thankful to my tutors for this as they’ve pushed me where I needed and helped me when I’ve struggled at times – I couldn’t have gotten these grades without them.”
Gemma also highlighted that the opportunities on the course, such as research trips to London, have helped her overcome her struggle with anxiety. “These last two years have been hugely confidence boosting for me. It’s really helped me find myself and I’ve definitely found my people for life. The trips are also a huge takeaway from the course too, we had a great time in London, which I absolutely loved! It was such a great experience and hugely fulfilling for me as I massively struggled with anxiety when I started out here – I would’ve been far too scared to go on an overnight trip, but due to how much I’ve grown in confidence I did it and had an amazing time.”
When asked about her grade, Molly, who will be starting Chelsea College of Art in September to study Fine Art, said, “I was extremely happy and felt incredibly proud of myself. Achieving these grades is incredible as they are above what I need for university and incredibly rewarding for the hard work I have put in.”
Molly, who described her college experience as rewarding, fun and challenging, commended her course tutors, commenting, “The tutors and lecturers at the Northern School of Art always helped when we needed it while giving us challenges to push our ideas and art. They have helped me develop my skills as well as experiment and try out techniques I had never tried before.”
Gemma, who is considering staying on our award-winning Foundation Diploma, described her experience on the course as experimental, life-changing and fun, and that leaving her course was bittersweet. “I’m genuinely quite upset about leaving because this class feels like home for me but I cannot wait to see how much everybody thrives at university and on their next steps and in their future careers. The community and my tutors have helped me significantly, I’ve really come out of my shell and realised that it’s okay to be me! If you’re thinking about studying A-levels here, please, please just do it!! It will honestly be some of the best years of your life.”
