Once again this summer we were celebrating our outstanding exam success with a record 100 per cent student pass rate.

Bumper BTEC extended diploma results have once again cemented our place as one of the top performing further education colleges in the country.

More than 55 per cent of all The Northern School of Art Middlesbrough BTEC Extended Diploma students, achieved a triple distinction, equivalent to three A-Levels at grade A.

Two areas of study, textiles and graphic design, jointly saw 73 per cent of students achieve three distinctions, DDD, or above after the D* grades were introduced for the first time in 2011.

Outstanding graphic design student Owen Smith, 21, achieved D*D*D*, the highest attainable result, after failing to drop a single grade in all of his 18 modules across the two year course.

Owen, of Northallerton, also achieved an A in his A-Level! “Graphic design has taught me how to think in different ways and has opened up a whole new area of art for me.

“I was incredibly happy with my results which are a combination of me being both a creative and determined person, never letting myself slip on a task, and also the support of the incredible tutors we have here who never let you under achieve.

“My confidence has increased so much by being in an environment where everyone is so creatively minded and supportive of everything you do.”

Owen, who is currently undertaking regular freelance work, hopes to set up his own business after completing a graphic design degree at The Northern School of Art’s Hartlepool campus.