THOSE retaking exams at North Hertfordshire College did “fantastically well” the second time round, with a 99% pass rate overall.

A*-C grades were achieved by 55% of students and 58% of marks awarded in the college’s new one year fast track retake programme were A*-C.

Many students who studied this programme are now progressing on to study A-levels in September.

College principal Signe Sutherland said: “I’m extremely proud of both our students and staff for these fantastic results.

“Our students achieve consistently high results year on year which is a testament to their hard work, especially as for the majority the college environment is one in which they can succeed where they have not done so previously.”

Sophie Manarin, from Watton at Stone achieved A*ABBC in her fast-track GCSE retake course.

Sophie, 18, left school early and decided to go back to work for her GCSEs.

She said: “I didn’t know what to expect really but I’m really pleased with my results; I’m going to go on and study A-levels now and then go on to study psychology with criminology at university.”

Adebusola Tinubu was another fast track success, and achieved ABBBC grades in her fast-track GCSE retake course.

She said: “I was really scared about my English result so I’m really happy that I passed, the teachers at college have really helped me. Now, I’m going to study A-levels and eventually go to university.”

Angela McLean, head of Curriculum for GCSEs, said: “We have celebrated consistently high GCSE results over the past few years and are both delighted and very proud of the achievements of our students this year.

“For many of our students achieving that all important C grade will open up a variety of education and employment progression opportunities. It is for this reason that we have invested heavily in the recruitment and development of an outstanding team of lecturers, who will enable those students on vocational pathways who may not have their GCSE maths or English to achieve these highly valued qualifications in a supportive yet innovative environment.”