Bishop Burton College Sets Students On Track For University

Year 2 Business Management students are on track for such high target grades that they have already all received conditional and unconditional offers from multiple universities. Some students are exceeding their own expectations after experiencing a false start with AS Levels elsewhere.

Students Ryan Clackstone, Joe Morley and Joe Roberts began to study for AS Levels elsewhere before enrolling on the Business Management course at Bishop Burton College. All three have benefited from the hands-on, practical learning style at the College, alongside the opportunity to learn from industry professionals.

Ryan Clackstone feels he has benefited from being able to focus on one subject:

“At sixth form I had to take four AS subjects, whereas here I can concentrate on the subject that I’m really interested in. If you’d asked me two years ago whether I’d have been going to university I’d have said “no way”.

“I wasn’t given an option by my old school but was just expected to carry on into the sixth form. I don’t think students always know there are other choices available.”

Bishop Burton College maintains extensive links and partnerships within various industries and is itself run as an enterprise, so there’s no shortage of professional experience for students to access. Student Joe Morley acknowledges that this has been particularly useful:

“I want to work in marketing so it was really interesting when the marketing specialist from Northern Foods came to speak to us. There are much closer links to industry here than at my previous school and it’s great to get practical examples, all of which will help when we’re looking for jobs.”

Joe Roberts is equally pleased to have made the move to a vocational course at Bishop Burton College. He said,

“There is a different style of learning here, it’s more practical based and more about actual business than AS Levels. The facilities here are much better and more modern here than at my old school, such as everyone being able to use a laptop. You can tell there’s been a lot of investment.”

All three students have conditional offers from Sheffield Hallam University, which they have identified as being their top choice because the course there has similarities to the way they are enjoying learning at Bishop Burton. As Joe Morley explained,

“The course at Sheffield also emphasises working in industry and you spend your third year on a work placement. And Sheffield is an industrial town so the university has lots of links and contacts which give you a higher chance of getting a job.”

Helen Kenny, Business Management Course Manager, is proud of their efforts:

“After the students settled in and knew what they had to do to get to university, they worked really hard to achieve high grades in year 1 in readiness for their university applications.

“Some of the students came here after having a disheartening year’s experience of AS Levels at schools or other colleges. Others chose to take the Business Management Course because they are still unsure as to which industry they wish to go into. Business qualifications can be applied across all industries and job areas in both private and public sectors, so it keeps their options open.”