Students from Furness College are celebrating this week after achieving a qualification that opens a door to university or a degree apprenticeship.
Dozens of students have achieved their Access to Higher Education diploma after studying for a year at the Channelside campus.
They are now progressing to universities or have secured degree apprenticeship with top employers including BAE Systems.
Among the successful students was Katie Wilson, who plans to study a degree in children’s nursing at the University of Cumbria.
She said: “I’m very pleased with my results as I needed this qualification to go to university. After teaching English in China, I realised that I enjoyed working with children, so I decided to have a career change. I’m very happy!”
Also celebrating was Rebecca Cole, who will now study a degree apprenticeship in Project Management with BAE Systems, and Ethan Muncaster, who said he was excited to go on to study counselling at university.
Keith Wardle, head of Area for Access, praised the students for their commitment and resilience.
“We have had an exceptional set of results this year. Our Access students have had a very challenging year as they have been assessed as usual, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our students should be incredibly proud of themselves, as their results are a testament to the hard work and determination they have shown throughout the course.
“Many of our students are progressing on to university to pursue careers in nursing, midwifery and law, or using the Access course as a stepping stone to a degree apprenticeship in project management. We are so proud of their achievements and wish them all every success in the future.”
Learners study the Access to Higher Education diploma full-time over the course of a year, choosing a combination of two subject sets from human physiology, sociology and law.
After gaining the diploma, students can progress to Allied Health Professions and future careers including nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, paramedic and other health care related professions, or social sciences for careers in law, humanities subjects, social work, local government, criminology and civil service.
