TWO students from Abergavenny and a student from Crickhowell who all attend Hereford Sixth Form College have been offered the chance to study at Oxbridge.

Sian Holton and Reuben Carolan, both, former King Henry VIII Comprehensive School students and Sion Goodwin, former Crickhowell High School student, are among 22 students who have achieved this incredible success with Oxbridge applications, demonstrating how students have adapted to the new learning environment created during the Covid pandemic

Twenty-two students, 38 per cent of those who applied, gained offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

This compares with the national average of fewer than 20 per cent who apply and receive offers.

This places Hereford Sixth Form College among the most successful in the country, for either state or independent schools.

For a small rural county this is a phenomenal achievement.

STEM subjects continue to be hugely successful. From Cambridge, three students have been offered places in Natural Sciences, two for Computer Science.

From Oxford, two have received offers for Biochemistry, another for Biology, and for the first time a student has received an offer for Economics and Management.

The aspiring medics have been successful once again, but this year is a record with three offers for Medicine at Oxbridge!

Many others have had offers for incredibly competitive places in subjects such as English, History, Linguistics, PPE and Law.

This breadth of subjects demonstrates the depth of academic rigour across the subjects, and the diversity of the interests in their gifted and talented cohort.

Sian Holton, a former King Henry VIII Comprehensive School student, has received an offer to study Biochemistry at the University of Oxford.

Sian is feeling “completely shocked: ‘‘I never thought I was the Oxford ‘type’, so the fact that I have an offer feels amazing. I am so pleased and it has given me motivation to work as hard as I can to achieve the grades I need.

“I hadn’t considered applying to Oxbridge before coming to HSFC. Vicky Orsmond and Phil Evans, in particular, have been so helpful in advising me with my personal statement and preparing me for interview. Workshops at college have allowed me to get extra help in difficult topics and stay on top of my subjects.”

Students who are considering applying for Oxbridge and the Russell Group have access to the College’s flagship programme Reach, which creates a community of the most able. These weekly lessons support 300 of the most academic students with excellent teaching and guidance to prepare them for the rigours of applications to higher education. With this bespoke support, Hereford Sixth Form College students are able to maximise their potential and pilot their own futures, whether it is towards entry to highly competitive universities or degree apprenticeships, which are also increasingly popular amongst the brightest students.

Sion Goodwin, former Crickhowell High School student, has received an offer to study Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Sion credits the Medic Society at the College for helping him achieve his offer.

“It was so good for my personal statement and was so fun to do and talk with other like-minded people. It’s something that is not offered a lot at this level,” said Sion.

Hereford Sixth Form College is also the regional hub for Cambridge’s HE+ programme, working with partner state schools in Herefordshire and beyond, providing masterclass sessions to stimulate academic interest beyond A Level study.

Vicky Orsmond, creator of the Reach programme, says, “Reach is designed to encourage our brightest and best to fulfil their potential. It is so fantastic that, even with the effects of the pandemic, by consistently supporting them with the live delivery of Reach lessons and the development of a dedicated YouTube channel, ‘Reach HSFC’, our students continued to show their brilliance in the admissions tests, and in online university interviews of December. I am so proud of them all; they are amazing.”

Hereford Sixth Form College students excelled in their admissions tests and challenging interviews, showing the academic curiosity and independent learning skills so valued by these universities. Peter Cooper, Principal of Hereford Sixth Form College, is extremely proud of the students’ record-breaking success.

He said: “I want to congratulate all the students, the wonderful staff who teach them and our brilliant Reach team for their fantastic efforts.

‘‘It gives me great pride that Hereford and its surrounding areas punch so far above their weight at a national level. Most public schools will be envious of what our College community has achieved”.

For more information on Hereford Sixth Form College, visit the website www.hereford.ac.uk