Mature Students Celebrate Fantastic Results and Secure University Places

Successful Access to Higher Education Diploma students at Riverside College are one step closer to achieving success in their new careers when they progress to university this month after securing fantastic results in both their Access to Higher Education programme and their GCSE’s.

Successful Access to Higher Education students include:

• Jo Kirby, who gained her GCSE in English as well as her Access to Nursing Diploma, is due to start a degree in Mental Health Nursing at Edge Hill University later this month.
• Lisa Holland achieved her Maths GCSE and Access to Nursing Diploma and is due to start a degree in Midwifery at Edge Hill University.
• Dan Edwardson and Natalie Whittall both achieved distinctions in their Access to Humanities Diploma and passed their Maths GCSE, they are now both progressing to Liverpool Hope University to start a degree in Primary Teaching.
• Access to Business Diploma students Jenna Clare and Joanne Hawkins are both looking forward to starting an Accounting degree at Liverpool Hope University and Rachel Bennett is progressing onto a Business Management degree at the University of Chester.

Joanne Martin, Head of Access to Higher Education at Riverside College said, “We are delighted with the Access results again this year. The Access to Higher Education course is a fantastic programme which helps mature students gain the qualifications to progress on to university to train for a new career.

“Riverside College offers Access courses that lead to careers in Nursing and Midwifery and other health care, Primary and secondary Teaching, Business and management, social worker and Science. Any students over the age of 24 who study on an access course are eligible to apply for the new 24+ Advanced Learning Loan which covers the costs of the course and is written off if student progresses directly on to university.”

Each year universities are demanding higher entry requirements and for many degrees, applicants are expected to have a GCSE grade C or above in English, maths and science as well as their Access qualification, plus work experience in their chosen career. To support students in achieving these new entry requirements Riverside College had launched a new Level 2 Preparation for Access course.