Sunderland College part of regional group of colleges ranked third in Department for Education's performance table

Sunderland College is part of a group of three North East post 16 education providers which have been ranked third in the Department for Education’s National Achievement Rate Tables (NARTs) for 16-18-year-old students.

Along with Northumberland College, and Hartlepool Sixth Form College, Sunderland is part of the Education Partnership North East (EPNE), a federation of regional colleges which focuses on vocational as well as academic qualifications.

The national tables, which are released annually, ranked over 200 sixth forms and colleges across the country based on achievements in traditional academic A-levels, vocational qualifications including T-levels, and apprenticeships.,

EPNE’s 16-18 further education students gained an overall achievement rate of 90.7% for the 2022-23 academic year, putting them in the top three nationally. 

The 2023-24 NARTs rankings are the latest accolade in a host of recent successes for EPNE, which has seen the group win The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning at the Association of College’s Beacon Awards in addition to being named finalists in the Student Experience, Leadership and Innovation and Campaign of the Year categories at the Educate North Awards. 

Sunderland College principal and Deputy Chief Executive at EPNE, Toni Rhodes, said: “It is amazing that our results for the second year in a row puts us amongst the top performing colleges nationally and number one in the North East. 

“I am always immensely proud of how hard staff work to make a difference to the lives of our young people.”