Education Partnership North East (EPNE) has been named the region’s top performing college group for 16-18 student achievement for the third year running.
The group, which includes Sunderland College, Northumberland College, and Hartlepool Sixth Form College, was also ranked within the top 5% nationally in the 2023-24 National Achievement Rates Tables (NARTs) for 16-18 student achievement which are published annually by the Department for Education (DfE).
This success is another significant milestone in EPNE’s remarkable place-based transformation, which saw the group rated Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted in October 2024, joining a small number of colleges across the country to have received the top grade.
EPNE’s journey has been remarkable, transforming itself into an outstanding regional college group while growing in reach and scale, delivering life-changing qualifications to more than 16,500 young people and adults, many of whom are from some of the most deprived areas in the UK.
Toni Rhodes EPNE’s Deputy Chief Executive, said: “We are incredibly proud to be recognised as the top-performing college group in the country by the Department for Education.
“This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of our students, staff and governors. Together, we have created an outstanding environment where excellence thrives, and these accolades are richly deserved.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this remarkable success.”
The NARTs are one of the most stringent measures of success and show the percentage of students that were awarded their qualifications. The national tables, rank over 200 sixth forms and colleges across the country, with EPNE’s 16-18 further education students gaining an overall achievement rate of 90.3% for 2023-24.
The group’s sixth forms in Sunderland and Hartlepool also retained their place as the top performing sixth forms in the North East – Hartlepool Sixth Form College recording the country’s highest achievement rates when compared to other specialist sixth form providers – while Northumberland College’s Kirkley Hall Campus is once again the leading specialist land-based college.
EPNE also ranked number one for Engineering and Manufacturing in the region for 16–18-year-olds, a testament to the group’s ongoing investment in cutting edge facilities, technologies and courses, industry-informed curriculum, expert staff and partnerships with organisations such as Nissan, AESC, AkzoNobel, and MAKE UK.
It has been a highly successful year for the group, with additional highlights including winning The Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning at the Association of College’s Beacon Awards; Best Student Experience in the Educate North Awards; and FE Provision of the Year at the National Association for Special Educational Needs (Nasen) Awards.
In recent years EPNE has invested significantly in its campuses through industry standard training facilities and cutting-edge technologies to enhance the learning experience, ensuring learners are well prepared for the world of work, now and into the future.
This summer will see EPNE open the Housing Innovation & Construction Skills Academy (HICSA) in Sunderland and in 2026 the group will welcome students to the first Gen Zero prototype college at Wansbeck Business Park in Ashington; a £54m trailblazing campus.
Demonstrating ambitious plans for the future. EPNE will also soon launch its vision for 2030, positioning the group and its colleges as local, regional and national changemakers who potential, create opportunities and transform lives through outstanding education, skills and training.
Applications for EPNE’s wide range of courses are open – to find out more register for an open event or apply online at https://sunderlandcollege.ac.uk/the-college/events/.
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98% of our students progress to a positive destination
(*Destination data for Sunderland College students aged 16-18, academic year 2017/18).
Our achievement rates are well above the national average.
We are the College of the Year.
(*Top college nationally for BTECs, Pearson 2019)
100% of our HND and HNC students progressed to employment or further study.
(*Destination data, academic year 2016/17, HNC 19+)
We have recently invested £50 million in our facilities.
