Students and staff at Suffolk New College were celebrating a huge number of student successes relating to GCSE results this year.
In total, 502 learners received a grade 4 or above in maths and English at College campuses based in Ipswich, Otley, Halesworth and Leiston.
Specifically, 228 people gained maths GCSEs at grade 4 or above. (That’s a 13.7% increase in terms of results in comparison with 2025).
English results also saw a slight increase in grade 4 or above grades with 274 people walking away with a pass.
The majority of those involved in these results were youngsters taking resits and students on ESOL programmes.
Individual successes included Nasser Hamid. The 20-year-old ESOL student fled war torn Sudan in 2023, settling in Ipswich. He has subsequently been supported by Suffolk New College and Suffolk Refugee Support and has his sights set on becoming a professional football referee.
Most recently he officiated a charity match held at Portman Road and the inspirational youngster managed to gain grade 4 passes in his English and maths GCSEs.
Other successes included a number of adult learners who took qualifications to help them either progress in their careers or continue on a journey to a university course.
(In terms of English, 20% more adult learners gained a grade 4 or above pass in comparison with 2025).
Marianne Flack – the Deputy Principal of Suffolk New College said: “The numbers are going up in terms of passes, we have had some fantastic individual achievements so a big congratulations to our students and staff for all of their hard work.”