A RECORD number of sixth form students from Cardinal Hume Catholic School have received holding offers from Russell Group universities.

The Gateshead school, which has recently invested £1.5m to extend its sixth form offering, has seen 43 per cent of its students have their applications to the prestigious group of universities accepted this year subject to A Level grades, the highest proportion in the school’s history.

The Russell Group is an association of 24 British public research universities, including University of Cambridge, King's College London, Durham University, University of Oxford and University of Edinburgh, renowned for providing the highest levels of academic excellence in both teaching and research.

Cardinal Hume has long been associated with academic success, with 100 per cent of students applying for university going on to study there. In 2014 the school achieved a 100 per cent pass rate for its A Level results with 80 percent of students achieving Grade C and above and 50 percent achieving Grade B, placing the school within the top 8 percent best performing nationally. In 2015 the school is on track to exceed this with 98 per cent of students expecting A* to C grades and 71 per cent expecting A* to B.

Nick Hurn, executive headteacher at Cardinal Hume, said: “These results are incredibly encouraging and reflect the fact that our students continue to aim high. Students who want to attend greatly respected universities, or any university in fact, should see this is a real possibility when studying at Cardinal Hume. Competition for places on courses at these esteemed destinations is as high as ever, so to help young people who study with us realise their ambitions is fantastic and I’m very proud of our students and teaching team.”

Mr Hurn says that the relationship Cardinal Hume has with leading businesses also plays a part in raising student aspirations and improving academic success.

The school has a partnership in place with Deloitte aimed at preparing students for higher education and the world of work. The programme of activity includes university day trips, skills workshops and a residential at the University of Cambridge. In addition, the Deloitte Teach First Futures Programme is designed to improve access to Higher Education for disadvantaged young people.

“The partnerships we have developed with major regional and national businesses, including Deloitte and Bond Dickinson, also have an impact on academic success, raising aspirations and helping to prepare students for higher education and the world of work,” he added.

Following the completion of Cardinal Hume’s extension last year, the sixth form can now accommodate up to 300 students meaning that external applicants can now enrol to study for their A Levels at the school. Cardinal Hume is set to host a Sixth Form External Applicants evening for its 2016 intake on Tuesday, July 07 from 6.30pm for people to come and find out more about the benefits of studying there.

Mr Hurn added: “We have always welcomed external applicants, however we now have the facilities to meet an increased demand to study here. We’ve had a lot of interest to date and hope that even more young people choose to join us from September 2016. The External Applicants evening is a chance for Year 10 students to come and see our fantastic facilities, to hear first-hand from students and teaching staff and to find out more about how they could benefit from the excellent pass rates and university acceptance rates which we’re so proud of.”