AN art and design college is celebrating after being named as best in the region and fifth in the country following this year's exam results.

Employability statistics for Cleveland College of Art & Design (CCAD) put the Hartlepool specialist college as fifth in the overall college rankings but number joint number one in the UK specifically for art and design degrees.

The rankings were announced following results from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) national survey of recent graduates, issued last Thursday (July 23).

Comparing its HESA submission with employability data from the annual Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) league table, the college’s dedicated university level campus equals the top performing UK art and design institutions, with 96 percent of its 2014 graduates in work or further study six months after graduating, well above the national average of 89 percent.

Martin Raby, Principal for Cleveland College of Art & Design, said: “It is clear from the results that smaller, specialist institutions such as Cleveland College of Art and Design are producing outstanding graduates and delivering quality results, as demonstrated by our data when compared with the DLHE table. We are now competing with nationally recognised universities and I believe is it because of our size and specialist creative environment and facilities that enables us to match and even beat institutions with larger facilities and more students and staff."

For more information on opportunities at CCAD contact 01642-288888 or visit www.ccad.ac.uk.