Hayley McDermott from Coventry is celebrating passing her B-Tech Level 3 in engineering with merit yesterday. Her results have secured her an apprenticeship with Envisage Group, an international design and engineering organisation based in Coventry. Hayley is part of the first cohort to graduate from the WMG Academy that has achieved a 100% pass rate in engineering.

Students from the WMG Academy this year have achieved great success in their academic and vocational qualifications with 55% achieving A*-C pass rate.

Hayley said: “When I opened the envelope I was so happy my hard work had paid off. The help from my teachers at the academy has been amazing. This combined with all the opportunities for practical experience really helped me to get these grades. I chose Envisage over offers from other companies because the apprenticeship is so varied, I’ll have the chance to work on aerospace, automotive as well as locomotive engineering and design work.”

Jo Lopes, Head of Technical Excellence for Jaguar Land Rover, Chair of Governors at the WMG Academy said, “I am delighted with the first cohort results. Our vision for a business-like and business-led approach has yielded good results with 100% pass rate in engineering in both Principal Learning and BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering. Students are going on to a range of superb destinations from Russell Group universities through to advanced level apprenticeships.”

Kate Tague, Executive Principal said,

“This is a major milestone for our first cohort of students. Our engineering results of 73.3% at A*-C in technical engineering and 85% for 3 A level equivalent at A*-C for BTEC Extended Diploma Engineering is fantastic.

The focus and success of the WMG Academy is academic achievement but equally important are technical and employability skills. Our students have an impressive range of destinations with, 28% of those who have applied accepting places at Russell Group Universities and a superb range of apprenticeships. We are very proud of everything they have achieved and wish them every success for their future careers in Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics.”

The WMG Academy for Young Engineers is one of 30 University Technical Colleges, which are government-funded schools that train 14-19-year-olds in science, engineering and technology. The Academy are unique in their approach to education as they provide the opportunity for students to gain a variety of business and engineering skills, which employees are seeking, in addition to studying core curriculum subjects.

Students, at the Academy, are given the opportunity to gain skills by working on projects with local and national businesses. These businesses contribute ideas, challenges and projects which add to the variety and practical applications of the Academy’s curriculum.

This business like and business led approach coupled with purpose built teaching and learning facilities, including state of the art engineering halls and CAD suites, significantly contributes to the improvement of education for students who desire a career in engineering as well as broader business sectors.

Young people can join in Year 10 at the age of 14 or in Year 12 at the age of 16 or 17. Students complete GCSEs and A Levels as well as a technical qualification. To find out more, join us for our Open Day on Saturday 8th October 2016 from 10am-3pm or visit our website www.wmgacademy.org.uk

Alex Buxton

Media Relations Manager
Tel: 02476 150423
Mob: 07876 218166
a.buxton.1@warwick.ac.uk