About Us
About Us
From School to College
Leaving school and heading to Holy Cross is the first step to a new future. This is a new and exciting time for you as you prepare to make the transition from school to sixth form college. In college you will meet new students, experience a new environment, new teachers and new courses but you will also benefit from greater independence, learning new things and making new friends.
Staff and students will make you feel welcome and help you to settle in quickly so that you will soon feel very much at home here. You will also be in a more adult environment which gives you more freedom, self-confidence and autonomy.
Preparing you for your future
This greater independence will equip you for university and your future career. You will develop independent learning skills and take greater responsibility for your own progression.
You will also develop the study skills necessary for university or the self-motivation required for your working life.
To support you in achieving your full potential we will have very high expectations of you in respect to your attendance, punctuality and completing work on time. We know from experience that this makes a telling contribution to your overall success.
All our staff have a role in caring for and supporting you - we want you to do well, and will listen to your concerns, as well as your ideas, opinions and suggestions.
Teaching & Learning
Teaching, learning and assessment are at the heart of all we do at Holy Cross. We have a strong record of academic success, but as well as gaining outstanding results we want you to have an extremely positive experience of learning. Our teachers are excellent and enthusiastic and they constantly seek to encourage new and inspirational approaches to lessons and to the work you do independently. Holy Cross has a very strong tradition of enrichment and you will benefit from a wide variety of educational visits and outside speakers in addition to your normal lessons.
You will develop your skills in ways that help you to learn as individuals and to prepare you to continue your studies in Higher Education or to move into employment. We encourage you to give your views about teaching, learning and assessment and teachers use these to continue to improve lessons and other aspects of learning.
Academic Excellence
Holy Cross is justifiably proud of its reputation for academic excellence.
Whatever your ability you will be supported and valued as an individual and offered a range of activities to enable you to reach your potential. We want to ensure that all students have the opportunity to excel in their subject choices and develop as individuals.
'The vast majority of students who achieve their A Level qualifications progress to higher education, and the proportion who go to prestigious universities, conservatoires and specialist colleges is higher than that from similar colleges.'
Ofsted Report 2018
Over the last five years, 35 of our students have left Holy Cross to go on to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Degree Classification obtained by past Holy Cross students, having completed their course at UK universities in the 2020/21 academic year (most recent year data is available):
2022 A Level Results
- An overall pass rate of 98%.
- 28% of all grades are A*/A
- 54% of all grades are A* - B.
2022 L3 BTEC Results
- A pass rate of 100% across all 2 year courses
- 45 students achieved 3 x Distinction Star (D*) grades.
- A further 20 students achieved at least 3 Distinctions and above.
This is based on approximately 950 students studying for Advanced Level qualifications at Holy Cross in June 2022.