Abbey College Birmingham - Unlocking Potential - Independent Fifth and Sixth Form College


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	Abbey College Birmingham 10 St Paul's Square Birmingham B3 1QU
	Tel: 0121 236 7474 Fax: 0121 236 3937 enquiries@abbeybirmingham.co.uk

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Open Events at Abbey College Birmingham

Prospective Parents and Students interested in independent education are welcome to visit the college at any time during the year.

Our Open Events for the forthcoming academic year are as follows:

Wednesday 20th August 2008 16.00 – 19.00	Open Day

Tuesday 26th August 2008 16.00 - 19.00	Open Day

Thursday 28th August 2008 16.00 - 19.00	Open Day

New Principal at Abbey College

The new academic year saw a new Principal take the helm at Abbey Independent Sixth Form College, located in St Paul’s Square in the heart of the fashionable ‘Jewellery Quarter’.

Andrew Jedras returning to the UK after five years as Headmaster of the British School of Boston (USA) where he led the growth of the newly established school in arguably the most education focussed city in the States, culminating in its gaining prestigious International Baccalaureate Accreditation.

Having overseen the construction of a new $15m school building in Boston, Andrew is delighted to have secured with owners ‘Alpha Plus Group’ a major programme of refurbishment in summer 2008 and major investment in new IT hardware which has already begun. Abbey is about to move to the next level and is set to become the number one choice in the competitive Birmingham sixth form market place.

Andrew views the change to Birmingham as every bit as much of a challenge as he faced in Boston, but from a very different perspective. Only two weeks into his tenure, Andrew and Abbey College received notification of a HMI led Ofsted Inspection which subsequently took place on the 24th and 25th September (the full report has just been published by Ofsted and can be accessed on-line).

‘The challenge here is very different’, explains Andrew. ‘At the heart, yet common to both, is the recognition that educational success ultimately lies in your results and excellent results emerge from those institutions committed to academic rigour where learning and indeed learning outcomes assume centre stage. At Abbey College this is the case with the challenge even further accentuated because many of our students aspire to read medicine, dentistry or law and enter the top professions. We have an excellent reputation in helping students unlock their potential and access the top Universities and medical schools. In effect we help realise the dreams of our students and of their families to become the top professionals of tomorrow.’

Huge investment programme for Abbey A-level College

Abbey College has received news of a major cash investment from owners The Alpha Plus Group, based in London.

The new funds will provide a major refurbishment of the interior, a significant investment in information technology throughout the college, refitting of science laboratories, the provision of a wide range of upgraded facilities for all classrooms and lecture rooms and new redesigned administration offices.

Andrew Jedras, recently appointed College Principal told the Birmingham Mail “The investment is being made at a very important time in the College’s development. Our central Birmingham location is ideal for a college but we have been here for twelve years and technology and the understanding of learning environments has moved on. We must reflect 21st century expectations. With the proposed upgrades we will be amongst the best equipped GCSE and A-Level provider in the area. The pressure for students to achieve top results has never been higher than it is today. We have great staff but we need to update our technology and reflect student learning that is in line with the developments and requirements of the workplace and the business world.”

First phase of the developments including installation of interactive whiteboards and a new student common room will take place over the Christmas period ready for the start of January term. Additional IT hardware will be phased in over the following months and the College will become a fully Wi-Fi environment. The full-scale internal refurbishment will span the entire summer holiday period to be completed for the start of the new academic year.

Abbey College Birmingham has a superb record for achieving good A-Level results and placing its students at the Universities of their choice. Of six places for dentistry, which became available through the ‘clearing’ process for all UK students, two of them were secured by Abbey Birmingham students.

Andrew said: “It is rare that so many places for a top profession to be made available through clearing. We spend hours preparing our students for university entrance interviews and this has clearly paid off.”