York College & University Centre's 25 highlights of 2025!

During the past 12 months, we have celebrated our best Level 3 exam results since 2019, seen a former student land his first major film role in an Alan Bennett movie and watched our Dance students cheerlead at a Miami Dolphins American football game on Thanksgiving Weekend!

We've also seen one of our former footballers awarded an MBE, a Distinction* learner create history playing rugby for Jamaica and staged talks delivered by the lead singer of one of the world's biggest rock bands and the first-ever female editor of The Guardian.

This year witnessed the launch, too, of our trailblazing Cube 360 Immersive Room and the exciting arrival of a new member of staff - Ted - our Wellbeing Team's Therapy Dog.

As the year draws to a close, please read on to learn about all of the above and more in our 25 highlights for 2025 round-up...

Our former Acting student Ollie Briscombe starred on the silver screen after securing a major part in Alan Bennett’s latest film The Choral.

Ollie played Lofty in the historical comedy drama, set during World War 1, as part of a cast that also includes the three-time, Oscar-nominated Ralph Fiennes.

After studying our UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Performing and Production Arts course from 2021 to 2023, Ollie progressed on to the MetFilm School in Leeds, where he is currently completing a degree in Acting for Screen.

Ollie also visited Campus to deliver a talk to our current students.

Look out for his next major movie role in 2026!

Our former Level 3 Diploma in Sport student Rachel Daly was awarded an MBE for her services to football in the King's Birthday Honours list.

Rachel's achievements in the game include being a member of the England Lionesses team that won the 2022 UEFA Euros, playing in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final, starring for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and winning the Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season and Top Goalscorer awards for 2022/23 as an Aston Villa player. 

Our Dance students enjoyed a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” having been chosen to cheerlead at a Miami Dolphins American football fixture during Thanksgiving Weekend.

The group of Performance & Production learners performed before the Dolphins’ NFL fixture against New Orleans Saints at the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium, which has staged six Super Bowls and will host football games at next year’s World Cup finals.

The Sim Balk Lane students also followed in the footsteps of global superstars, such as Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Beyonce and Coldplay, who have all played there.

York College & University Centre celebrated their best set of A Level, T Level and vocational course exam results since 2019.

The college witnessed a rise of 6.4% for high grades (A*/A/B) on their A Level courses with an overall pass rate across all subjects of 99.8%.

Distinction grades, meanwhile, improved by 11.4% for vocational courses and more than 80% of students received offers for their first-choice university place.

Among the students celebrating was Joshua Davies, who secured a place at the University of Cambridge to study Engineering at Trinity Hall College.

Joshua achieved three A* A Level grades in Further Maths, Maths and Physics, as well as an A in Music Technology and said: “I needed Maths and Physics to study Engineering at university and Music Technology was a fun option to add to my other A Levels. I chose York College as I knew it was the best option to help me prepare for university and my tutors have been excellent throughout my time here.”

Distinction* York College student Chevelle Clarke celebrated her academic success by helping the Jamaica Under-20 Rugby Sevens team record a historic first-ever win at the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay.

Chevelle was part of the Lady Crocs side that defeated the host nation 39-5 during the prestigious tournament that saw more than 4,000 athletes from 41 different countries compete in 28 sports over a two-week period.

She started all five of Jamaica’s games at the competition.

A clutch of national awards further cemented our Construction department’s status as a leading education provider with Level 2 Stonemason apprentice Nicholas Beck chiselling his way to victory at the prestigious Go Construct SkillBuild UK final in Milton Keynes.

Fellow apprentice Harry Stevenson, meanwhile, was crowned the UK’s fastest junior bricklayer at the 2025 National Super Trowel competition, earning him a place at next year’s Junior SPEC Mix Bricklayer 500 competition in Las Vegas!

Anthony Whitehead – another Stonemason apprentice – was presented with the Worshipful Company of Masons Master Craftsman's Apprentice Award by the Lord Mayor of London Alastair King in the magnificent surroundings of the Egyptian Hall in the Mansion House.

Craft Carpentry and Architectural Joinery apprentice David Walker also won the Institute of Carpenters’ Third Year Robert Rampley Memorial Prize for Craftsmanship.

York College students Calum Hudson and Grace Sykes played key roles in helping the English Colleges' men’s and women’s football teams reach international finals.

The gifted duo were key members of teams that negotiated three tricky group games apiece before suffering narrow defeats to the hosts Italy in their respective finals.

It’s not every day that our music students enjoy a lesson delivered by the lead singer of one of the best-selling rock bands of all time.

But that’s what happened in October when Kelly Hansen – Foreigner’s frontman for the past 20 years – joined learners from our Music and Music Technology A Level and Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Music Performance & Production vocational courses in the Lecture Theatre via a live link-up from his Los Angeles home.

Kelly took part in an hour-long talk, including a question-and-answers session, just four days after performing his final gig with the band, famous for their 1980s and late-1970s hits like I Want to Know What Love Is, Waiting for a Girl Like You and Cold as Ice.

The York College & University Centre chess team defied their underdog status to win two of their matches at the English Schools’ Chess Championships.

The Sim Balk Lane students triumphed over St Paul’s School in London and Bristol Grammar School Sixth Form during the national final that was held over two days at the University of Nottingham’s King’s Meadow campus.

A field of 351 teams that had entered this year’s competition was trimmed down to 30 for the prestigious final with York College proud to have qualified by virtue of being crowned 2024/25 champions of York and, then, Yorkshire.

York Minster witnessed an exciting new agreement with our namesake institution in the United States.

As a consequence, students from York College & University Centre will get the opportunity to visit York College of Pennsylvania with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the respective heads of each establishment Ken Merry and Dr Thomas Burns.

The partnership agrees “to promote and enhance an exchange of knowledge by two organisations 3,520 miles apart geographically but closely aligned idealistically”.

York College Girls' football team were crowned the best Secondary School & Higher Education Sports side in the county.

The talented group were presented with the accolade at the 2025 YO1 Radio Sports Awards at York Barbican.

During an excellent season, the team secured the regional ECFA (English Colleges Football Association) title and went on to reach the semi-finals of the National Premier Cup before suffering an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Barking Abbey School.

York College Hospitality student Hayden Branston-Walls finished fourth during a prestigious competition in Venice.

Hayden was even just two points adrift of first place after impressing a panel of judges at the eighth edition of the Unox CombiGuru Challenge.

Just to reach the final, he had emerged as one of 40 qualifiers from a field of more than 3,000 candidates across 200-plus colleges in the UK.

Students from different parts of the world and learners up to the age of 84 were among the winners at the 2025 York College & University Centre REACH Awards Ceremony.

Ukrainian refugee Roman Vinnyk was presented with the Principal’s Award at the York Racecourse-hosted presentation evening, having overcome language barriers to gain the highest possible grade in GCSE Maths Functional Skills.

Octogenarian Heather Monaghan, meanwhile, was given the Brilliance Award for Art & Design in recognition of her achievements as an Access to Higher Education student.

The night’s final presentation also saw Engineering & Manufacturing: Design & Development T Level students Luke Peckett and Jackson Clark crowned joint winners of the Governors’ Award, having impressed placement providers Northern Trains so much that they secured apprenticeships with the company from a field of 2,500 applicants.

T Level Leadership & Management student Ciara May gained selection for the England Under-19 rugby league squad.

Ciara, 17, will now attend regular three-day England training camps over a two-year period and travel overseas with the squad next year to play France.

Alongside her rugby commitments, meanwhile, she will also gain another Level 3 qualification as part of the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme.

Just two years on from being unable to complete a 90-second run, York College PGCE student and Psychology tutor Kayleigh Jude crossed the finishing line at the London Marathon.

Kayleigh, 29, suffered cruel jibes about her weight when she decided to give the Couch to 5K Challenge another bash in 2023 – some “acquaintances” even going as far to claim that she was “too fat to run”.

But the proud “plus-size woman” proved to herself and those responsible for such callous comments that body shape is no barrier to conquering the 26.2-mile challenge - even in scorching temperatures that soared over 22C.

The York College & University Centre Graduation Ceremony for our degree and higher-level courses saw BA (Hons) Leading Children’s Development and Learning student Adele Ross and BA (Hons) Fashion Design & Garment Technology graduate Syd Newman presented with the Principal’s Award and Governors’ Awards respectively. On a wonderful evening at York Minster, the success of more than 120 other graduates was also celebrated.  

Sophie Webster and Sonny Armour-Bonner were the winners of the two main prizes at our annual Construction Awards. 

Plumbing & Heating apprentice Sophie was presented with the Principal’s Award, with Carpentry & Joinery student Sonny named the winner of the Governors’ Award.

Aspiring York College journalists were given a fascinating insight into the industry during a Campus visit by Katharine Viner – the only female Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian during its 204-year history.

Katharine gave two 75-minute talks to learners on our A Level Media Studies courses and answered questions from the audience in the Lecture Theatre.

Former A Level student Robert Ives was presented with the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation’s Achievement in Education Award for 2025.

Rob, 28, received the prestigious honour at a ceremony at Leeds United Football Club’s Centenary Pavilion.

The award recognised a remarkable post-16 educational journey that has taken Rob from Sim Balk Lane to his current position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Cambridge.

Rob left York College in 2015 with A grades in A Level Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, along with an AS Level in Physics and an A* for his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which focussed on Cancer Epidemiology.

York College & University Centre’s GCSE students recorded the highest number of examined Grade 4-9 results ever witnessed in a single year at the Sim Balk Lane institution.

More of our learners received examined results in that bracket, which is the equivalent of Grade C to a high A* in the old format, than in any other academic year since 2017 when the switch to a numerical system was introduced.

Staff members enjoyed a magical night at The Radisson Hotel in York for the Brilliance Awards, in recognition of their achievements and contributions to the college and wider community. Nominations from colleagues, students and business partners were reviewed by the Strategic Leadership Team before the finalists were selected and invited to the celebration event.

The new academic year heralded the arrival of a very popular new member of staff.

Our Therapy Dog Ted started work as part of our Wellbeing Team and he has proven a cute addition for any students or staff in need of his calming services. 

This year has seen the launch of our trailblazing Cube 360 Immersive Room. Housed in a former second-floor classroom, the innovative space propels inhabitants into infinite settings and scenarios by projecting 360-degree images or videos on to its four bare walls and floor and has enhanced our students’ learning experience in a fun and interactive manner.

The Construction Department were among the first curriculum areas to take advantage, capturing 360-degree shots of a live building site and then conducting Health & Safety inspections away from the potentially dangerous environment of a real-life setting and in a non-intrusive manner. The Law department also used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a true-to-life court setting for students to stage a mock trial, including a talking judge.

York College & University Centre received the Leaders in Safeguarding Gold Award following a comprehensive audit and review.

The independent body’s Scrutiny and Validation Panel gave our safeguarding provision the highest quality mark possible in recognition of the exacting standards that are met at Sim Balk Lane.

Institutions that achieve Gold status have been proven to demonstrate outstanding commitment to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults. 

Our Hospitality department hosted a stall at the York Food Festival for the first time.

Students handed out free samples to members of the public who were very complimentary about the standard of our dark chocolate and orange fudge; white chocolate and cranberry fudge; deep-fried tortellini with mozzarella and red onion; and goats cheese crostini with onion marmalade and beetroot. 

A big well done to everybody who made 2025 such a brilliant year at York College & University Centre and we look forward to celebrating more good news and success stories in 2026!