Destinations
Students from Abbeygate Sixth Form College, West Suffolk College and One Sixth Form College go on to a wide range of exciting next steps. These include university, apprenticeships, higher education, employment, further training and specialist industry routes. Whatever their ambitions, our colleges support students to build the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to take their next step and move towards a successful future.
Where students are going to after college
Abbeygate Sixth Form College
Students are well prepared for their chosen destination and ensure they are ready for their next steps. The large majority of students go onto university either straight after their A levels or after a Gap Year. In 2025, 71% of students intended to progress to Higher Education within the next year. We have seen the The popularity of gap years rise over the last few years, with some students preferring to travel and gain valuable work experience before applying for university. In 2025, 26% of students intended to take a gap year, 6% intended to go into employment and 10% onto an apprenticeship while the remaining 3% wanted to go onto study a further course.
University
We are incredibly proud to share the outstanding achievements of our former Abbeygate Sixth Form students at university!
According to the latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, Abbeygate Alumni who graduated from UK Universities in 2025, consistently achieved higher degree outcomes than other providers.
The 2026 HESA dataset reveals that 87.7% of Abbeygate’s Class of 2022 leavers secured a first-class or upper-second-class (2:1) degree. This remarkable figure surpasses the degree outcomes achieved by graduates from sixth form colleges (79.2%), state schools (78.2%), and independent schools (87.2%) nationwide.
The academic success is even more pronounced at top-tier institutions. The number of Abbeygate alumni graduating from Russell Group universities, rose to an exceptional 93% achieving a First or 2:1. This figure again outperforms every comparison sector across the country from sixth form colleges (87.7%), state schools (86.6%), and independent schools (91.2%).
Commenting on the achievement, Group Director for Careers, Opportunities and Progression, Nadine Payne said: “These exceptional results are testament to the dedication, ambition and academic excellence of our students as well as the unwavering support of our staff.
“Congratulations to all our graduates – your hard work is truly paying off! Our students are not only progressing to leading universities but succeeding there at the very highest level.”
Find out more about how our Careers and Progression Guidance Team support our students to university on our careers programme and events page.
*Data from 2026 HESA Report of students who graduated in 2025 and continuation status for first year students who started their studies in 2022/23.
One Sixth Form College
Students are well prepared for their chosen destination and ensure they are ready for their next steps. The large number of students go onto university either straight after their A levels or after a Gap Year. In 2025, 49% of students intended to progress to HE within the next year.
We have seen the popularity of gap years rise over the last few years, with some students preferring to travel and gain valuable work experience before applying for university. In 2025, 15% of students intended to take a gap year, 14% intended to go into employment and 18% onto an apprenticeship while the remaining 11% wanted to go onto study a further course.
University
We are incredibly proud to share the outstanding achievements of our former ONE Sixth Form students at university!
According to the latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, ONE Alumni who graduated from UK Universities in 2025, consistently achieved high degree outcomes.
The 2026 HESA dataset reveals that 78.1 % of ONE’s Class of 2022 leavers secured a first-class or upper-second-class (2:1) degree.
The academic success is even more pronounced at top-tier institutions. The number of ONE alumni graduating from Russell Group universities, rose to an exceptional 89.1% achieving a First or 2:1. This figure again outperforms every comparison sector across the country from sixth form colleges (87.7%) and state schools (86.6%). In addition, of those students who were the first in their family to go to university 85.8% received either a First or 2:1 compared to sixth form colleges (75.7%) and state schools (75.1%) and independent schools (83.2%).
Commenting on the achievement, Group Director for Careers, Opportunities and Progression, Nadine Payne said: “These exceptional results are testament to the dedication, ambition and academic excellence of our students as well as the unwavering support of our staff.
“Congratulations to all our graduates – your hard work is truly paying off! Our students are not only progressing to leading universities but succeeding there at the very highest level.”
Find out more about how our Careers and Progression Guidance Team support our students to university on our careers programme and events page.
*Data from 2026 HESA Report of students who graduated in 2025 and continuation status for first year students who started their studies in 2022/23.
West Suffolk College
Students are well prepared for their chosen destination and ensure they are ready for their next steps.
- 99% of Level 3 Year 1 students have a positive progression, with 94% progressing to the next level Further Education courses, 4% into employment and 2% onto an apprenticeship.
- 99% of our Level 1 students have a positive progression with 76% progressing onto next level FE courses, with 18% going into employment and 6% onto an apprenticeship.
- For our Level 2 students 97% positive progression with, 67% progressing onto the next level FE courses, 23% into employment and 6% onto an apprenticeship.
Get in touch with our Careers Service
Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.00pm
Abbeygate Sixth Form College
One Sixth Form College
West Suffolk College