Barrow Sixth Form College students had roared to the top of the class in 1990’s A-level examinations, declared The Mail in a front-page article in August that year.
Under the headline ‘Brains of Barrow’, the newspaper reported that the college had recorded some of its best-ever results – well above the national average.
It meant that more students than ever would be going on to university or polytechnic from Barrow.
Jubilant college principal David Heaton told The Mail: “It’s marvellous. I am very, very pleased. The pass rate is well above the national average.”
One hundred and ten of the 180 students who took A-levels that year would be going on to higher education.
Star performances came from 18-year-old Paul Swinglehurst of Skelwith Drive, Barrow, and 17-year-old Ian Shaw, of Infield Gardens, Barrow, both of whom achieved top A grades in four subjects.
Katherine Holland, 18, of Thwaite Flat, Natalie Johnson, Ian Booth and Jonathon Maddock achieved three grade As.
Mr Heaton, principal for five years, said the results confounded critics of the recently introduced GCSE examination for 16-year-olds, who claimed that they would provide insufficient grounding for A-level tests.
Mr Heaton said numbers at the sixth form college were expected to top the 600 mark the following year.
In 1993, Barrow Sixth Form College was given £1,000 to fund an annual prize for a drama student.
The Really Youthful Company had endowed the award. It would be known as the Really Youthful Company Award for achievement in drama and would be a cash prize from the interest earned on the £1,000.
In 1993, ten students from the sixth form college spent a week following in the footsteps of poet W.B. Yeats in Ireland.
Accompanied by teachers Antony Christie and Pam Bridgeman, the pupils saw many sights that influenced Yeats and his poetry.
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