Latest News

We’ve been Awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Merit

We are thrilled to announce that Prior Pursglove College has been awarded the prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Merit! This achievement recognises the hard work and dedication of our Eco-Committee, led by Kristopher, in promoting environmental awareness and making our college a greener place. Our Eco-Committee, made up of 15 enthusiastic student volunteers, has […]

Olivia Wytcherley

Prior Pursglove College Welcomes a New Head of Centre

We are pleased to announce the recent appointment of Olivia Wytcherley who have joined the Tees Valley Collaborative Trust as Head of Centre for Prior Pursglove College. They have stepped into their role over the past few months, bringing with them a wealth of experience and a commitment to educational excellence. Olivia began her teaching […]

Results Day Celebrations!

Prior Pursglove College is, once again, delighted to celebrate the achievements of our students as they received their A Level and Applied General Qualification results. We have seen an increase in the number of high grades (A*-B) being achieved by our students this year across the full range of subjects allowing two thirds of the […]

Graduation Ball – July 2024

At the end of term we held our Graduation Ball at Gisborough Hall. It was a chance for students (and staff!) to get dressed up and celebrate together. There was also an award service, as requested by the students, with categories including the best dressed, and the person most likely to go to space! Here’s […]

Congratulations to our Prior Plus+ Gold Award students!

Prior Plus+ is an esteemed award that is integrated into students bespoke and personalised study programme, giving them the chance to leave college with more skills and experiences than simply those gained through academic qualifications. The award is split into 3 parts and this group of students has excelled in all three! This culturally enriching […]

Chemistry Ice-cream Party

More brilliant celebrations today here in college. Chemistry teachers, James and Jo, held a ‘party’ for their A2 Chemists, not only to celebrate the end of the course but also to celebrate the fantastic achievements of all their students. As well as making ice-cream with liquid nitrogen, awards were presented for achievements in The Cambridge […]

WE, PRIOR One Shot Award 2024

We recently ran a Student Photography competition here at Prior Pursglove, which was open to all students from every subject. The theme of the competition was based around ‘Identity’, with students being able to submit images of themselves or their friends, family, favourite places or favourite things to do. Collectively the images will make an […]

Ellie’s Powerchair Fundraising

We recently ran a story on social media about one of our wonderful students, Ellie Nichols. Ellie, a student in our Endeavour faculty, is 17 years old and is a wheelchair user. Ellie says she originally attended wheelchair skills training when she was aged just 4 years old and went for around two years before […]

Felicity receives Amazing Acting Offer

Amazing student, Felicity Mitchell, has been awarded a fantastic opportunity! She has just secured a place at the Italia Conti stage school to study Acting. Felicity, who studies Performing Arts, Physical Education and History here at college has been performing from an early age, singing from the age of five and receiving her first acting […]

Prior’s very own Queen of Speed.

Meet Prior’s very own Queen of Speed, Aimee Frame. Aimee has won a national scholarship to race cars in Atlanta, with the potential at the end of the week to win a paid contract! Aimee says that she and her family have always followed motor sports, with her sister introducing her to go-karting when she […]

Rugby Futures

During March, students who attend Endeavour at Prior Pursglove College were selected to attend a 6 session course called Rugby Futures. Rugby Futures is a programme facilitated by the Newcastle Falcons and funded and supported by Electricity North East as a further commitment to the development of the area in and around Teesworks, and working […]

Oxford Uni Trip

Students from Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College have been taking part in a residential trip to Trinity College, Oxford University this week. They had the chance to explore a number of colleges including Trinity and Christ Church. They also had a Q&A session with two university students from the North East and were […]

Culture Day

Last week we held our annual Culture Day. The students came in wearing traditional dress and celebrated all the different cultures from all over the world. There was a student’s food market at break time and lunchtime which offered a Nigerian dish of jollof rice with fried chicken and meat, Armenian potatoes, lavash bread & […]

The celebrations continue!

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting a small gathering for all our Oxbridge students and their families, along with our friends from the students’ secondary schools and Redcar & Cleveland’s Children’s Councillor, Bill Suthers. The students were each presented with a book token for all their hard work and Principal, Asma Shaffi, shared […]

Rome Trip

During February half term we took 30 students from both 1st and 2nd year to Rome, for 4 days/3 nights. During the trip we visited the Colosseum and Roman forum on the Palatine and of course, the Vatican, with an opportunity to visit the Sistine chapel. We also visited famous sites such as the Trevi Fountain and […]

College receives prestigious Artsmark Award

Pupils and staff at Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Award on 11th January 2024. Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools accredited by Arts Council England. It supports them to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum, bringing learning to […]

The Talented Twelve students from Teesside celebrate amazing Oxbridge offers

Celebrations are underway as Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College students achieve their best year ever for Oxbridge offers. Students from across Teesside have received a massive 12 offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge this coming September. For the past decade the number of offers made to Prior Pursglove students has been steadily […]

Students working in Partnership with the Aircon Group

You may remember that during the summer one of our Career Ready students, Libby Gordon, spent her internship with the Aircon Group and in particular with Erica Johnson-Trumper and Ross Cousin in the Sales and Marketing Department. Libby, who studies Fine Art, Economics and Maths at college built up many skills during her placement, exploring […]

Students celebrate results of UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge

Students from Prior Pursglove College are celebrating fantastic results after taking part in the UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge. The UK Maths Trust is the leading charity that advances the education of young people in maths and has been inspiring a love of problem solving through maths challenges for over 20 years. Each year they coordinate […]

Prior Pursglove student wins Prestigious Award

Here at Prior Pursglove College we are thrilled to announce that one of our students, Hamza Arshad, has been announced as the winner of the ‘Young Achiever in the Community’ award at the Tees Valley BME Awards. This award recognises a BME young person who has made extraordinary or significant achievements in their chosen field […]

Prior Pursglove College Remembers

Last week we held a Remembrance Service in College organised and hosted by our very own John Hart, formerly a member of the Green Howards and currently a Royal Marine Cadet instructor at the Guisborough Cadet Centre, joined by an army cadet from C Company Loftus detachment. Our Principal, Asma Shaffi, opened the service […]

Lost Grammar School Football Challenge Cup found at Stockton Sixth Form College

Prior Pursglove Vice Principal, Mike Mackin, has recently stumbled across a rare find that has left the college somewhat puzzled! In 2017 Prior Pursglove College (formerly Guisborough Grammar School) merged with Stockton Sixth Form College (formerly Grangefield Grammar School). Many times, in the years before this, Grammar Schools and Colleges faced each other as rivals […]

Prior students are Career Ready

Over the summer our Career Ready students have been building their skills on their work placements via our Career Ready programme. Career Ready is a national social mobility charity working with a network of educators and employers who all believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to kickstart a rewarding future. This years programme […]

From Prior to Chiropractor

Meet ex-student Emily Wade who studied with us at Prior Pursglove College from 2017-2019. She has just finished her Masters of Chiropractic, graduating with a First Class Honours at the University of South Wales and here she shares her journey with us. Emily was inspired to study Chiropractic after visiting a local chiropractic clinic in […]

Freshers Fayre 2023

What a brilliant day we’ve just had at our annual Freshers Fayre! Lots of local organisations came along to support our students and give them valuable information about their services. Of course, we also had lots of freebies, sweets and crisps which were all very well received! Many thanks to Arch Teesside, DWP, Cleveland Fire […]

Results Day Highlights

Prior Pursglove College is absolutely delighted to share with you some of their highlights from this year’s results day celebrations. Amongst the successes we have a total of nine students who have confirmed offers for Oxbridge, five for Oxford and four for Cambridge. Principal, Asma Shaffi, said “We are absolutely amazed at how brilliant and […]

College celebrates results day success

Prior Pursglove College is celebrating results day as students collect the grades they need to progress successfully onto the next stage of their lives. The majority of subjects achieved 100% pass rate with almost 250 students achieving A and A*. Students undertaking sciences and maths have performed exceptionally well this year, securing destinations in highly […]

Lucy shares her experiences of being a Police Cadet

Student, Lucy McAuslan, talks to us about her experience of being a Police Cadet. Lucy initially joined the cadets as she says she wanted to “raise awareness of our local community and how great it is!” and also says she “wanted to do something different and go out of my comfort zone”. Although Lucy was […]

Prior Pursglove students share tips for landing a dream apprenticeship

Students are celebrating after being offered fantastic apprenticeship opportunities by leading businesses Students at Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough are celebrating after being offered fantastic apprenticeship opportunities by leading businesses. The students have recently taken their A-level exams and are now relaxing in the knowledge that they are already on the ladder to an extraordinary […]

End of year Celebration and Awards

Today, our Chemistry teachers Manju and James held a ‘party’ for their A2 Chemists, not only to celebrate the end of the course but also to celebrate the fantastic achievements of all their students. As well as making ice-cream with liquid nitrogen, awards were presented for achievements in The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, The Royal Society […]

Supported Internships help young people with SEND make a start on their careers

Young people from Redcar and Cleveland with Special Education Needs and Disabilities have the chance to get work experience on a work-based study programme known as Supported Internships. To raise awareness of this scheme, Prior Pursglove College, who have successfully run supported internships for several years, held on Wednesday, 7 June, a Business Breakfast event. […]

Photography students put the area in focus

this is Redcar & Cleveland | the council magazine for the local community – Issue 52 | Summer 2023 SOME of Redcar and Cleveland’s most picturesque scenes have been captured by A Level photography students from Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough, in a competition to showcase what the borough has to offer. Students from the first year A […]

Prior Pursglove & Stockton Sixth Form students visit FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies

Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College students had a visit to FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB) at Billingham, as the first step of a new STEM Enrichment programme. The students from both colleges who are currently studying Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Computer Science based subjects, are part of a new initiative that aims to educate […]

Ex Prior Pursglove College student has first book published

Ex Prior Pursglove College student, Cara A’Court, has had her first book published. Three People, Three Countries, One Path is a spiritual fiction/visionary literature book and was initially written out of curiosity, but has now been picked up by Atmosphere Press and is due to be published on 8th June. Cara, who studied at […]

Students raise funds for Maxi’s Mates

Maxi’s Mates, a local rescue and rehoming centre for dogs, recently shared a post on social media asking for donations, as they were almost at capacity. One of our students and dog lover, Katie Earl, saw the post and decided she wanted to do something to help, so set about raising awareness of the situation. […]

Prior Pursglove STEM students go on to remarkable things after leaving the college

Previous Prior Pursglove students bring us up to date on their latest achievements By Beth Harwood – Commercial Content Writer 17:19, 24 MAR 2023 STEM students go on to achieve great things at Prior Pursglove (Image: Prior Pursglove College) Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are collectively known as STEM subjects. With a high proportion of its […]

The Intern

We’re all very excited here in college to introduce you to ‘The Intern’. The Intern is a newsletter written, edited and produced by Endeavour’s Supported Internship students. Tutor, Jo Thompson, said “As one of the tutors for the Supported Interns we noticed that information about our course was sometimes missed due to placements, illness etc. […]

Culture Day

This week we held our very first Culture Day here at college Students were invited to come to college in cultural dress and bring in flags, share stories about their heritage and celebrate all our different cultures. The canteen put on a selection of foods from different countries and the students also brought in traditional […]

Aiming for Oxbridge

As a college we would like to congratulate our students who have received offers to study at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge for the next academic year. All the students who applied to these prestigious universities had to undergo a rigorous and challenging application process including submission of their application form for the early […]

SFCA National Art Exhibition 2022

We are extremely excited to announce that three of our students are participating in this year’s Sixth Form College Association ‘Planet Future’ National Art Exhibition. The theme this year is Planet Future, and showcases students’ creative interpretation of the theme, and their reflections on how the world is changing and what its future holds. The students selected to […]

Olympiad Success

We are so proud of our student, Finley Easton who has beaten off over 4,000 physics students across the globe to win a coveted spot in the UK International Physics Olympiad team. The British Physics Olympiad is an annual competition in which over 2000 students from the UK and over 2000 overseas students take part. […]

Alumni visit

Alumni Professor Stephen Foley visited Prior Pursglove College last week to see how the college had changed since his student days. Professor Foley was one of the last students to join Guisborough Grammar School in 1973 and witnessed the college move to become Prior Pursglove. Since leaving college, Professor Foley studied for his degree at […]

Oxbridge in sight for sixth form students

Nine students from Prior Pursglove College have been offered places at either Oxford or Cambridge universities, the highest number in a decade. Finley Easton, a former Huntcliff Secondary School student has received an offer to study Physics at Oxford. Finley said ‘I’m really happy to have been offered a place and am looking forward to […]

Latest edition of Priority News

The latest edition of our college newsletter – Priority News is now available. Priority News – edition 2

Sixth Form College celebrates results day success

Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College is celebrating results day triumph as students collected the grades enabling them to successfully progress to their chosen destination. A Level results include: Pass rate over 99% 95% subjects achieved 100% pass rates 50 at PPC and 34 at SSFC A* grades achieved Around 60% students achieved A*, […]

Sixth Form students reflect on their experiences in lockdown in new book

A group of students from Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough were working towards their A Levels when the pandemic hit last year. They quickly had to adapt to online learning and try to stay on track with their studies. During that time with almost daily contact via Microsoft Teams with their progress tutor Chris Beadle, […]

Sixth form students focus on Fake News in national art exhibition

Today sees the launch of Fake News, an online exhibition of pictures created by sixth form college students. The exhibition showcases students’ creative interpretation of the Fake News theme, and their reflections on how hard it can be to distinguish fact from fiction. More than 250 students from 58 colleges submitted their artwork for the exhibition that […]

Prior Pursglove College student receives four midwifery offers

Securing a university place can be tough but when it comes to competitive courses like midwifery the competition can be fierce. Prior Pursglove College student Ollie Thrower has wanted to be a Midwife from the age of 6 and it’s a goal she has been working towards for a long time. From volunteering at a […]

Oxbridge offers fly in for Sixth Form students

Four students from Prior Pursglove College have been offered places at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, after beating thousands of applicants to receive conditional offers. The Sixth Formers impressed with their applications and at interview and now have offers to study a number of different courses at the two of the most elite universities […]