Prison achieves 100% pass rate for English exams

The Isle of Man Prison has achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in GCSE English exams after six inmates completed their assessments.

The new was announced by University of College Isle of Man (UCM) which offers an education service at the Jurby facility with around 55 per cent of the prison population taking part in some form of education offered by the college.

The UCM prison education programme allows inmates to study skills such as GCSE and A-Level English and Maths, IT, Cookery and other areasto help them gain valuable qualifications, which will enhance their employability upon release, and help with integrating back into society.

Education, Sport & Culture Minister, Dr Alex Allinson MHK, says: "The key to rehabilitation is empowering offenders to function effectively in the community upon their release. 

"I would like to congratulate these individuals on achieving these remarkable results in their GCSE English. I hope that they will take their academic success as an opportunity to progress in their future, and I wish them all the best."

The prison also recently entered the Koestler Awards, a competition which occurs within prisons across the UK, and the offenders achieved exceptional results, with 14 receiving awards for their artwork, creative writing, poems and craftwork projects.

The competition also saw two young offenders both receive a distinction in a computer exam shortly before Christmas.