Plans to create a new £1.1 million A-level academy in Yeovil have been announced.

Yeovil College will redevelop the Kingston building on campus to create a modern facility for students to learn and study.

Currently, the college’s A-level students study in various places across the campus, including the Kingston building, Bridge Block and Ashdown building.

There are currently around 350 full-time A-level students at the college.

In 2011, students achieved a 99 per cent A-level pass rate.

An impressive 78 per cent of the passes ranged from A* to C grades, while 24 per cent were graded A* to A.

This placed Yeovil College in the top tier of A-level providers in the country, according to the Government’s national success rate tables.

Yeovil College principal James Hampton said: “Yeovil College students have achieved outstanding A-level results in recent years, but we know that it takes more than good results to have a successful future.

“Yeovil College recognises that individual aspiration and development are equally important.

“Through the dedicated A-level academy, we intend to foster a specialist culture of academic ambition which encourages, educates and supports learners in a way that reflects their specific needs as A-level students.

“The academy will feature specialist academic study areas for supported and self-directed learning, new social areas and high-quality, professional teaching and learning spaces.

“A levels are a qualification unlike any of the others we offer, so by investing in a dedicated space for these students, we will prepare them better than anywhere else for a successful future at university.”

Yeovil College launched an international partnership with two Chinese high schools last month.

The partnership with Cao Yang Senior High School and Fengxian High School, in Shanghai, will see nearly 50 students complete their AS levels in China, before coming to Yeovil College in September 2013 to complete their full A levels.

Work on the new A-level academy is expected to begin in the summer, and it is due to accept its first new students in September 2012.