N Linking London conference: July 2012 A sixth form college perspective.

NLinking London conference: July 2012

A sixth form college perspective

A successful learning community

Newham sixth form college: NewVIc

NewVIc facts

Excellence and ambition

•759 students progressed to university in 2011•300+ honours students (GCSE average of B+), achieving

average points of A*A*A •3 students progressed to Oxford or Cambridge in 2011,

9 over 5 years•42 students progressed to Russell group in 2011, 265 over 5 years•Medical, law, humanities and STEM pathways•Sixth Form Bacc values achievement and service learning•Leadership programme, 100 leadership bursaries•Home to Newham Academy of Music, music bursaries •Proud to be comprehensive and promote social cohesion

Continuous growth

Growth in student numbers 1998-2011

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Year

No

. of

stu

den

ts

Continuous improvement

Points per entry NewVIc 1998-2011

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Year

% o

f n

atio

nal

ave

rag

e

NewVIc points per entry have now converged with the national average: roughly grade C

Continuous improvement

Points per student NewVIc 1998-2011

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Year

% o

f n

atio

nal

ave

rag

e

Progression to HE

84% of NewVIc applicants

progressed to HE in 2011

SFC average: 81%

Private school average: 83%

No. progressing to HE

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Years 2006-2011

No

. of

stu

de

nts

Progression ofHonours students

Class of 2011: 141 honours students

• All who wanted to (95%) progressed to HE

• 30% to Russell group.

• Overall: average points equivalent to A*A*A

• 24 actually achieved AAB+

Class of 2012: 148 Honours students

Class of 2013: 186 Honours students

Class of 2014: ?

A growing number: 2010 to 2013• 5 grade A students: Took 3.5 A levels, achieved VA

(value added) of +21 and 3+ grade A’s each

• GCSE grade B students: Took 3.3 A levels, achieved VA of +17 and at least ABB

Results and Progression

• 95%+ to HE, 10%+ to Russell Group universities

• 15 achieved 3+ A’s at A level, 24 AAB+

Success rates

Value added

Accepted applicants to higher education by provider type

% of accepted applicants to HE from least advantaged areas of UK

Some comparisons 1

Top 200 schools for AL pointsproviders A2 students % total

Private schools 97 8,814 30.3%

State schools 95 12,584 43.2%

Sixth form colleges 8 7,728 26.5%

All 200 have average points equivalent to at least A*AA + A at AS

Sixth form college students are well represented among the country’s 200 highest achieving providers

Some comparisons 2

An equally successful cohort A2 students PPS Oxbridge

NewVIc top 32 32 1018 3 (9%)

Brighton college all 182 1016 18(10%)

England average 728.2

2A*s and 1 A at A level and 1 A at AS is equivalent to: 1005 points

A higher achieving cohort A2 students PPS PPE

NewVIc top 203 203 851.7 257.3

Seven Kings all 203 203 825.0 233.8

England average 728.2 213.1

3 A’s at A level is equivalent to 810 points

Some comparisons 3

Value for money? £/student £/AL point

Eton (boarding only) 31,000 30.60

Harrow (boarding only) 31,000 28.84

Wellington 22,804 22.74

Highgate 16,000 18.00

Brighton college 18,000 17.71

City of London 13,000 13.09

NewVIc 5,400 8.46

With the level of funding of Eton or Harrow, NewVIc would have a budget of £84M per annum. With that income we’d be only too happy to make boarding available!

““World class World class achievement achievement and and benchmarks benchmarks are superficial, are superficial, if not absurd, in if not absurd, in a world filled a world filled with inequality, with inequality, fear and fear and uncertainty.”uncertainty.”

Maxine GreeneMaxine Greene

Working at the boundary

Misunderstanding, ignorance, nasty stories, blame…orRespect, dialogue, understanding, shared purpose, creativity…

“Creativity takes courage” Henri Matisse

“We only think when we are confronted with a problem”

“Conflict is the gadfly of thought”

John Dewey

“Development is precisely the struggle of opposites”

Lev Vygotsky

“All invention and progress comes from finding a link between two ideas that have never met”

Theodore Zeldin

“Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls…where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit…”

Rabindranath Tagore

6 observations…

Excellence and ambition

•Increased selection by grade rather than skills and knowledge prerequisites?

•Increased GCSE requirements?•Less choice for non-AAB students•Reduction in “general education” degrees

in recruiting HEIs?•Facilitating subjects undermining non-

facilitiating subjects?•Polarisation / Russell-isation of debate?

6 suggestions…

Excellence and ambition

•Work with London SFCs, we are local hubs: 18,500 students, 6,500 A2s.

•Defend “rigorous vocationalism” •Ensure all A-level subjects can “facilitate”•Promote opportunities for degree level

liberal education at all levels (eg: CCC)•Work together to develop Extended

Project opportunities•Open up Central London HEIs to SFCs

““Education is Education is the point at the point at which we decide which we decide whether we love whether we love the world the world enough to enough to assume assume responsibility responsibility for it.”for it.”

Hannah ArendtHannah Arendt