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13 April 2026

Tag: sixth form

Sixth form funding ‘tight’, admits Nick Gibb

In a departure from the government’s usual firm dismissals on a lack of funding, Nick Gibb has admitted that sixth forms face “tight” resources. The schools minister was questioned in parliament this week over the funding given to schools for 16 to 19-year-olds compared with that for younger pupils and those in higher education. According […]

Sixth-form colleges – not school sixth forms – are the route to social mobility

Education Datalab’s recent report on post-16 education has got it wrong, says James Kewin. It is a myth that the best way to improve the life chances of disadvantaged young people is to increase the number of school sixth forms. Last month, Education Datalab produced a report – handily summarised by Schools Week – entitled […]

First sixth form college and academy trust merger planned

The first merger between a sixth-form college and an academy trust is on the cards after the submission of plans for a “pioneering” partnership. Ninestiles academy trust, which runs seven academies across Birmingham and Solihull, hopes to bring The Sixth Form College Solihull into the trust from the start of the next academic year. If […]

Forget grammars! Sixth-form colleges are engines of social mobility

The government should consider how greater investment in sixth-form colleges could drive up standards, says James Kewin Sixth-form colleges share the government’s ambition to create an education system that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. But the plans unveiled earlier this month to achieve this are flawed and incomplete. Flawed because they overplay […]

Sixth-form colleges warned not to rush into multi-academy trusts

Sixth-form colleges should not rush into partnerships with schools to create all-through academy trusts, a sector leader has warned. Schools Week revealed last week how 60 of the 93 sixth-form colleges in England had told the government they were interested in becoming academies. Their interest follows a rule change that allowed the institutions to avoid paying VAT […]

How can we get young people eating healthy food at lunchtime?

What’s your research about? The factors that underpin young people’s food and drink purchases in and around schools. The study, which was funded by Food Standards Scotland, looked at seven state secondary schools in Scotland, where pupils were allowed to leave the grounds at lunchtime. The schools were in five local education authority areas with […]

Be functional, not faddish, and keep it simple

New school buildings are a difficult brief: they must be flexible, functional, welcoming and poised for change. Educators can meet that challenge if they start with a checklist of do’s and don’ts, says Craig Smailes Schools are, by their nature, subject to changing needs. Populations change, educational methods evolve and technology continues to alter the […]

Where pupils live affects their A level choices, data reveals

Regional differences in post-16 provision could affect young people’s chances of getting into top universities, data released today shows. Analysis by Education Datalab’s chief statistician Dave Thompson, based on children who completed GCSEs in 2011, found that pupils at secondary schools without sixth forms were less likely to get places at Russell Group universities. A […]

Stop the proliferation of small sixth-form providers

Encouraging small school and academy sixth forms to open has exacerbated non-progression between years 12 and 13 Last week’s story in Academies Week, “Free school ‘forced me out’ for not being top university ready”, featured case studies of students who were asked to leave the London Academy of Excellence (LAE) at the end of year […]