N Linking 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 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

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

Continuous improvement

Progression to HE 84% of NewVIc applicants progressed to HE in 2011 SFC average: 81% Private school average: 83%

Progression of Honours 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 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 points providersA2 students% total Private schools 978, % State schools 9512, % Sixth form colleges 87, % 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 studentsPPSOxbridge NewVIc top (9%) Brighton college all (10%) England average A*s and 1 A at A level and 1 A at AS is equivalent to: 1005 points A higher achieving cohort A2 studentsPPSPPE NewVIc top Seven Kings all England average A’s at A level is equivalent to 810 points

Some comparisons 3 Value for money? £/student£/AL point Eton (boarding only) 31, Harrow (boarding only) 31, Wellington 22, Highgate 16, Brighton college 18, City of London 13, NewVIc 5, 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 achievement and benchmarks are superficial, if not absurd, in a world filled with inequality, fear and uncertainty.” Maxine Greene

Working at the boundary Misunderstanding, ignorance, nasty stories, blame… or Respect, 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 the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it.” Hannah Arendt