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

2. A successful learning community
Newham sixth form college: NewVIc
Largest and most successful sixth form colleges London
Over 2,700 students and 300 staff
A successful learning community 2

3. 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
Celebrating success – awards evenings Sixth Form Bac?
Excellence and ambition 3

4. Continuous growth

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

6. Continuous improvement

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

8. 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: ?

10. Results and Progression
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
95%+ to HE, 10%+ to Russell Group universities
15 achieved 3+ A’s at A level,
24 AAB+

11. Success rates 11

12. Value added

13. Accepted applicants to higher education by provider type

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

15. Some comparisons 1 Top 200 schools for AL points
Sixth form college students are well represented among
the country’s 200 highest achieving providers
Top 200 schools for AL points
providers
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

16. Some comparisons 2 An equally successful cohort NewVIc top 32
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
825.0
233.8
England average
728.2
213.1
3 A’s at A level is equivalent to 810 points

17. Some comparisons 3 Value for money? Eton (boarding only)
£/student
£/AL point
Eton (boarding only)
31,000
30.60
Harrow (boarding only)
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!

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

19. Working at the boundary
Misunderstanding, ignorance, nasty stories, blame… or
Respect, dialogue, understanding, shared purpose, creativity…
“Creativity takes courage” Henri Matisse

20. “We only think when we are confronted with a problem”
“Conflict is the gadfly of thought”
John Dewey

21. “Development is precisely the struggle of opposites”
Lev Vygotsky

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

23. “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

24. 6 observations… 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?
Celebrating success – awards evenings Sixth Form Bac?
Excellence and ambition 24 24

25. 6 suggestions… 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
Celebrating success – awards evenings Sixth Form Bac?
Excellence and ambition 25 25

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