Category Archives: NewVIc

Can we celebrate success without rewriting history?

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The headteacher of the Newham-based 16-18 free school; London Academy of Excellence (LAE) in commenting on their A-level results to the Guardian last Thursday was quoted as saying: “In Newham, there were hundreds and thousands of young people who wanted … Continue reading →

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Meeting the widening participation challenge

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

My contribution to the Westminster Higher Education Forum seminar on 1st July 2014. Thank you very much for inviting me and I’m going to keep it short. I think my take home message is probably the same as Les Ebdon’s … Continue reading →

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The Oxbridge challenge

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Having successfully increased the number and proportion of our students progressing to the most selective universities, why is it that we have not seen a similar increase in the numbers progressing to Oxford and Cambridge? In a recent post I … Continue reading →

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College success with disadvantaged students

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) in East London sent more disadvantaged students to university than any other sixth form in the country in 2011. Overall, England’s 338 colleges sent more disadvantaged students to university than its 1,839 school sixth forms: … Continue reading →

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How to achieve high university progression rates

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) in East London is a large comprehensive sixth form college serving one of England’s most socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Most of our advanced level students start with below average prior achievement. Yet we have university progression … Continue reading →

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Post-16 citizenship in tough times

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The times we live in demand more than ever that we assume responsibility for ensuring that all young people are educated for global citizenship, in other words for survival. What might this look like post-16? The context The current context … Continue reading →

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A tale of two boroughs

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I want to start by telling the story of 16-18 education in two London boroughs; a story which illustrates some of the things I think we should be concerned about. Borough A was an economically disadvantaged area where most secondary schools … Continue reading →

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Barack Obama, community organiser

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I was asked to speak on “Obama as a role model for young people”. To do this I think we need to understand what shaped Barack Obama. He didn’t come from nowhere. Like all of us he comes from somewhere and … Continue reading →

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My NewVIc story: Zakiyah Qureshi

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

It started with a dream. A dream come true! My name is Zakiyah Qureshi, I live in Tower Hamlets and I am currently studying Project Management in Construction at University College London (UCL). My journey started at Langdon Park School when I wanted … Continue reading →

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My NewVIc story: Husnain Nasim

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Husnain is in his 3rd year of studying law at the university of Cambridge. Knowledge is empowerment and you learn as much about yourself as about the world around you. With the intention of embarking on this great journey, I … Continue reading →

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Post-16 funding: making the wrong choices

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I agree with quite a lot of what Michael Gove says about the purpose of education and I like his championing of egalitarian aims. I welcome the fact that he has moved the Conservative party away from selection pre-16. I … Continue reading →

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Aspiration tax for the many, jackpot for the few

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Now that colleges have received their funding allocations for next year, we know the full extent of the “aspiration tax” on 18 year olds. At Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc), 472 of our students are over 18 and they will … Continue reading →

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Russell group offers: hype and reality

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Comprehensive sixth form college: 162 Selective 16-19 free school: 100 I wrote here about the misleading use of Russell group offer data to demonstrate the impact of a new 16-19 free school in our area. The fact that 100 students from … Continue reading →

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Existing state-funded sixth forms offer better value for money

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Private fee-charging schools promote themselves as market leaders in post-16 education and are increasingly involved in launching new publicly funded sixth form projects such as the London Academy of Excellence and Westminster Harris sixth form. But do they offer value … Continue reading →

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My NewVIc story: Airey Grant

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Airey Grant My journey begins like that of every other ambitious student; I had big ideas about what I could become when I got older and started to make plans for how I would get there. Although my parents were … Continue reading →

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