-
Recent Posts
- Zola : a political reading. August 13, 2023
- Hotter than July? August 5, 2023
- Rethinking work July 30, 2023
- Educating for political literacy in an age of crisis. July 21, 2023
- Savoirs et valeurs : pratiquer et conjuguer July 21, 2023
- ‘Transformative Teaching and Learning in Further Education – Pedagogies of Hope and Social Justice’ July 18, 2023
- Dilemmas of Growth June 14, 2023
- A broader view of skills? June 7, 2023
- In praise of ‘low value’ subjects. February 27, 2023
- Frigga Haug and the mystery of learning December 6, 2022
- Debating Growth. November 29, 2022
- Code red for human survival November 8, 2022
- The politics of silence. September 4, 2022
- Posts on Corsican themes. August 10, 2022
- When Corsica welcomed thousands of Serb refugees (1916) August 9, 2022
Recent Comments
Bev on 20 questions to ask about a bo… Bev on 20 questions to ask about a bo… Parole_Luri - SITESC… on Conrad in Corsica nivekd on Zola : a political readin… Eddie Playfair on Zola : a political readin… Archives
Categories
Categories
Meta
Tag Archives: Colleges
Snatching hope from the jaws of despair
What we say and do about post-16 education, like everything else, has to be seen in the context of the outcome of the recent general election. Elections are the great democratic moment when the people ‘speak’ and all our individual choices … Continue reading
Education or training?
The Conservative manifesto includes a commitment to ‘continue to replace lower-level, classroom based Further Education courses with high-quality apprenticeships that combine training with experience of work and a wage.’ Given that we now have a Conservative-only government, we need to understand … Continue reading
Listening to our post-16 conscience.
Frank Coffield is the conscience of the post-16 sector. When faddishness or instrumentalism threaten, he is there to remind us of our values and our purpose. A decade ago, Coffield was one of the first to question ‘learning styles’ and … Continue reading
From free school meals to university
The proportion of key stage 5 (KS5) advanced students eligible for free school meals (FSM) progressing to university is seen as a measure of social mobility. It’s clearly a statistic of interest, even if the data raise more questions than … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc
Tagged Colleges, Education, London, Newham, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Social mobility, university progression
Leave a comment
Social Mobility measure ignores 62% of students
There seems to be a major flaw in the Sutton Trust Social Mobility measure which means that the university progression of 62% of disadvantaged advanced sixth formers studying in colleges has been excluded. The data is therefore only based on … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc
Tagged Colleges, Newham, NewVIc, Social mobility, university progression
Leave a comment
Many colleges in one
A science college, an engineering technical college, a media technical college, a music industry college and several super-selective A-level providers offering a narrow range of subjects to high-achieving students. These are just some of the new sixth forms which have … Continue reading
Which public service?
All 3 major parties are trying to outbid each other in pledging to increase spending on a key public service. They clearly recognise the vital importance of investing in this service for our future economic and social well-being. They also know … Continue reading
Unlimited potential (part 2)
Unlimited potential (part 2) Part 2 of my chapter from The ins and outs of selective secondary schools (Civitas, March 2015) 5. Selection at 16 and beyond There is a strong case for extending the comprehensive ideal beyond 16, even … Continue reading
Valuing student research
The continuing growth of the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in England’s sixth forms is a sign that students, teachers, universities and employers value what it offers. However, less than 10% of advanced level sixth formers have the opportunity to achieve … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc, Teaching and learning
Tagged Colleges, Critical thinking, curriculum, Education, learning, liberal education, London, National baccalaureate, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Sixth form, Sixth form college, Tech Bacc, Universities, university progression
Leave a comment
Your college interview
How should you approach your sixth form college interview and get the most from the experience? Following my previous posts How to choose a sixth form and How to make a strong college application, here is some advice about getting … Continue reading
How to make a strong college application
How can students make sure that their sixth form application is as strong as possible and does justice to their achievements, interests and aspirations? If you are in Year 11, you need to be thinking about where you want to … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Learning resources, NewVIc, Parents, Students
Tagged Colleges, Education, information advice and guidance, Sixth form, Sixth form college, young people
2 Comments
Inspectors make the case for comprehensive colleges
A report by the national education inspectorate makes a strong case for comprehensive sixth form colleges rather than vocational colleges. The case is based on evidence that comprehensive colleges are more socially mixed and achieve better results. The report has … Continue reading
NewVIc: highest number of disadvantaged students going to university
Which sixth forms help the most disadvantaged students progress to university? The latest university progression data has just been published. This relates to sixth form students who completed their advanced qualifications in 2012. The figures include the numbers of students … Continue reading
5 New Year wishes for post-16 education
Here are my 5 personal post-16 education wishes for 2015. I think they are modest, realistic and realisable and could probably be progressed at no net cost. I believe that, taken together, these 5 changes could start to yield tangible benefits for … Continue reading
Labour’s disappearing National Bacc
Has Labour ditched its commitment to a National Baccalaureate for 14-19 year olds? According to the party’s Education and Children statement, Labour will ‘establish an overarching National Baccalaureate framework for all post-16 students which would include high quality academic and … Continue reading
Eddie Playfair 