Tag Archives: Newham

Why the comprehensive college?

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

When we talk about education, we are talking about both the personal and the social – the ‘small’ and the ‘big’. As individuals, what we know and can do goes to the very heart of our identity. We are engaged … Continue reading →

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The East End’s ‘engine of progression’.

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The East End’s ‘engine of progression’. In September, the Mail Online and others published articles extolling the achievements of the ‘Eton of the East End’, one of the highly selective sixth forms in Newham which have opened in recent years. … Continue reading →

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NewVIc class of 2017 progress to university.

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The NewVIc class of 2017. Our class of 2017 was a diverse and ambitious cohort, full of great young people preparing to make a positive contribution by acquiring a range of professional skills and qualifications: 661 students progressed to higher … Continue reading →

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Oxbridge admissions – time for action.

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

Last week’s news that Oxford and Cambridge universities are failing to diversify and broaden their undergraduate intakes to reflect British society was deeply depressing for anyone who believes in university access and participation as a social good. The story broke … Continue reading →

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Life in the sixth form funding canyon

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The chancellor is currently pondering his priorities for the forthcoming autumn statement on public spending and given the critical state of our public services there are plenty of worthy calls on resources. Without minimising the case for spending more on … Continue reading →

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NewVIc results 2017

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

Students and staff at Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) are celebrating another year of improvement in A-level pass rates and top grades, all of which have continued to increase faster than nationally. NewVIc’s A-level pass rate is up 1% on … Continue reading →

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Newham’s outstanding record of widening participation

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

Disadvantaged young people in Newham are more than twice as likely to progress to university than in England as a whole and their progression rate is the 4th highest of all local authorities in the country. The ‘disadvantage gap’ between … Continue reading →

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The best of things

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

We were delighted to officially open our new building on 30th June in the company of our guests of honour: Greater London Assembly member for City and East London Councillor Unmesh Desai and Fred Jarvis as well as a number … Continue reading →

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My NewVIc story: Kabir Jagwani.

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

My journey at NewVIc started in 1998 after I achieved 10 GCSE’s at secondary school and went on to do A-Levels in maths, physics and performing arts at NewVIc. A mixed combination because I wanted to balance my options with … Continue reading →

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University for all

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

This August I was asked to contribute a short piece for our local newspaper, the Newham Recorder, as part of a debate about the benefits of a university education. I did my best to summarise the case in 220 words … Continue reading →

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The college of the future.

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Launch of NewVIc 2020 at The ArcelorMittal Orbit, Stratford. 16th March 2016. This is both a celebration and a launch. A celebration of what NewVIc has achieved since it opened 24 years ago and also the launch of our vision … Continue reading →

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A sixth form profile for the ‘Local London’ area.

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

‘Local London‘ is one of London’s subregional local authority groupings. It consist of 8 boroughs and corresponds roughly to the East London sub-region for the post-16 area review. School sixth forms will not be part of the reviews but the … Continue reading →

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Young people and the election

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Are young people turned off politics? Will they vote? Do they care who wins the election? Are all parties the same? Are the candidates just hacks mindlessly parroting their parties’ approved slogans? This week’s general election hustings at Newham sixth … Continue reading →

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From free school meals to university

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

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 →

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Social Mobility measure ignores 62% of students

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

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 →

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