The joys of life without a sixth form, Mark Whalley

Schools The joys of life without a sixth form

Mark Whalley sees great advantages in ‘all change’ at 16

A couple of months ago I had a peculiar meeting with the parents of a Year 4 pupil. I had no real idea what the meeting was going to be about, though I suspected that it might be about class sizes or extra-curricular activities. However, I was surprised that when the meeting kicked off, it quickly transpired that the concern was their eight year-old son’s route to university and reading for an engineering degree at a ‘top’ university.

What I wanted to say to them was that their son is only eight and for them to not worry about such issues, but what transpired was a far more important issue to me: they were thinking of removing their son at the end of Year 6 and sending him to an 11 to 18 school. The reason for this was not dissatisfaction at the quality of our education, but simply that we did not have a sixth form and therefore do not offer A levels. A little quick thinking ensued and I believe that I gave a persuasive argument that the three to 16 experience had so much in its favour that I am now 99% certain that the pupil will stay.

Rookwood seniors. Mark Whalley.

So what makes the three to 16 experience so valuable that a parent would not move their child to a large school with a sixth form? There are many factors that help children, such as a gentle primary to secondary transition and a proper degree of emotional and educational readiness for the abundance of choice in post-16 education.

Until eight years ago I had only ever taught in secondary schools, and then I decided to move to a middle school. The reasons for the move were varied, but I must admit the jury was still out for me on whether middle schools had a place in the world of education. However what I saw surprised me: in my middle school there was no dip in performance in Year 7 of the kind that I had seen throughout my secondary career.

We blamed the children, the parents, the feeder schools – but still performance dipped. In the middle school we didn’t see this. I believe that many children are not mature enough to transition effectively from a primary to secondary setting at the age of 11, and that a dip in performance is a response to the personal and educational challenges of a new, larger school. By contrast, it is one of the strengths of the three to 16 setting that children may move from the prep section to the senior section but still remain in the same school.

Pupils – and their parents – benefit greatly from the familiar surroundings, systems and, above all, people when making this seamless transition to senior education. This simply removes the trauma of joining a new school for the secondary phase. Transition is always going to be a source of stress for young people, whether at the end of KS2 or when they leave school. The key thing is that transition should happen at a time when the stress is minimised and the value of transition is maximised.

Again I believe that this is one of the most beneficial strengths of the three to 16 school, since a pupil who only ever experiences a three to 16 school has their first transition at 16. Some may feel that this is too late, but I would argue that the age of 16 is when a young person is most likely to be emotionally and socially robust enough to go on to a new institution.

Some parents would like us to have a sixth form, but the simple truth is that it is not economically viable to establish

that level of provision within a small school. Learners and their parents would expect a certain breadth of subjects, which would create staffing demands that would, in turn, incur costs. Given the relatively small numbers likely to take some of these subjects, and the inevitable variations that take place from year to year, it is probable that some core A level subjects would fail to balance their books.

New and enhanced facilities would be required but, unless there was currently over-capacity in terms of rooms, significant expenditure on school accommodation would be required to provide for post-16 studies. Finally, is it likely that students would join the school for their A levels when the local colleges would provide a broader range of courses and will be free?

Whilst a small school cannot support a sixth form with broad enough provision to meet the needs of all of its pupils, colleges are much more likely to meet the needs of most pupils. The breadth and depth of curriculum provision in many FE colleges outstrips the overwhelming majority of school-based sixth forms and so it is far more likely that a post-16 student will find a perfect provision fit in a college than they would at school.

Rookwood juniors.

Most of these pupils will still be at home when they go on to sixth form study. This is essentially a halfway house to university: young people learn to function in a larger institution, become more independent and meet new people without the stress of leaving home. I would therefore suggest that making this transition at 16 actually benefits young people in a way in which larger schools with sixth forms never can.

There are sound advantages to the three to 16 school in the continuity it offers and the opportunities it provides for children to develop without the stress of transition at times in their lives when they are emotionally vulnerable. It prepares its pupils as a cohort for a new educational experience at 16 and because they are all moving together and they have been prepared throughout their time at the school to go elsewhere for post-16, the stress of transition is greatly reduced.

Three to 16 schools offer an excellent education and are an important part of the wide range of schools to be found in the independent sector.

Dr Mark Whalley is Headmaster of Rookwood School and was previously Head of John Buchan School, an SCE Middle School that serves the British military communities in Sennelager and Paderborn, Germany.

New term, new MIS, new heights

Achieve more with iSAMS. A web based, single interface MIS, designed by teachers specifically for schools. A single core database capable of informing, aiding and auditing every area of school life, iSAMS connects and controls any element of running a successful independent school.

More than 600 schools around the world have chosen us as their trusted MIS. To find out more, or to book a meeting, call us on 01604 659100.

Features include:

• Admissions, assessments & reports • Activities, health, curriculum & timetabling • Finance, fees & HR • Parent & student portals • Mobile & tablet apps + SMS service • 3rd party integration via iSAMS Marketplace • Fully managed service with disaster recovery