Sixth form education: Why it's essential

This chapter first appeared in SFCA's collection of essays and case studies, Sixth Form Matters, under the title 'Sixth Form Education: Essential for UK education, access to the professions - and so much more', and is re-posted here to reach an audience who may not have read the original book.

Every year around 500,000 UK students follow their aspirations, dreams and ambitions to study or train at a UK university. A few thousand more decide to study overseas in the US, Canada and elsewhere.

It is a source of pride that close to 50% of 18-year-old school and college leavers take this route, with an increasing number combining a university degree with employment via degree apprenticeships and others joining higher education after a year out to gain experience  or retake subjects. In so many countries around the world, higher education is a key, essential route to success as an economy and a badge of honour, including those developing into higher-wage, higher-skill mix economies such as Brazil, Turkey, China, India, and South Africa. While our own government is considering re-imposing student number caps, particularly in subjects in the arts and humanities that are deemed less productive, research from UCL has shown that 97% of mothers of young children hope they will go to university, recognising the enriching effects of HE, both spiritually and economically.

As that figure shows, the general public is rightly proud of our universities here in the UK. A university degree is a key route to more choice, more skills, knowledge, more connections, friends, community engagement, and yes, a higher wage and well-trodden pathways to professional careers. Higher education prepares students for success  in life in terms of both the intrinsic value of academic learning and increased earnings, opportunities, and connections.

Just as university degrees provide the ‘heavy lifting’ to provide talent for key jobs, professions, and careers, sixth form education does the same for HE, in addition to providing a breadth of  academic study  and the pursuit of knowledge. Sixth forms are essential to that success and to the future of our young people in realising those ambitions.

The sheer range of  subjects on offer across the UK to post-16 students, the mix of academic and vocational options and the range of extra- and super-curricular choices make them ideal candidates for a successful HE experience and a springboard to career success.

In UK HE we recognise that the world of work is changing. Today’s school and college leavers will have between 3 and 5 careers, or 30 jobs over their working lives, and will need to prepare for roles and sectors that do not even exist yet. They will work in multi-generational and diverse teams from all over the world, with different learning styles and personalities. This is not a threat, but an opportunity, something to be embraced. Mainstream sixth form education, in the form of academic and applied academic learning, provides the ideal broad and balanced preparation for HE transition in this context. Professor Joseph Auon talks of higher education needing to provide ‘robot-proof graduates’, equipped with the knowledge and application essential to succeed.

This is what sixth forms provide for universities and beyond – students who have the ability to invent, create, and discover via the breadth  and depth of academic learning they have attained, backed by super/extra-curricular activity. The typical sixth form college offers exactly the volume and mix that universities are looking for, from highly selective universities, specialist providers (for example in arts and creative industries), to multi-campus, multi-subject universities proud to serve their regions. The vast majority will count their local or regional sixth form colleges amongst their top ten feeders, building strong links via outreach, teacher-training and CPD. All will also have close links to sixth forms in schools who provide a strong pipeline of talent year after year.

The breadth on offer from sixth form colleges, for example, is more diverse than in most other G7 countries, where level 3 education is often siloed and siphoned, for example into ‘college prep’ or ‘Gymnasium’ streams. The sixth form college option balances both academic and vocational provision – this is not always offered in other countries, but is ideally suited to the flexible, evolving careers that will be inevitable over the next ten years and beyond. On the ground this means that learners  at sixth form colleges have access to traditional academic or creative subjects (such as art, history, film, geography, economics, and modern languages) that are not available at the same level at GCSE and enable students from all backgrounds to access a wide range of subjects to suit their interests, including those that are perceived to be declining in state schools, or the preserve of independent schools.

Sixth form education is key to widening access to competitive subjects and professions, and HE in general. Links between universities and sixth forms are at the heart of University Access and Participation plans, as approved by the DfE via the Office for Students (OfS). As Dr Samina Khan, director of undergraduate admissions and outreach at Oxford, says: ‘Working with colleagues in school sixth forms and sixth form colleges is invaluable for many reasons. Often my team works with a diverse group of talented students to support them realising their potential and goals.’

The impact of this in widening access to roles, knowledge, education choice, and progression cannot be underestimated. It is widely acknowledged that the UK’s economic and ‘soft power’ success is not just in STEM and finance but also in creative industries, arts, fashion, humanities, film, and television. This pipeline from sixth form to university and beyond is essential. 

Sixth forms have embraced T Levels as well as alternative academic qualifications like BTECs alongside A Level choices. From a university perspective, this choice available to our young people is crucial, enabling the development of independent learning and study skills so that young people are well placed to make a well-researched, strong application to university or employment.

The typical school sixth form centre offers about 17 A Level options, occasionally alongside vocational subjects or T Levels. Almost certainly, the greater the number of students, the wider the range of subjects, opportunities and experiences that are available, and in sixth form colleges, which have an average size of two thousand students, the number of A Levels offered can be closer to 37, in addition to another 10 alternative academic qualifications from which to choose. The power of this cannot be underestimated and means that, as with university, learners are part of a melting pot of different interests and subjects.

Amy Smith, associate director of admissions at Nottingham Trent, emphasises this point, saying: ‘As with universities, sixth forms are all built differently, both to meet the needs of prospective students and in response to the policy and funding climate and the local and national economic picture. For example, the creation of Free Schools from 2010, the opening of specialist maths schools in recent years, and the proposed “elite” sixth form schools have all emerged over the last decade or so in response to government policy decisions and priorities. But even within these and other groupings, structure and practice vary. Whatever their status, sixth form providers offer students a genuine choice of quality education pathways and qualifications, recognising varying subject interests, abilities and post-18 destinations. They will be able, particularly those large, dedicated 16–19 providers, to develop a specialist expertise, and to sustain some niche subjects and choice permutations on the timetable because of their economies of scale. Universities can be confident in the standard of education and the value of the range of qualifications awarded in UK sixth forms, and are able to foster genuine and beneficial relationships with local and national feeders.’

The economies of scale allow colleges to flex the growth and development of their subject mix to meet the demands of regional economies, the aspirations of learners, teaching expertise, and university options. Regular contact with HE allows sixth form leaders to develop their curricula and subject range accordingly.

Research and enquiry are encouraged via a large EPQ (Extended Project) cohort to add value to A Level subjects and to develop interdisciplinarity. Universities of all kinds continue to welcome this additional skillset presented by sixth form students. Sixth form colleges are well-known for the attention they give to the development of independent study skills, metacognition, and self-regulation. Operating, as they do, in an almost university campus culture, colleges ensure that students are particularly well prepared to survive and thrive at university.

This development of independent learning at level 3 is highly valuable, not just in terms of university entry, but to wider society and career progression – the ability to question, research, integrate subjects, work in teams, solve problems, and present arguments are highly valued skills in the workplace.

Universities regularly consult their major feeders when adapting their entry requirements, interviews, or admissions tests to ensure fairness and transparency. When GCSEs, A Levels and level 3 qualifications changed in 2014–2018, universities were quick to contact their colleagues in sixth forms both to ensure their requirements were appropriate and to support preparation. The same applies to the evolution of T Levels, vocational qualifications and changes to the UCAS application process. We value that crucial dialogue, whether at senior leadership meetings or parents’ evenings and careers fairs.

At university we talk a lot about the connections students make with each other via clubs, societies, interest groups, and volunteering opportunities – cultural and social capital. This culture is then continued into working, community and family life. It is one of the intrinsic benefits of higher education. Sixth form education is instrumental in nurturing this mindset, with a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer alongside studies. This is acutely evident when my team and I visit schools and colleges across the UK in our outreach work and in reading UCAS personal statements and references. This is often driven by a strong volunteer culture amongst teaching and support staff. The college or sixth form centre environment provides the ideal transition – connected to the former school setting in GCSE, but a clear step up in independence, academic rigour, and skills development. Sixth form colleges, and some larger school sixth forms, with their campus feel, provide a gradual, supportive progression to HE. These providers also have well-established careers education and guidance professionals to help objectively guide students to the right path for them, and often continue to provide support, keeping in contact after they have left.

In short, sixth form colleges in particular and sixth form education in general provide the essential skills, and academic and vocational education vital for university entry and beyond. They are centres of excellence, beacons of diversity and subject range, proudly serving their communities with a bridge to the future, a broad and balanced education for tens of thousands of young people. As higher education professionals we massively value the links we have and the successes of the students we welcome each year.

James has worked in universities since 1992, including Aston, Sheffield, Leeds, Northumbria, and Buckingham, and is currently director of Communications, Marketing, and Student Recruitment at the University of Gloucestershire. He is also a school governor and advisor to exam boards.