Private Sixth Form College Guide

PRIVATE

SIXTH FORM

COLLEGE GUIDE

CHELSEA EDUCATION

consultancy and concierge

2 3

4 5 6

Introducon

What is Sixth

Form?

What is a Sixth Form

college?

Who studies at private

Sixth Form Colleges?

League table/

Examinaon

Curriculum

Carrier Guidance and

University Applicaons

Locaon and

Accommodaon

Typical size of private

Sixth Form colleges

Mix of Students

Study Hours and

Enrolment me

College Fees

Pros & Cons

Limited Time Free

Placement Oer

Over the last decade, we at Chelsea Educaon have received numerous quesons from

prospecve clients requesng more informaon about private Sixth form colleges. It

seems that this topic is not very well explained and we would like to take the me to

help our clients understand it more.

While internaonal families with children of the required age approach us to place

their children into senior schools, most of them have never heard about these private

colleges. This is a real shame as we believe that these educaonal instuons, if

carefully chosen, are a great place for students to thrive in preparaon for university

entry. They are a good alternave to studying in a tradional private senior school

and might appeal to many categories of students looking for other opons.

In this guide we will try to familiarize you with private colleges by presenng both

their advantages and weaknesses (all our own professional opinion), to show you

the dierence between these colleges and Sixth form departments in private senior

schools.

We are also happy to announce that we are now running a free placement service

for those families who would like their children to enter private sixth form colleges in

London, Oxford and Cambridge. This is a limited me oer and we encourage you to

get in touch with us to nd out how we can help you.

We hope you nd this guide helpful!

From the team at

Chelsea Educaon.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. WHAT IS SIXTH

FORM?

In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, Sixth Form represents the

nal years of secondary educaon (senior school), where students typically between

16 and 18 years of age prepare for their A-level or equivalent examinaons.

These are:

• A-Levels

• Vocaonal A-levels

• Naonal Qualicaon in Scotland

• The Internaonal Baccalaureate (IB)

• Pre-U

All of these examinaons are valid qualicaons and can be used as a means of entry

to Brish Universies or Further Educaon Colleges. The majority of senior schools

here in the UK have Sixth Form departments, where students move to aer they

have nished their GCSE course at the end of year 11. The most tradional route

is for students to stay at the same school to connue with their A-levels or IB aer

compleng their GCSEs. However, there are also occasions where students need to

move schools for variety of reasons.

3. WHAT IS A SIXTH FORM PRIVATE

COLLEGE?

A Private Sixth Form college is an educaonal establishment that oers GCSE, A-level,

IB, University foundaon and other courses for fee-paying local and internaonals

students.

4. WHO STUDIES AT PRIVATE

6TH FORM COLLEGES?

The demand for private Sixth Form colleges connues to rise year aer year. This

need greatly reects the increasing number of private colleges that have opened in

the last couple of past years, especially in London. In order to aract more students,

mainly from abroad, most of these colleges have started to oer GCSE/iGCSE and

University foundaon courses, as well as the tradional A-Level/IB courses.

There are 5 main categories of students that will thrive at a private college in

comparison to a tradional senior school.

CATEGORY 1:

Students who do not

meet the minimum exam

grade requirements of

their current school.

These are some private schools, especially

those at the top of the leagues table that

have rigorous entrance requirements for

their Sixth form departments. These are in

place to aract clever students from other

schools to maintain their high ranking status.

In this case, students who do not get the

required minimum exam grades are forced

to move to other schools or a Sixth Form

college with lower entrance requirements.

CATEGORY 2:

Students who fail or

want to increase the

grade of a parcular

subject.

While studying in a schools’ Sixth Form

department, (in both Lower 6th or Upper

6th), students who fail a subject or who

simply wish to increase their grade by

redoing the year are likely to be forced to

leave the school.

Tradional Sixth Form departments very

rarely allow students to repeat a whole year.

CATEGORY 4:

Internaonal students

who want to apply for

Brish Universies

There are thousands of internaonal

students who arrive in the UK at the ages

of 15 or 16 who are eager to get the best

possible marks to be able to apply for UK

Universies.

CATEGORY 3:

Students who want to

feel beer prepared for

adult life.

Nowadays, there are many 16 year olds

who move from their schools to Sixth

Form colleges as they want to feel more

independent.

As Sixth Form colleges are their own

independent instuons, with no younger

school children on the premises, the

atmosphere of a college can feel more

mature and liberang and a step up towards

a more adult life.

CATEGORY 5:

Younger internaonal

students who need to

improve their English

before being accepted on

an A-Level course.

Younger students from abroad, whose level

of English is not sucient enough to join

mainstream senior schools accept places at

these colleges for the GCSE level.

Aer they have completed their GCSEs, they

tend to stay at the same private college or

move to a more compeve senior school

to complete their A-levels.

5. LEAGUE TABLE/

EXAMINATION RESULTS

League tables are considered to be one of the main indicators of how a school or

a college performs academically. It’s a very praccal tool to use when you need to

compare a few educaonal establishments and should not be underesmated.

As you can see from the table below, some private colleges show great academic

achievements from their leavers. Cardi Sixth Form college for example, remains at

the top not only in this league table, but also at the top of all senior schools in the

country according to its A-level results, and it aracts the brightest students from

both the UK and abroad.

Naturally, this parcular college as well as other schools and colleges at the top of

leagues tables are very selecve. This way, they can ensure that their A level results are

always highly ranking, making it very dicult for students to get into these parcular

colleges.

A*/A College Location Day/Board Fees,day Fees,board

91.9 CardiffSixthFormCollege Cardiff Both 15,500 41,000

85.38 ConcordCollege Shrewsbury Both 14,000 37,800

71.43 OxfordInternationalCollege Oxford Both 21,000 42,000

68.93 AbbeyCollege Cambridge Both 29,000

62.38 d'Overbroeck's Oxford Both 23,025 36,375

60.53 CATSCollege Canterbury Both 20,520 37,980

58.04 BellerbysCollege Cambridge Both 27,060 38,940

57.81 HurtwoodHouse Dorking Both 28,179 42,267

54.23 BellerbysCollege Brighton Both 27,060 74,140

48.67 BramptonCollege Hendon Day 19,235

43.22 BosworthIndependentCollege Northampton Both 12,000 29,900

41.73 CATSCollege Cambridge Both 34,720 43,500

41.21 DLDCollege London Both 22,000 49,000

40 CambridgeTutorsCollege GreaterLondon Both 15,600 37,800

39.19 BathAcademy Bath Both 16,225 35,000

38.82 Welbeck Loughborough Boarding 19,500

35.24 ManderPortmanWoodward Cambridge Day 27,225

35.12 ManderPortmanWoodward London Day 29,499

34.56

CambridgeCentreForSixthFormStudies(CCSS)

Cambridge Both 21,000 46,700

33.84 ManderPortmanWoodward Birmingham Day 19,278

32.13 RochesterIndependentCollege Rochester Both 17,500 34,700

31.78 AlbemarleIndependentCollege London Day 19,750

31 DavidGameCollege London Both 19,360

29.13 AbbeyCollege Manchester Both 12,500

26.22 KensingtonParkSchoolSixthForm London Day 22,500 38,400

22.84 Collingham London Both 20,850

19.67 PadworthCollege Reading Both

15 EalingIndependentCollege London Both

14.15 FineArtsCollegeHampstead GreaterLondon Day

High Pressure

Environments

Addionally, before selecng a college on the

basis of its academic achievements, it should

be considered whether or not the student will

thrive in such a highly pressured academic

environment, as these compeve sengs

are not for everyone.

Many bright students do well and receive

straight As, but in comparison, in the less

compeve colleges, it is greatly down to

the personality of the student who would

individually need to push themselves more

to do well. This factor should always be taken

into consideraon when choosing a college.

Learning style

We have noced with our clients that some

children who received top marks in their home

countries, when transferred to a school or a

college here in the UK did not maintain their

top marks, even if their English was perfect. At

the same me students with average marks

back home became high achievers.

We think that there is a link to how students

with top marks in their previous schools

were studying, many of these students were

used to learning and remembering subject

material by heart, but this approach is not

what is expected from a good student in the

UK. Brish schools and colleges value open

minded thinking, rigorous approaches to

solving problems and great research skills

which is the opposite of simply memorizing

informaon.

All of these factors should be considered

when moving to study in a dierent country,

as teaching and learning approaches might

be dierent and serious adjustments must be

made in order to do well.

How to make the right

choice?

Regardless of league tables, many Sixth Form

private colleges are not selecve in their

intake and take almost everyone who applies.

This should not put you o, as many students

can improve their grades by two levels in

these colleges.

This is very important and is one of the main

reason why families look for professional

advice for nding a suitable college. From

their websites and glossy brochures every

educaonal establishment posions itself as

one of the best.

We do understand that it is very dicult to

make a true judgment without asking for

advice from people who know the industry

very well and who could direct you towards

a suitable college where your child could

demonstrate their full academic potenal.

6. CURRICULUM

As we established earlier, Sixth Form colleges mainly cater for 16 – 18-year-old

students. These are individuals who are taking their A-levels or equivalent in order to

obtain qualicaons to join universies straight aer the compleon of their courses

at college.

The main qualicaons that are taught at these private colleges are:

• A-level (2 years)

• A-level (1 year intensive)

(not available at tradional Private Senior schools)

• Internaonal Baccalaureate

• BTEC diploma (some stages are equivalent to A-levels)

• A-level subject retakes

With an increased demand from the internaonal market who value Brish educaon,

the following courses are also common for most private colleges:

• GCSE (2 years)

• GCSE (1 year intensive)

(not available at tradional Private Senior schools)

• University Foundaon (usually 1 year)

• Preparaon for IELTS

• Extra English language tuion

GCSE Courses

In recent years, increasing numbers of colleges

are starng to oer GCSE courses either over

1 or 2 years with an emphasis on internaonal

students so that they are able to compete in

the school market.

It is fair to say that currently their GCSE results

do not rival independent schools, mostly

because they are taking on internaonal

students that need to adapt to the Brish

curriculum or have a low level of English or

those who have struggled with GCSEs already.

However, students at these colleges oen

have remarkable transformaons, turning

their Ds and Es into As and Bs.

Studying Skills

In general, private colleges are less formal,

but academically they are just as demanding

as any good school. Special aenon is given

to studying skills such as exam technique,

essay-wring and note-taking – everything

in fact that is needed to ensure that students

are fully prepared for the demands of the

exam system.

Subject Choice

In terms of oering courses/subjects there

is oen a rule - the smaller the college, the

smaller the range of A level courses on oer.

Most small colleges oer the basic courses

like English, Maths and Sciences, but the

larger colleges usually have a wider range of

subjects available as metable constraints are

not as rigid as they would be in a tradional

school.

Oen, they add a range of vocaonal courses

to the curriculum, which relate to specic

careers. It should be noted though that the

Internaonal Baccalaureate is limited in its

availability in these colleges.

Private colleges that have a large intake

of internaonal students usually focus on

subjects which are in high demand by them,

such as Maths, English, Sciences and Business

Studies and pay less aenon to subjects like

Art, Theatre Studies or Modern languages.

There are sll exceponal colleges for

performing arts, languages and arts/texles

and if you require further guidance on these

please let us know.

Intensive one year

A-Level

Another huge advantage of private colleges is

that they oer an Intensive one year A–level

course what caters to bright students. There

is no such opon in tradional Private Senior

schools as A-levels are always taught as a 2

year course. Somemes, instead of joining

a university foundaon course, brighter

students from abroad take a one year A-level

course to maximize their chances to get into

the best UK Universies such as Oxford and

Cambridge.

A-Level System Reform

Under the new linear system that the

government introduced in 2015, all A-level

exams will take place at the end of Year 13,

with no marks from AS-levels (if you take

these) contribung to the overall nal grade.

Across the board, there will also be less

coursework and fewer praccal assessments

under the new system - making exam revision

even more important. Grades will connue to

be awarded on an A*-E scale.

Many people ask why they need to work hard

at AS if the result doesn’t count towards the

nal A-Level grade? Well, taking an AS exam

will help students to measure how they’re

progressing in their studies and how well

suited they are to connue the subject into

Year 13. An externally marked AS-level grade

can also carry more weight with universies

and help teachers to more accurately set

the student’s predicted grades for University

applicaons.

7. CARRIER GUIDANCE AND

UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS

Because the majority of their students go onto universies, Sixth Form private

colleges are very good at providing advice, such as help with choosing universies,

nding suitable courses and wring UCAS applicaons. Some colleges also oer

more specic advice on university entry, for example for those who want to apply for

Oxford/ Cambridge and medical or denstry schools. They help with preparaons for

the BMAT or similar exams required for medical students, as well as preparaon for

mock interviews and various aptude tests.

Another great advantage when compared to tradional senior schools is that many

private colleges oer extra private tuion for the subjects they teach. This is very

convenient as a student can have extra one-to-one lessons without leaving the college,

so there is no need to nd external tutors and take me to travel there for lessons.

8. LOCATION &

ACCOMMODATION

One of the rst decisions to make is the locaon of the college and whether or not the

student will need to live at home and commute (local students) or will need boarding

accommodaon (internaonal students). With local students, the decision-making

can be quite straighorward and you will be looking within a certain distance of your

home. For example, the majority of private colleges in London are located in Central

London hence local students from all parts of London and the suburbs can easily

commute on a daily basis.

For internaonal students, colleges have opons to accommodate them at their own

residence (either on site or o site) or with a local family. There is a lot of variety and

price exibility, though it is oen cheaper to live with a local family. It is essenal

to menon that all students under 18 years of age who study in the UK and whose

parents live abroad must have an appointed guardian as this is a legal requirement.

As many private colleges connue to focus on accepng internaonals students, their

accommodaon is usually at a high quality and they are able to provide the desired

single en-suite rooms that students look for.

The majority of independent Sixth Form colleges are centrally based in major cies like

London, Oxford, Cambridge and some others. In general, city based colleges do not

have as much acvity infrastructure on-site such as swimming pools, sports facilies

and arts / drama centers in comparison to most Private Senior schools. Though, they

will usually make up for this by partnering with external locaons in the city to provide

access to the necessary facilies.

Many of these larger colleges also oer sports facilies and have a program of extra-

curricular acvies. Pastoral welfare is not forgoen and many colleges have a well

organised system of personal tutors who monitor the academic progress and general

well-being of the students in their care on a regular basis.

To ensure that quality is maintained, there are usually regular inspecons by bodies

such as the Independent Schools Council (ISC) the Department for Educaon and

Skills (DfES) and the Brish Accreditaon Council (BAC).

9. TYPICAL SIZE OF PRIVATE

6TH FORM COLLEGES

Sixth Form colleges in the state sector (free) are oen very large with around 1,000 to

3,000 students in total. In the independent sector it is more likely to be between 100

to 400 students. A larger size usually means a greater range of subjects and oen a

greater choice of vocaonal courses. However, what you are paying for in the private

sector is individual aenon as class sizes would typically be 5 to 10 students in an

A-level course subject.

There is a limited number of tutorial colleges that specialize in 1:1 tuion with a

personal tutor. This would mean that there is only one student in a class with one

teacher for the whole duraon of the A-level program. The teaching style and program

length would be tailored according to the student’s needs which is great, but as you

can imagine, very costly.

10. MIX OF STUDENTS

Socially, Sixth Form colleges have a mixture of both day and residenal students,

with some having more day students than boarders, or vice versa. You should be

aware that some colleges have more than 90 per cent internaonal admissions and

if so your child needs to be comfortable in such a mul-cultural environment, where

somemes all students are boarders. If you prefer a college with a balanced mix of

UK Naonals and Foreign students or day with boarding, then we suggest to use our

consultancy service where we can provide recommendaons tailored to your needs.

While local Brish students usually move to private Sixth Form colleges to seek more

independence or to repeat a year/ retake subjects, most internaonal students

choose Sixth Form colleges in order to gain entry to a UK University. Oen the college

will combine the A level or university foundaon courses with English Language

tuion for the IELTS examinaon of the Brish Council or somemes the TOEFL of the

Language Tesng Service of the USA.

In good colleges, dierent categories of students benet from studying and living

together as they become more culturally enriched and open minded.

11. STUDY HOURS AND

ENROLMENT TIME

The number of study hours greatly depends on the chosen course. For example, on

an A-level course the students should receive at least 6 hours of course tuion per

subject per week. At that level, a great deal of studying is done by students on their

own. This is the same for all A-level students at both tradional senior schools and

private colleges.

Unlike senior schools, private colleges oer the exibility of starng in January, April

or September.

11. COLLEGE FEES

The nal factor to be considered is the nancial cost. All Sixth-Form colleges have a

scale of charges that depends on the courses taken. Fees are always published on

their websites and it would be advisable to look at them as a start to ensure that the

costs are within your budget. There is a great variety in price that depends mainly on

the locaon and type of accommodaon provided. Sixth Form private college fees are

comparable with those at Private Senior schools but this is also an important factor

that dierenates them.

The average day tuion fees for a student taking 4 ASs or 3 A2s is going to be in the

range of £15,000 to £35,000 per annum in Central London, Cambridge or Oxford.

Some colleges set their price as low as £12,000 per annum, though these colleges are

usually outside of major city centers. You can also join and pay for just one single AS

or A2 subject (usually if you want to retake it), though it would cost you on average

around £4,000 per year.

Remember that accommodaon costs are going to add between £6,000 and £14,000

on top of the tuion fees, if boarding is required. Studying at tradional school, you

would pay one at fee for the full boarding and you would not be able to choose

the accommodaon type (single, en-suite etc) as it usually varies depending on the

school year. You simply would not be able to pay more or less to have a parcular type

of accommodaon. On the other hand, most Sixth Form colleges do encourage you

to choose your preferred type of accommodaon and will charge you according to its

quality and comfort level.

12. PROS & CONS

We truly believe that Brish private Sixth Form colleges are great educaonal

establishments and there is no surprise that their number increases every year.

Below, you will nd the summary of the main points discussed in this guide to help

you make a more informed choice. We understand that there are many dierent pros

and cons and they can vary on opinion, though we as Chelsea Educaon, based on

our years of experse believe these are the crucial elements to focus on.

Sixth Form colleges have a

lot internaonal students.

Some colleges in order to aract internaonal

students have not noced that they

have converted to ‘internaonal schools’

themselves. Obviously we are in support

of internaonal schools; they are great for

certain categories of students but in general

we believe that there should be a greater

mix of both local and internaonal students

to interact with and learn from, which is

benecial for everyone.

Sixth Form colleges oer

less extra curriculum

acvies.

Some colleges do not provide a good acvies

program and students can feel like they do not

belong to a college as a whole if they are not

encouraged to take part in shared acvies.

In this situaon, they would only interact with

their class pears and aer classes leave for

their boarding houses or back home. Some

students are happy with these arrangements

and it is exactly what they were wishing for

before joining, however we think that in some

colleges this is a shame as they do not create

a sense of community.

CONS

PROS

Sixth Form colleges oer

independence/dierent

sengs compared to

tradional schools.

Everyone matures in their own me, but there

are many 16 year olds who want a change of

scenery, such as changing from the school they

have been aending since childhood. This shi

allows them to be immersed in a more adult-

like life, to feel more independence and have

less control from the school. Of course there

are sll rules at colleges, but the atmosphere

feels very dierent when compared to a

tradional school and this aracts many

students. Very oen their infrastructure such

as teaching blocks, accommodaon and other

facilies are o site, so the students are able

to feel more like university students.

Sixth Form colleges have

good academic results

with oen lower entrance

requirements.

Many private colleges show excellent

academic results and aract ambious

students from the UK and abroad. Apart from

a select few at the very top of the league

tables, their entrance requirements are

usually not that rigorous compared to similar

performing Private Senior schools.

Sixth Form colleges start

their courses at dierent

mes during the year.

The majority of colleges have three intakes

per year – in September, January and April.

This is a huge advantage and tailors for a great

number of students especially for those who

move to a dierent educaonal establishment

in a middle of an academic year or are arriving

from abroad.

Sixth Form colleges oer

beer choice and quality

of accommodaon.

Unlike tradional boarding schools where all

their infrastructure is on-site, most colleges

have their accommodaon facilies within

walking distance, or short commutes in

London. The variety of the dierent types of

rooms and facilies to choose from are great,

especially in newly built accommodaon.

If on budget, most colleges are also able to

place students with local host families.

Sixth Form colleges oer

an intensive one year

GCSE and A-level course.

It is impossible to take this short-cut in a

tradional senior school, as these courses

are specically designed to be taught over a

two-year period. However, brighter students

or those with special circumstances, (both

local and internaonal) can benet from

the intense me-scale and can do very well.

Though, it is important to bear in mind that

this opon is not for everyone and should be

considered very carefully.

Sixth Form colleges oer

repeat years and retakes.

Even though some students might want to

retake some of their A Level subjects if they

are not happy with their results at the end of

year 13 - this opon is almost impossible in

a Private Senior school hence school leavers

wishing to have this opon move to private

colleges. Sixth Form colleges are great for

retaking one or a few subjects and many

local and internaonal students who were

educated in senior schools do benet from

this opon.

13. LIMITED TIME FREE

PLACEMENT OFFER

We would be extremely happy if this short guide shines a light on a topic that you

were uncertain of previously and we hope that it has helped you to make a more well

informed decision.

However, if you feel that you would need more advice and professional help, we are

oering this service for free - for a limited period of me only. Please do contact us

on 02071931676 or ll out an enquiry form and we will be glad to give you our best

advice.

This free service would be as substanal as our other bespoke services that we charge

a fee for. Our ambion is to oer this free service to at least 250 families from all over

the world, in celebraon of our 10th year in business.