Oldham Sixth Form College, driving up post-16 participation and pass rates through the ‘Junior University’
Set up 16 years ago, the college has addressed poor post-16 participation and A-level pass rates in the area. It was awarded Beacon status in 2005 and since then has worked actively with QIA.
The first project supported by QIA’s innovation fund was Junior University – an exciting project to encourage wider participation in learning among young people using mentored support. Junior University transition mentors work with students at risk of not maximising their potential, offering help with study skills, course applications, entry requirements and positive encouragement. After the first year of the project, the number of students achieving five grade A*-C GCSEs has risen by more than 6.5%. There has also been a steady year-on-year increase in applications to Oldham SFC and other post-16 institutions in the town since the project began. Oldham SFC has established important links with numerous partners including 15 local secondary schools, Connexions, Oldham Borough Council, Oldham Learning Partnership, Oldham’s Excellence in Cities and the University Centre Oldham.
The college has also received QIA funding for an innovation project to raise achievement at level 2, working with partner schools to create a database of interactive e-learning resources for maths, English and science.
Peter Roberts, vice principal: curriculum and quality said: “Collaborative working within Oldham has always been a hallmark of the college’s approach and we’ve been pleased to work with neighbour organisations on recent innovation projects. Both Junior University and the work we’ve done to raise achievement at level 2 will benefit both the students and the town of Oldham, helping develop a new generation of talented young people.”
The project has specifically supported 14-16 year olds at risk of not achieving a C or better in both English and Maths, with great success and has recently appointed a science mentor to support students in schools working towards level 2 science qualifications. The project has also supported the community cohesion agenda by working with both primary and secondary schools with pupils from very different backgrounds.
For more information on Oldham SFC’s Beacon activities click here.
If your organisation would like to be considered for Beacon of the month, send your interesting activity or achievement to the LSIS Excellence Team. Email excellence.innovation@lsis.org.uk
QIA / CEL statement
On 1 October 2008 The Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) and the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) transferred their operations to Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), the new improvement body dedicated to the development of the FE and skills sector.
