Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) is a

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

located in the

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

. Situated on a single site in Plaistow, the college was established in 1992 to provide for students in Newham and neighbouring boroughs who opt to stay in education beyond

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

O-levels. It is designed for students ages 16 to 19 and its curriculum includes

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

s as well as specialist pathway, levels 2 and 3 vocational, foundation level and ESOL programmes. The college at one time had an enrolment of about 2,500 students. In 2024 the college merged with Newham College of Further Education.

History

A school was first opened on the site as the municipal Plaistow Secondary School in 1926. In 1945 this became Plaistow Grammar School (later known as

Plaistow County Grammar School Plaistow County Grammar School, also known as "Plaistow Grammar" or "PGS", was a local authority mixed gender Grammar school established in 1945 and located on Prince Regent Lane (A112) in Plaistow, in the County Borough of West Ham and then ...

) which in 1972 merged with Faraday Secondary Modern School to become Cumberland Comprehensive School. After Cumberland moved and the borough of Newham adopted a

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

re-organised education system, the Newham Sixth Form College was established and opened its doors to students in September 1992. Student numbers grew rapidly, increasing from 750 in the first year to over 2,000 in the 2002/3 academic year and more than 2,500 in 2009/10. The college was led from 1991 to 2008 by Sid Hughes, who won a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Teaching Awards of 2005 and was awarded an honorary degree by

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

upon his retiring from NewVIc. Eddie Playfair served as principal from 2008 to end of Spring 2018. Mandeep Gill began as principal in 2018. In October of 2024 the college merged with Newham College of Further Education to provide post-16 and adult education to more than 12,000 students in Newham. NewVIc had deteriorated and become the only sixth form college in the country to hold Ofsted's lowest possible rating, while the college principal had been on leave for a year and the chairman had stepped down. Jamie Purser, Newham College's deputy principal and NewVIc's acting principal, took charge of the new college from 1 January 2025.

Curriculum

The college offers a range of A-levels, an Honours programme, specialist pathways, level 2 and 3 vocational programmes, as well as foundation, entry level and ESOL programmes.

Statistics

At one time, NewVIc sent more disadvantaged students to university than any other sixth-form provider in England. In 2012, the college was ranked by the Sutton Trust as being in the top 5% of high performing sixth forms in England, in progressing students from disadvantaged backgrounds to university.

Facilities

The college invested £6m in a new building on Prince Regent Lane, which includes a new reception, theatre and cafe.

Achievements

NewVIc’s Sports Academy is one of four London colleges that have been accredited with Sports Leadership status by national charity, Sports Leaders UK. The college was awarded £70,000 by Sport England FE Activation Fund for increasing capacity over three years, including a specific focus on disability provision and leadership. This has resulted in significant success for a number of sports including cricket. In 2019, the college received its best ever results which saw more students achieving A* - B grades in A Levels and more than 50% of BTEC students achieving Triple Distinction* in Level 3 Extended Diplomas. It was also graded overall as ‘Good’ by Ofsted and recognised as ‘Outstanding’ for its provision of Personal Development, Welfare and Behaviour in January 2019.

Notable alumni

* Roshonara Choudhry - Islamist convicted of the

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

of MP

Stephen Timms Sir Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North East, since 1994. He has served as Minister of State for Social Security and Disabi ...

in 2010.

References

External links

* {{authority control Sixth form colleges in London Education in the London Borough of Newham Educational institutions established in 1992 Plaistow, Newham 1992 establishments in England