Rochdale Sixth Form College
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Rochdale Sixth Form College 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 ...
opened in September 2010. The Sixth Form College campus is situated next to Hopwood Hall College in
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England, forming an educational quarter in the town. Rochdale is the first sixth form college to be opened in the UK since 2004, and the 93rd sixth form college in the country. The college is a member of the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA), founder of the Student Union of Celebration and Co-operation (SUCC), and the
Association of Colleges The Association of Colleges (AoC) is a not-for-profit membership organisation in England set up by colleges to act as their collective voice, representing further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and ...
(AoC).


History

From the 1970s to the 1990s, most
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
s in the
Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. Its largest town is Rochdale and the wider borough covers other outlying towns and villages, including Heywood, Greater Manchester, Heywood, Littleb ...
offered
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 ...
education such as
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 to school leavers. In addition, Hopwood Hall College also offered a provision of sixth form courses to students. By the 2000s, sixth form students studying in Rochdale Borough were achieving below the national average in terms of A Level results. As well as this, many local school leavers were opting to study sixth form education at schools or colleges outside of Rochdale borough, particularly at dedicated
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 ...
s in nearby areas such as Bury and
Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...
. In a local area review of post-16 education in Rochdale in 2004, the
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Ma ...
proposed the construction of a new sixth form college in Rochdale borough. Rochdale's MP, Paul Rowen, along with local student, Sajid Suleman, launched a campaign in 2006 for a new sixth form college in Rochdale to stop the "brain drain". After funding for the new college became available, the
Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was repl ...
formally approved the construction of the new college in August 2008. The Chair of the Governing Body is Dame Pamela Coward, former headteacher of Middleton Technology School. The £26 million new sixth form college campus was subsequently constructed next to Hopwood Hall College in
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
town. Rochdale Sixth Form College opened in September 2010, overseen by the Founding Principal of the college, Julian Appleyard. Appleyard served as Principal of the college for eight years, leaving his position at the end of February, 2018. Appleyard was followed by Richard Ronksley, who assumed the role of Principal near the end of 2018. Ronksley served as Principal of Rochdale Sixth Form until January 2023, when the current Principal, Karl Smith, took his position. Rochdale Sixth Form College is now the primary provider of sixth form education in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, with around 10% of students on roll from schools outside of Rochdale. Since the opening of the college, most (but not all) secondary schools in the borough have ceased to offer sixth form courses for students. Hopwood Hall College has also discontinued its provision of A-levels, concentrating instead on offering vocational further education for school leavers, as well as courses for adult learners.


Today

Opened in September 2010, Rochdale Sixth Form College offers a range of A-level courses to students from Rochdale and the wider borough. Facilities at the college campus include a theatre and dance/drama studio, learning resource and study centre, ICT suites, science laboratories, a music recording studio and Mac suite, specialist art and design studios, a restaurant, a
coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, Caffè americano, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually ...
, a fitness suite and a multi-faith prayer room. The first set of academic results by the College were in the top 5% of all sixth form institutions in the UK in value added terms. The College received national coverage for this performance. In the same year the College Principal was the key note speaker at a number of sixth form national conferences and continues to feature leading sessions on post 16 leadership at national conferences. The College continues to make the headlines for its academic performance. The A Level results showed a 99% pass rate and value added for AS Level place it in the top 1% of sixth forms in the country. The College featured very prominently in the Department for Education League Tables in February 2013 where it was number two out of 93 sixth form colleges in the UK in terms of value added. The College had its first OFSTED inspection in March 2013 and received the result of being an outstanding college, one of only two sixth form colleges nationally to be awarded the outstanding status under the rigorous new inspection framework. The College goes from strength to strength and now has national acclaim. The College made history in January 2017 being the first placed college for the third consecutive year in the Department for Education Performance tables for A level progress. In January 2019, the College achieved first place in the Department for Educations Performance tables for the fifth year running, and went on to win the sixth-form of the year award at the 2021 Tes FE Awards, Tes Magazine being widely considered the most trusted source of education news and views in the UK.


References

{{authority control Schools in Rochdale Education in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Sixth form colleges in Greater Manchester Educational institutions established in 2010 2010 establishments in England