Context
S6C specialises in Key Stage 5 education and our students leave us as mature young adults who have thrived both academically and socially. Our ethos is to provide a bridge to university, higher apprenticeships and adult life, and our students’ success cannot simply be expressed using data. Importantly, we do not limit our students’ horizons or ambitions based on their Key Stage 4 performance (Level 2 GCSE and Technical course results), known as ‘average prior attainment’.
During their journey with S6C students have a range of opportunities within and outside of the classroom and our fantastic staff nurture and challenge them to aim high. In Year 12 students receive a study skills programme that supports their transition from GCSE to Level 3. Year 13 takes these skills further as students are encouraged to focus on their future destination and the path to success in their chosen Level 3 qualifications (A Levels and Technical courses). Despite these challenging COVID-19 times, our outstanding team has continued to provide a full-time education programme, even during periods of lockdown, using our state-of-the-art building and online technology. In response, our students have risen to the challenges as shown in the review below.
2020 Performance Review
Qualifications
- 139 students graduated in July 2020 with an average grade of C+ giving the College a national average value-added score.
- The wide range of average prior attainment for the cohort demonstrates our inclusive character and varied from very high (mostly grade 8/9 at GCSE) to low (mostly grade 3 at GCSE) with the average being 5.
- 100% of our students graduated with qualifications and 81% left with at least three Level 3 qualifications (A Levels and equivalent Technical courses), including those students who arrived with the lowest prior attainment, those who needed to re-sit GCSE English Language and Mathematics, and those who also passed the additional EPQ qualification.
- 9 students achieved the highest grades (A*/A or D*D*D*), including one student who achieved 4 A* at A Level, and 3 of these students arrived with average prior attainment of between 4 and 5.
- 80% of our 20 SEND students graduated with at least three Level 3 qualifications (A Levels and equivalent Technical courses), including 2 who achieved the highest grades (A*/A).
- Students who complete the EPQ qualification in addition to their main courses continue to perform exceptionally well with most achieving an A*/A grade.
- The small group of students who are required to re-sit either GCSE English or GCSE Mathematics in line with government policy and to improve future study or employment chances, continue to perform above the national average. They are not limited at S6C to achieving the target grade (four) and regularly pass at a higher grade.
Destinations
Over half of our students, across the full range of average prior attainment, won places at universities including Cambridge (engineering), Bristol, Bournemouth, and Winchester with 80% accepted at their Firm choice. A few have delayed going to university and planned a gap year experience. The remaining students moved on to higher apprenticeships and employment, including a Level 4 apprenticeship in software development in the oil industry.
Extracurricular activities
While COVID-19 curtailed a lot of our lives, voluntary and charitable extracurricular activity continued when it could, and we retain some strong links with Salisbury charities. Of note was the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, which continued when allowed, and one student completed his Gold qualification.
Alumni
It is particularly pleasing as a relatively new sixth form college that some of our first graduates have recently graduated from university and returned to teach at the local schools.
Ofsted
Rated Good in 2017: https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/about-s6c/ofsted/
