Should I Study A level at my school or go to a college?

As part of our Be Informed posts, we want to assist you by simplifying some common education-related issues. Today we wanted to look at the differences between further education, sixth form and school-sixth form colleges.
Further education colleges tend to be larger institutions with wider-ranging variety when it comes to qualifications and courses. It is likely that you will find people of different ages, social and educational backgrounds at these colleges. The array of qualifications on offer may include BTECs, NVQs as well as A Levels. Therefore, it spans anything from post compulsory secondary education to entry to higher education (university).

Sixth Form Colleges are centres dedicated full-time to Sixth Form study. These are likely to offer a broader range of A Level courses than School Sixth Forms and there is usually more flexibility with the combination of courses you can take. See for more information:
http://www.stcharles.ac.uk/default.aspx?m=1&mi=309&ms=0&title=Why+Study+at+a+Sixth+Form+College%3F

You should also consider what kind of person you are. Do you like regulation and guidance or do you prefer self-management and freedom? Further education colleges offer more independence, Sixth Form colleges are in the middle and school Sixth Forms are very much like a continuation of school. These are likely to enforce more rules and be set in their conventions, which is ideal for learner who enjoys supervision and wants to be in a close-knit setting, however for a learner who requires less monitoring a further education college may be better suited. It is also worth keeping in mind that independent learning is the bedrock of university and it may be advisable to accustom oneself to this sooner than later. See for more information:
http://www.studential.com/further-education/sixth-form-or-college

http://www.cife.org.uk/news/88/80/The-value-of-Independent-sixth-form-colleges.html

Other links worth exploring are:

‘Advantages of Sixth Form Colleges over School Sixth Forms’
http://www.jcc.ac.uk/blog/2013-01-28/advantages-to-sixth-form-colleges-over-school-sixth-forms

‘School Sixth Form or Sixth Form College’
http://www.skill.org.uk/youth/page.aspx?c=354&p=475
If you have any questions relating to the topics raised in this post or if you would like to speak to a member of our advisory team about any education-related matter, please feel free to contact us through the following mediums:
Tel 020 7112 4832
Email info@excelinkeysubjects.com
Web www.excelinkeysubjects.com

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