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Case studies


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

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Case study 1: A rural girls’ grammar school

The school has approximately 750 students, with 160 in the co-educational sixth form, all on A level programmes.

The school works on the assumption that all its sixth formers will plan to apply to HE and gears its activities accordingly. There is a programme of activities designed to facilitate student entry to HE and around 80 per cent do progress to HE. The school is not eligible for any extra funding for these activities.

The school is part of a local partnership that holds joint events. Events include speakers from a range of HE institutions, UCAS, professional organisations and specific industries. Careers advice sessions are also held.

All sixth formers attend at least one HE fair, on the grounds that they all need to have the basic information about this progression route in order to make an informed choice about their future, whether or not they finally decide to apply for HE.

While all students are also encouraged to attend university open days, some have the opportunity to visit HE institutions on individual ‘taster’ course days when they can find out more about their planned course of study.

Recently all students were offered the chance to attend an introductory Oxbridge day when representatives from both universities ran an event locally. The students reported that this was intended to encourage applications to Oxbridge.

Some other HE experiences are available only to individuals in specific circumstances. For example, Sutton Trust summer schools – usually week-long residential courses – are available to students who would be the first generation in their family to enter HE. These courses are highly rated by participants.

A compact arrangement with the local university proves useful in fostering links between school subject teachers and specific departments at the university. These are used both to update teachers on the latest developments in their subject and to the benefit of students in giving them access to HE staff and sometimes to students.

As in many schools and colleges, Wednesday afternoon is allocated to enrichment activities. There is a rotating weekly timetable for year 12 and year 13, so that many students can benefit from the range of HE experiences offered. Students are encouraged to find appropriate work experience in both years, to give them useful experience, help in making applications and some knowledge of what working in their chosen field would be like. They are also encouraged to take up voluntary work, either in the school (eg helping younger classes) or externally (with local organisations). An example of this is the local rugby club operating a scheme to help inner city children.

Each of these activities can be seen to contribute to building students’ knowledge, experience and skills and encouraging informed and successful applications to HE courses.

Case study 2: An urban mixed school

This large school in the London area has around 500 students in the sixth form, taking a wide range of A level and vocational qualifications. Ninety-five per cent of sixth form students progress to HE.

The school population includes a very high proportion of Asian, Somali and east European students – families from these backgrounds are keen for their children to progress to HE as a route to success and the school sees it as part of its mission to achieve this for as many of their students as possible.

As in most schools, this institution provides baseline information about entry to HE, supplemented with specific opportunities and activities to meet individual needs. All students have the opportunity to attend an HE fair, followed by in-school sessions on preparation for HE, the application process, choice of HE institution and course, funding, etc.

Being in the London area, the school and its students benefit from the London Taster programme, with free introductory courses. The only expense for the school or student is the cost of travel. Some students also attend master classes, which the school considers to be improving A level results by promoting a wider understanding of the subject.

This school also has links with a university and an FE college offering HE, so sixth formers can talk to existing students and tutors about the detail of the courses and what life in HE will be like.

Each year a small number of students apply to Oxbridge, but in recent times the school has felt that these applicants have not been as successful as they might have been. Consequently, they decided to buy in the services of a private company to provide the necessary expertise to assist with the Oxbridge application/selection process (at a cost of £370 per head).

One particular element that they felt needed improvement was candidate preparation for interviews. Whilst this was of particular importance for Oxbridge applicants, the school had also noted an increasing number of students being invited for interview by other HE institutions. The school also concluded that staff needed specific training in order to help students prepare adequately. It set up a programme to familiarise staff with the demands and techniques applicable in HE and to equip them with the requisite skills.

Case study 3: An urban mixed further education college

This inner-city college has 1,300 16-19 students, 40 per cent of whom are taking Level 3 vocational courses, mainly BTEC National Diplomas, and 60 per cent of whom are eligible for an Educational Maintenance Allowance. Between 50 and 60 per cent of Level 3 students progress to HE.

As a college offering predominantly vocational courses, it feels at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving information about HE opportunities in comparison with institutions offering academic programmes. They also perceive activities such as taster courses as being geared to academic A level courses.

Some of the students lack confidence in their own ability and chances of success in HE where teaching is seen as more academic than what they have been accustomed to. They do not enter their Level 3 courses automatically assuming that they will progress to university.

This is overcome in a number of ways:

students can progress within the college itself, to foundation degrees
Aimhigher funds are used to provide mentoring for Level 3 students to encourage HE application
applicants to a local HE institution are guaranteed an interview as tutors in the HE institution are aware of the work of the college and the circumstances of the students
LSC enrichment funding is used to provide HE-related activities that students might otherwise be unable to do
some students take an AS or A level alongside their BTEC course to give them a wider experience
some staff who used to work at the college and now work within HE come back to the college to foster links with current staff and inform students about courses and life in HE
a programme of visits, including to other countries, builds students’ self-confidence.

Case study 4: Use of Open University modules

A comprehensive school has just started to offer Open University modules as a way of extending its most able students. The Open University presented the YASS scheme to the school and the science department decided to follow it up, on a pilot basis, with other departments able to learn from their experience in selecting and supporting students. The science department provided the funding for students who wanted to study a module, as they considered the modules to be well presented, relevant to the students and providing valuable subject extension.

Several students registered for the module while two completed it, showing themselves more highly motivated than their fellows. Those who did not complete failed to do so because the assignment meant working in the summer holiday between year 12 and year 13. Conversely, this aspect of OU provision is sometimes seen as an advantage as it is undertaken when students are not concentrating on other work and do not have to be out of school to attend another institution.

The students who completed said that they were motivated to do so because they wanted to study medicine and were willing to do anything that they thought would improve their chances of gaining a place. They saw the OU module as a means of increasing their knowledge and providing a point of differentiation between them and other applicants.

They were very positive about the experience, reporting that:

the materials (textbooks, cassettes, chemical models, questions and assessments) were very good
they appreciated links across subject areas that they had not realised before
they had a better understanding of a topic in A2 when the teacher reached that point in the syllabus
they gained 10 HE credits.

Case study 5: Use of Open University modules

The school is a 13-18 specialist language college in the North of England. It has offered the full range of Open University YASS modules to students in years 12 and 13 for a number of years.

Traditionally approximately 10 per cent of the sixth form cohort opt to study a HE module alongside their A levels. The success rate averages 85 per cent. In general students who do not complete have found difficulties in their A level courses, and students who do complete successfully have acknowledged their enhanced study skills and improved A level performance.

All students have progressed to traditional universities. The school’s Ofsted report states ‘YASS continues to thrive enabling high attaining students to gain Open University credits and experience the demand of independent learning’.

Following are typical student comments.

A student studying a science short course commented, ‘The course built up my knowledge, improved my writing skills and encouraged me to become more responsible. I liked the flexibility of study. I’ve recommended it to my friends. I feel it’s really benefited me. I really liked the option of 2 assignments.’
When asked if the OU course helped measurably in AS/A2 one student replied, ‘Yes, I believe so. It was a great help in improving my study skills as I know the true meaning of hard work and it was an instrumental factor in choosing my university course.’
One linguist commented, ‘The course helped tremendously for my written and spoken language as well as listening skills. It encouraged me to practise and work more with the supplementary materials and therefore improve my skills.’

One YASS student who is now at university was asked if the scheme had benefited her degree-level study. She definitely felt that the Open University had trained her in such a way that her study skills are now more in line with those used at University. The key skills that she developed were self-motivation, research, time management and the ability to prioritise. As a result of the experience she felt that she settled in to university life much more quickly than her peers – she felt like she had been given a ‘head start’.