Sub-Navigation
Case study 10: Easing the transition to university
Case studies index: < previous case | next case >
Case study 10: Easing the transition to university
This case study shows how a school helps able students to make a successful transition from sixth form to university.
specialist language mixed comprehensive (13 to 18), with 823 students on roll
setting up a joint project with the Open University (OU)
offering gifted sixth-form students the opportunity to take short OU courses
students who are better prepared for university
lower A level entry requirements from some universities
Background
The school is a mixed comprehensive school for 13- to 18-year-olds in north-east England. It has 823 students on roll, including 184 in the sixth form. There are 33 students on the school's register for special educational needs and 16 of these have statements. The number of students eligible for free school meals is in line with the national average. Over a quarter of students have specific medical conditions, ranging in severity from asthma to complex multiple physical disabilities, and this has a negative impact on the school's attendance figures. The school takes students from a wide geographical area and from a range of social backgrounds.
In 1996, the school set up a joint project with the Open University (OU) to help selected able students make a successful transition from sixth form to university. The school's aims were to avoid:
- tying students to a system where the only goal was to pass examinations;
- pushing them into a university environment for which they might not be psychologically ready.
Implementation
Gifted sixth-form students can now take a range of short credit-bearing courses from the OU. At the moment these include:
- technology;
- mathematics;
- science;
- languages (a choice of French, German and Spanish).
So far, over 70 students have been through the programme.
The sixth formers are signed up to the OU as independent students, but the school has realised that it is important for a member of staff (currently the head of sixth form) to act as facilitator to the group. A support group now meets once a week. Staff at the school also take some of the courses themselves, so that they have a better understanding of the demands on sixth-form students.
Parental support is very important. The year begins with a parents' meeting and the facilitator for the project responds to parents' concerns throughout the programme.
Impact
Students have generally managed the extra courses well and have gone on to succeed at university. Experience shows that, rather than remaining with the OU for their full degree, the students choose to go away to a conventional university.
Universities have been keen to take on students with proven study and personal organisation skills. One of the strengths of the programme is that gifted students are challenged by being extended sideways into new areas, rather than being pushed more quickly on the same path. A number of universities, including Durham, Edinburgh and Heriot Watt, have lowered their A level entry requirements for students with OU credit points. Others have not yet done this, but it is hoped that universities will become more consistent in their response as more schemes are established.
The OU has evaluated the scheme three times and now considers it sufficiently successful and robust to embark on a national roll-out of partnerships with school sixth forms.