The sixth form college can be an academic institution inside England, Wales and Northern Ireland in which pupils aged 16 to 18 usually study for advanced school-level certification, for example A-levels, or perhaps school-level qualifications for example GCSEs.
Throughout England and Wales, education is just mandatory ’till the end of year 11, the school year where the student becomes 16 (even though this is changing in September 2013). Within the English and Welsh state educational programs, individuals wanting to carry on either can remain on in a secondary school by having an connected 6th form, move to some local sixth form college, or perhaps check out a far more vocational further education college.
Even though, determined by physical location, there might be very little choice regarding which of those options could be considered. Within the independent field, 6th forms are a fundamental piece of secondary schools (public schools), and there’s additionally a quantity of smaller-scale independent 6th form educational institutions.

College students in sixth form college usually study for 2 years (referred to as Years 12 and 13, Years 13 and 14 inside Northern Ireland and/or lower sixth as well as upper sixth). A number of students sit AS exams after the very first year, as well as A-level exams after the second. Additionally, recently a number of vocational courses are already included with the actual course load.
You will find presently more than ninety sixth form colleges operational throughout England and Wales. The majority of these perform very well within national examination league tables. In addition, they offer a broader range of courses cheaper per student when compared with the majority of school sixth forms.
In some places, government bodies operate sixth form schools which function like sixth form colleges however they are totally underneath the charge of the local education government bodies. As opposed to further education colleges, 6th form colleges hardly ever accept part-time students or even run night classes, despite the fact that one boarding sixth form college is out there.
Scotland doesn’t, generally speaking, include separate sixth form colleges (or even, without a doubt, exactly the same idea of the terminal 2 yrs of secondary education to be unique from your other time spent there) – as a result, Scottish college students that choose to stay in full-time education may usually stay in exactly the same school for fifth, and perhaps a sixth year (comparable to your English lower- and upper-sixth forms), studying Higher Grade as well as Advanced Higher qualifications to further their eduction.
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