Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
Encyclopedia
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
located in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, the county town of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The college, which is commonly referred to as SSFC, currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,300 students, generally ranging between the ages of 16-19. All students are full time as the adult section was closed in 2006, and most serve a two year term. The curriculum consists of AS and A2 levels. GCSE English and Maths can only be taken alongside an A level programme as resits. The college was ranked as the 27th best Sixth Form college in 2005 (out of 350 institutions), has the best A-Level performance of any state-funded institution in Shropshire, and has been awarded 'Beacon Status'. The college's town centre campus includes several buildings of Grade II listed status.
History
It occupies the buildings and grounds previously occupied by The Priory School For Boys, Shrewsbury, which was a boys' grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
. It had around 600 boys. It moved in 1980.
Academic achievement
The college has been at the top of the sixth-form college league tables for both AS and A2 level results for many years. In 2009 AS level pass rates were at 94.7%, with 66% achieving grades A-C. For A2 level in the same period, pass levels were up to 98.7%, with 79% achieving A-C grades.SSFC performs well against local fee-paying schools, with the average A/AS points per student at 852, versus 873 for Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
and 876 for Shrewsbury High School
Shrewsbury High School
Shrewsbury High School is a school for girls in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Founded in 1885, Shrewsbury High is one of the smaller schools in the Girls' Day School Trust, having roughly 750 pupils aged 3 to 18....
. This is higher than both the Local Authority (738) and national (731) results, and for comparison, nearby Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology achieves a score of 574. In 2009 the college surpassed Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
, becoming the third best A-Level institution in Shropshire after Concord College
Concord College, UK
Concord College is an independent private co-educational international day/boarding school in Shropshire, England situated in the grounds of Acton Burnell Castle. The college admits students aged between 12 and 19; the majority of whom come from overseas...
and Shrewsbury High School
Shrewsbury High School
Shrewsbury High School is a school for girls in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Founded in 1885, Shrewsbury High is one of the smaller schools in the Girls' Day School Trust, having roughly 750 pupils aged 3 to 18....
.
Nationally the college was rated as 12th and 27th best in 2004 and 2005 respectively, with students having an average of 305.1 UCAS
UCAS
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is the British admission service for students applying to university and college. UCAS is primarily funded by students who pay a fee when they apply and a capitation fee from universities for each student they accept..-Location:UCAS is based near...
points (approximately ABB/ABC at A-Level) in 2004.
In the latest, 2010 rankings, the college had the second best A-Level performance in Shropshire, after Concord College, superseding William Brookes, Shrewsbury School and Shrewsbury High School.
Campus
The college is located in the town centre, besides the River SevernRiver Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
and The Quarry
The Quarry
The Quarry is the main recreational park in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The park was created in 1719 and encompasses...
park, in what was formerly the Priory School for Boys (hence the name of the admin building, Priory House), with 4 primary teaching sites located in the west of the town. and the main areas are:
- Main Building - A Grade II listed building, built in 1910, which caters to the subjects of Art, History, English (Language & Literature), Maths, Chemistry, Electronics, Physics, Politics, Philosophy & Religious Studies and Sociology. It is also home to Food 4 Thought, the college canteen.
- New Block - A building built at the end of Priory House to expand teaching space. Currently houses the Geography, Geology, Graphics, Textiles, Product Design and Environmental Studies teaching rooms. Opened circa 1991.
- Biology Block - has primarily Biology labs, but there's also music and performance studies teaching areas at the western end. Constructed circa 1950.
- Cirrus House - The top floor of this building is rented; the primary subjects taught in this building are Media Studies, Film Studies, Languages and General Studies. Opened in 2003.
- Learning Centre - A building located across Claremont Bank away from the main campus area; houses a study area for students with PC access available. Also houses teaching rooms for Economics, Leisure Studies, Travel & Tourism, Computer Studies, ICT, Health & Social Care, Law, Accounting and Business Studies. Opened in 1999.
- Priory Lodge - this is a leased facility and is used by Performance Studies, Music and the work rooms for staff.
- The White House - This is a new leased facility opened in October 2009, used as a common room and social space for students. It is situated below the China Rose restaurant, next to the Learning Centre on St Austin's Street. It has offices for college council and the college Social Worker and vending machines for student use.
Also, the 'temporary' huts, located west of Priory House, have become a rather permanent feature - used for Psychology and Classical Civilisation.
Students
The college has approximately 1,400 students. The college is the sixth form for the following schools: Sundorne, The Grange, The Wakeman, PrioryThe Priory School (Shrewsbury)
The Priory School is a secondary school in the Shropshire market town of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The school was opened in September 1939 and became a Business and Enterprise College in 2003, with the addition of Applied GCSE courses to the curriculum. The headmistress is Ms Candy Garbett...
, Meole Brace, Belvidere School, Corbet, Mary Webb and Church Stretton. Students from outside the 'partner schools' (listed above) are also accepted. Students in Shropshire are additionally able to go to other sixth form colleges, which exist in Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
and Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
, however, Shrewsbury Sixth Form College has the best results of any state funded institution in ceremonial Shropshire, including the Telford & Wrekin, and is therefore popular with all students in the county. A-Level performance is comparable to the nearby independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
fee-paying Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
and Shrewsbury High School
Shrewsbury High School
Shrewsbury High School is a school for girls in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Founded in 1885, Shrewsbury High is one of the smaller schools in the Girls' Day School Trust, having roughly 750 pupils aged 3 to 18....
, resulting in a noticeable presence of previously independent school students at the college. Female students outnumber male students. The percentage of students from a minority ethnic heritage is small, mirroring the profile in the locality. The college has a fair representation system with an elected student president for each year representing the views and working attitudes of the current students.
Priory School For Boys
- Arthur Atkinson CB, Chief Executive from 1980-6 of the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce (became the Rural Payments AgencyRural Payments AgencyThe Rural Payments Agency is an executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs .The RPA was created on 16 October 2001 from the amalgamation of the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce and the Defra Paying Agency as a single paying agency for most Common...
in 2001) - Sir Derrick Capper, Chief Constable from 1974-5 of West Midlands PoliceWest Midlands PoliceWest Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
, and of the Birmingham Police from 1963-4 - Prof George Overend, Professor of Chemistry from 1957-87 at Birkbeck, University of LondonBirkbeck, University of LondonBirkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, and Master of Birkbeck College from 1979-87 - Sir Eric Parker, Chief Executive from 1983-92 of Trafalgar HouseTrafalgar House (company)Trafalgar House Public Limited Company was a British conglomerate with interests in property investment, property development, engineering, construction, shipping, hotels, energy and publishing...
, and President from 1998-2001 of the Racehorse Owners Association - Peter Reynolds, archaeologist on Time TeamTime TeamTime Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
- Prof Robert Shaw CBE, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology since 2002 at the University of NottinghamUniversity of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, and President from 1998-2001 of the Royal College of Obstetricians and GynaecologistsRoyal College of Obstetricians and GynaecologistsThe Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is a professional association based in the UK. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is, pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexual and reproductive health...
(RCOG) - Christopher TimothyChristopher TimothyChristopher Timothy is a Welsh actor, television director and writer. Timothy is possibly best known today for his role as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small; more recently he has starred as Dr. Brendan 'Mac' McGuire in the British television drama Doctors...
, actor famous for All Creatures Great and Small - Richard Wells, Chief Constable from 1990-8 of South Yorkshire PoliceSouth Yorkshire PoliceSouth Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.The police force covers an area of approximately 1,554 square kilometres which is made up of the county's three boroughs , along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2...
- Martin White, Chief Executive from 1980-8 of Buckinghamshire County Council