Studying for 'A' levels in Marple

[elpram]

There is an open meeting being held at the school this evening according to a text message received from the headteacher Mr Barker...

"@ 6.30pm in Bradshaw Hall regarding the proposed 6th form. All welcome to have their questions answered."

[My login is Henrietta]

No, A-F has always been a pass. However, "back in the day" people (be that individuals or institutions) only boasted about A-C grades.

No. At A level there was A level Pass, O Level pass at A level, and A level Fail.

The O level pass meant you didn't do well enough to pass at A level but not badly enough to fail. (I got one in 1968 so I know! Should have worked harder)

[Dave]

You're right, 1877, and so is hollins.  My mistake in misinterpreting the DFE tables.  I apologise for suggesting that the college misrepresented the facts - clearly they did nothing of the sort!  Doh!   

[Howard]

I've enjoyed all the figures being thrown around this thread. When I did my A level in Statistics (at Marple Hall, no less) there was a rather wonderful book by Darrell Huff called "How to Lie with Statistics". It was written in 1954 but it's still relevant. I believe it's out of copyright now and on-line versions can be found here https://archive.org/details/HowToLieWithStatistics.

[1877]

They can say what they like at open evenings but they can't alter the truth, which is as explained above.  The 99.6% pass rate is not an A level pass rate, it is a pass rate for A levels and 'equivalent qualifications.'  There is an important difference, and it is unfortunate that the college seems to be misleading people.  

Not an attempt to mislead, Dave, 99.6% is the A level pass rate for Marple Sixth Form College as was made clear at the open event. As A level students become self selecting, by virtue of having passed the AS examination, pass rates should be high. It makes one wonder why other local colleges don't do as well therefore.

[1877]

The Marple Hall School consultation document makes interesting reading witness:

"Q1. Is there a demand for a Sixth Form at Marple Hall School?

A: Anecdotally the anser is yes; many prospective and current parents often ask if there are plans to open a Sixth Form, many parents and students express disappointment that the school does not have a Sixth Form and many returning ex-students report that they would have liked to have stayed gieven a choice. However, we have not conducted a survey of current students or parents-we plan to do so as part of this consultation to measure how viable the proposal would be."

So, actually no empirical evidence of demand or need.

[hollins]

Not according to the DFE website they aren't!

Aquinas
% of students passing 3 A levels: 81%
% of students passing 2 A levels: 91%
% of students passing 1 A level:   96%
CAMSFC
% of students passing 3 A levels: 49%
% of students passing 2 A levels: 58%
% of students passing 1 A level:   66%
Stockport College
% of students passing 3 A levels: 10%
% of students passing 2 A levels: 16%
% of students passing 1 A level:   16%

Sorry Dave, but the fact that the percentage of students passing any A levels in CAMSFC is 66% simply means ... that only about 66% of students at CAMSFC were actually taking A levels (the national pass rate for A-levels being very nearly 100%): Marple 6th-form College offers more alternative qualifications. A similar comment applies to Stockport College. Aquinas simply expect more of their students to take A-levels, including the rather pointless "General Studies", which bumps up the points-per-student without actually giving them much more education.

Of course, you could choose whichever statistic suits you (as we all have!). In the column giving points per entry (irrespective of whether it includes equivalences) all of the sixth-form providers score very similarly ... with the exception of the highly expensive and elitist (but clearly successful) Stockport Grammar.

Both Marple Hall and CAMSFC have served my children well. The added choice will benefit students whether they prefer to stay at the same school or go into the sixth-form college environment. I suspect it is the pupils (and their parents) who make most of the difference, not the particular institution.

[Henry01]

Although I can see that a sixth form would provide choice, it is quite obvious that many schools are opening sixth forms as a 'badge of honour', and are not thinking about the long term future, as this article from October suggests:

http://schoolsimprovement.net/ministers-urged-to-limit-small-school-sixth-forms-and-focus-on-sixth-form-colleges/


School sixth forms also lose more public money through non-completion of courses. In 2011-12 only 84% of Level 3 (typically A level qualifications) were completed. In the same period 94.5% of A levels taken in sixth form colleges were completed.

Students seem to enjoy studying in sixth form colleges more, hence the higher completion rate. I went to one myself (not Marple!) and was very glad to be treated as a young adult rather than being stifled by the same school environment I had been in for five years.

[Nic]

I don't think the College is misrepresenting the facts.  On their website, they point out that this year 98.9% of students who did A-levels (rather than vocational qualifications), passed them - see http://www.cmcnet.ac.uk/cmsfc-school-leavers.asp?SLID=70.  They also point out that there is 100% pass rate for vocational subjects. 

[Dave]

Rather than being criticised for offering this range of courses, this should be seen as a positive. 

No-one on this thread has criticised CAMSFC for offering a wide range of courses - as Nic rightly says, that is, of course, a good thing.  The only thing the college has been criticised for is misrepresenting the facts by presenting its success rate in ALL KS5/ level 3 qualifications as if it was for A levels alone:

Information provided by the college at its Open Evening states that the A level pass rate for Marple has been 99.6% for the last two years

To me there doesn't seem to be any demand for further provision in the area.

That may well be the case, but there is probably a demand for more choice, so that students who are best suited to a school environment can stay at school for their A levels, whilst those who want something different, and the opportunity to take other qualifications apart from A level, can also do so. 

[Henry01]

I have always thought Marple is very fortunate to have a sixth form college and I am a strong advocate of them in general. They do a lot with less funding.

Funding per student in sixth form colleges: £4601
Funding per student in secondary school sixth forms: £5620
Funding per student in secondary academies: £7880

Yet a quick search around the internet has shown me that 'success' rates (overall achievement and retention) are on average 84% in sixth form colleges and 69% in school and academy sixth forms. To me there doesn't seem to be any demand for further provision in the area.

[Nic]

To clarify, A Levels are graded A-E. 

In my experience, Marple Sixth Form is staffed by dedicated and experienced teachers who work hard to help their students do well - and indeed, as the statistics show, they do. 

It should be noted that the DFE figures relating to a 49% of students passing 3 A levels reflects the Cheadle & Marple results combined, including the fact that a relatively high proportion of students across the two colleges (particularly at Cheadle) do other things apart from A Levels (these are not included in the figures).  Rather than being criticised for offering this range of courses, this should be seen as a positive.  Marple Sixth Form continues to offer a huge range of courses, mainly A-Level, but also allows students to combine these with other qualifications if that is appropriate. 

[Harry]

Maybe I am confusing my O and A levels (not GCSE, they didn't sit them at my school).  I stand corrected. Perhaps it was that D to F were just considered a fail. They certainly were not included on a CV. This was back in 1971.

[Dave]

I think Harry may be mixing up A levels with GCSEs?  At GCSE, A* - C are the 'pass' grades.  At A level it's been A - F for many years - it was when I did it, and that was back in the sixties.   

[Howard]

I took my A Levels in the long, hot summer of 1976, with The Wurzels at Number 1 in the charts. A - E were passes, F was a Fail.

I took mine in 1984. F then was also a fail.