Studying for 'A' levels in Marple

[Bowden Guy]

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.

[marpleexile]

I find it unbelievable that A level pass includes grades A to F. When I sat my A levels, many, many years ago, A, B and C were pass grades, D, E and F were fails.

Is this another example of moving the goalposts to show how better education is now? Or am I misunderstanding something?

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.

[Harry]

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, ........

I find it unbelievable that A level pass includes grades A to F. When I sat my A levels, many, many years ago, A, B and C were pass grades, D, E and F were fails.

Is this another example of moving the goalposts to show how better education is now? Or am I misunderstanding something?

[Bowden Guy]

I will look forward to reading the sixth form prospectus!

[Dave]

Have a look at this:  http://www.marplehall.stockport.sch.uk/further-information/11171.html

If a new MHS 6th form gets going and proves successful in the first few years, then maybe the school  will consider diversifying into other qualifications, if they have the capacity to accommodate more students.  But in the first instance, I have little doubt that they will just stick to A levels, as they are themselves suggesting in the above link.  To try to do more from the outset would be unwise, IMO.   

[Bowden Guy]

Dave, do really think that, when the sixth form opens at Marple Hall they will not be offering vocational qualifications in Childcare, Health & Social Care, Public & Unformed Services, Sport, Business Studies, Information Technology and Travel & Tourism?  All of the areas that require next to no capital investment. I do not believe that the new sixth form will focus solely on A Levels - they very rarely do.

[Dave]

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

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. 

As for MHS's 'unwelcome return to elitism', I think that's a bit unfair.  When 11-16 schools expand into 6th form provision, they understandably focus mainly on teaching A levels, rather than vocational qualifications such as BTECs, because A levels are natural extensions of what the school already does, i.e. GCSEs.  The school is therefore likely to have, or to be able to develop, suitable facilities for such teaching, and will almost certainly have existing staff who are qualified to teach through to A level.  On the other hand, vocational courses such as BTECs cover a wide range of specialist areas from Aeronautical Engineering through Horse Management to Vehicle Technology, and schools simply don't have either the facilities or the know-how to cover these areas. 

[1877]

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, thus justifying its claim to be the "best performing college in Stockport".
Presumably Marple Hall School, like Hazel Grove School before it, will aim to cater for only the most able students. This unwelcome return to elitism will no doubt be funded by accepting larger classes in Years 7, 8 and 9.

[Dave]

Depends which set of statistics you choose.  

In terms of % of KS5 students achieving A levels, and in terms of Average point score per entry, they beat Aquinas+Stockport.

A classic example of 'lies, damn lies and statistics!'.   If you look closely enough at the table in sgk's post, the weasel words 'including equivalences' can be seen.  That means that as well as A levels, the figures also include other qualifications classified as NVQ level 3, such as BTEC National Certificates and Diplomas, each of which is deemed to be equivalent to two A levels.  So someone holding a BTEC ND in, say Floristry or Beauty Therapy is officially supposed to have a qualification equivalent to two A levels in, say, Physics and Mathematics......... 

In my humble opinion, comparing pure A level figures, rather than those which also include 'equivalents', gives a more meaningful comparison.  I can confirm that if you exclude the BTECs etc, the A level pass statistics are as shown in my previous post: 

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%

[simonesaffron]

Exam results are only one component of the equation.

As we all know If it had been up to CAMSFC they would have had an Asda on Hibbert Lane. It is only due to outside intervention that it didn't happen.

My information is that they are currently engaged with SMBC to put houses on Hibbert Lane and that they are also talking to a private developer to do the same on a section of their site at Cheadle. In addition to this as a previous post has stated they are releasing staff and withdrawing courses. So as far as education is concerned they are not expanding they are not even stabilising they are rescinding.

I may be wrong but it occurs to me for some time now CAMSFC has had the look of a failing business. If it's true it's a shame because I think on the whole it does a good job and such a provision is needed.

If I've noticed this others will have done. In addition to which these others  will have inside information which we don't have.

CAMSFC & MHS have common connections and they will surely talk to each other. MHS have been considering sixth form some time and at one time a 'partnership' of some kind was tentatively mentioned. Perhaps this is still possible and is being considered.

[Harry]

You have to be careful not to compare apples with pears.

Stockport College is not a sixth form college.

Look what CAMSFC have done with their two colleges. We now have Marple Sixth Form College and Cheadle College. Note that only one of them is a sixth form college. Yet they both offer A level courses.

Sixth Form College is not just a name. There are only about 90 in the country.

[sgk]

Not according to the DFE website they aren't!
...

Depends which set of statistics you choose.  

In terms of % of KS5 students achieving A levels, and in terms of Average point score per entry, they beat Aquinas+Stockport.

[Bowden Guy]

The last time I looked at this comparative data, Cheadle & Marple did better than Aquinas in terms of "value-added" for Level 3 courses even though the overall success rates were higher at Aquinas. As others have stated, there are a range of factors which influence choice at post 16.

However, for C & M to state, on their website, that they are one of the "most successful" sixth form colleges in the country when they have just been issued with an improvement notice from Ofsted is stretching the bounds of the English language somewhat?

[Dave]

According to the college website Marple college are the best performing college in Stockport

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%

See http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/group.pl?qtype=GR&f=PecOlB1B9M&superview=p16&view=&sort=l_schname&ord=asc

But I'm not knocking CAMSFC.  Two of our kids went there, they liked it and did very well.  No complaints.  And I agree with Howard:

It's not just the results, it's the whole package.

[Howard]

According to the college website Marple college are the best performing college in Stockport so not sure why people feel the need for another 6th form.

It's not just about the results. There a whole raft of reasons which will lead to selection of a particular institute. I had one child go to CaMSFC where she did well enough to go to her chosen university. She selected it because it was very local and had the courses that she wanted. When my second child looked at the available sixth forms for his A Levels we looked at a much wider selection which were CaMSFC, Xaverian in Manchester, Poynton, Stockport and Aquinas.

We had to discount Marple immediately as it had no computing course which is what he wanted (along with maths, further maths and physics). We looked at all the others and Xaverian and Aquinas had by far the most engaged student population when we went to the open days. Both staff and students were ambassadors for their colleges and gave a good impression of life at the college, including the negatives as well as the positives. In the end of the selection we chose Aquinas. It was the closest college with the right courses, the right atmosphere and the best facilities.

It's not just the results, it's the whole package.