Sixth-Form and Tutorial Colleges

Contents

Introduction
Courses Offered
The College Campus
Accommodation
University Foundation Courses

Introduction

As early as the 1930's independent colleges were set up to provide an alternative form of education for children preparing to sit important public examinations at the ages of 16 and 18. It was felt that some children would flourish better in a smaller, more informal atmosphere than that offered by traditional boarding schools. Such children would also benefit from courses designed solely to concentrate on those subjects to be taken at examination level. At the expense of losing a broader education and extra-curricular activities offered by boarding schools, certain children can obtain better results by attending such independent colleges. Sixth-form / tutorial colleges offer a more informal style of education, children are not required to wear uniform and have more independence in their living arrangements and social activities. However the colleges maintain close supervision on each child's work - as only examination courses are offered, there is a strong emphasis on achieving good results and any child not working to his/her full potential will not be allowed to continue at the college. Many sixth-form / tutorial colleges now admit a number of overseas students and most offer supportive English language tuition to assist students in their examination subjects.

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Courses Offered

Most sixth-form or tutorial colleges offer two-year preparation courses for the GCSE examinations and one or two year preparation courses for the "A/AS" level examinations. The choice of subjects varies according to the size of the college, and whilst this choice will not normally be as wide as that offered at most boarding schools, most colleges offer all the main humanities and science subjects. A small number of colleges specialise in only a few subjects e.g. maths and sciences.

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The College Campus

Most colleges do not have self-contained campuses like boarding schools, but usually occupy one or more buildings in cities or residential suburbs. Children travel daily on foot, by bus or by bicycle between college teaching premises and their accommodation.

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Accommodation

There are generally 3 types of accommodation and each college will usually offer just one type:

Residential - boarding houses: these are run very much along the lines of boarding school accommodation. Up to 40 or 60 children are accommodated in large houses each with resident houseparents (often called wardens). There is a curfew for the children according to their ages, and this must be strictly observed. The boarding houses usually have twin or single study bedrooms with communal bath/shower and toilet facilities, although some college boarding houses have washhandbasins in each bedroom. There is also a communal kitchen for snacks and common room for watching TV and entertaining visitors of the opposite sex. Meals are either taken in the boarding house or in the college dining room.

Residential - student houses: these are similar to boarding houses, but are usually much smaller, accommodating from 10 - 20 children, so the atmosphere is one of a large family home. Again strict curfews are enforced by the houseparents. Meals are usually taken in the student house, although sometimes only breakfast and dinner is provided during the week, where the college has a cafeteria where lunch can be purchased (at students' own costs).

Homestay: some colleges do not offer their own accommodation, but place students who are not residents of the town with local host families. Children normally have their own single study bedroom, although in some cases twin rooms may also be offered, and the child lives as member of the family, taking breakfast and evening meal at home during the week, and breakfast, lunch and evening meal at weekends. The family is responsible for ensuring that the child returns home at a reasonable hour in the evenings and will advise the college of any infringements of the college's recommended curfew.

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University Foundation Courses

University foundation courses are for overseas students who are at least 17 years old and have completed secondary education in their own country. These one-year courses are designed to ensure that students have the factual knowledge, study skills and a good enough command of the English language to enable them to embark on a full-time undergraduate course at a British or Irish university. The courses are offered at some independent sixth-form / tutorial colleges, some further education colleges, some universities and some reputable language schools.

British and Irish universities will not accept students under the age of 18, so foundation courses are ideal for students who complete their secondary education in their own country at the age of 17, and will therefore profit from a preparation year to perfect their English and acquire an introduction to the British or Irish system of study.

Subjects covered on university foundation courses vary according to the institution, and will also depend on the undergraduate course to be taken at university, but apart from English language tuition and study skills, in general subjects offered include Business Studies, Economics, Law, Mathematics, Science and Sociology. The foundation course usually consists of a number of modules, some of which are compulsory: English, study skills. In addition students choose from 2 to 6 modules (different subjects) to be studied over the year. Usually students are also required to complete some form of project in the course of the year, consisting of original research, generally on a topic relevant to their future undergraduate studies.

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