Welcome to our 2000/01 annual report on the web. While
you're here, I hope you'll also be able to take time to look at what
else we have on our website so that you can get a full appreciation
of Wakefield College.
Our website is constantly being developed and updated to make it more
accessible and informative for a greater number of people. In March
this year - with the help of ex-student Amy Garcia, presenter of ITV's
S Club TV - we launched a newly designed website,
http://nextstep.wakcoll.ac.uk,
which aims specifically to appeal to year 10 and 11 pupils. The site
has up-to-the-minute career information and educational advice designed
to guide potential students onto the next step to achieving their goals
and ambitions. Through this approach we are aiming to open up to young
people in the Wakefield District the wide range of opportunities that
we have on offer here at the College - very much in keeping with our
mission statement:
"At Wakefield College our mission is to provide the very best opportunities
for everyone to learn and succeed."
We take great pride in the comprehensive provision and the ladders of
opportunity that we offer. Students can progress from basic education
to degree level study with us, which means that we can effectively meet
the needs of people of all ages and all abilities within the Wakefield
District whilst also meeting the national agendas of widening participation,
lifelong learning and progressive achievement.
In the year covered by this report, the College saw the introduction
of Curriculum 2000, which aims to provide a sound basis for further
development of advanced studies at 16 - aims which we applaud. However,
its introduction has not been easy and has presented difficulties to
schools and colleges across the nation. Students found their workload,
which has increased by some 45% compared to a typical A level student
of previous years, increasingly difficult to cope with.
Some real gains from Curriculum 2000 are already in evidence. Our students
will testify to the increased choice and greater breadth of study that
is now available to them under Curriculum 2000. Over half our year one
AS students enrolled on 4 or more AS level courses with the newly introduced
AS Photography proving to be a real winner.
We have learned much from this first year and combined with the action
taken by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to address
the concerns of providers and students, we are confident that 2001/02
will prove to be a much smoother experience for staff and students alike.
This Annual Report highlights some of the many achievements and successes
of 2000/01. These achievements, often gained against a backdrop of change
and challenge, have required additional commitment from staff. I would
like to take this opportunity to convey my thanks to them and to the
students who have been with us through 2000/01, for another year spent
working together in the pursuit of excellence.
