Top of the league

Wakefield College had proudly announced that it has emerged top of the A level league table of FE colleges in West Yorkshire. This news comes in the midst of a national campaign to draw attention to the funding gap between 16-18 year-old full-time learners in schools and those in Further Education (FE) colleges.

The College has improved its A level points score from last year, beating other similar colleges from across the region - Bradford College, Park Lane College, Dewsbury College, Leeds College of Technology, Huddersfield Technical College and also Doncaster College in South Yorkshire.

Tony Rex, Head of the Wakefield College’s Sixth Form Academy, who recently spoke out against the unfair way the national A level league tables are compiled, today said how pleased he was with this recent confirmation of the College’s continuing success and high levels of achievement.

Liz Hurst, the College’s Finance Director, said the College’s brilliant results across the board were achieved with the help of superb facilities for the study of vocational courses – motor vehicle workshops, hair and beauty salons, training kitchens and restaurant, up-to-the-minute IT equipment – far better than those in most schools.

“But these facilities are very expensive to maintain and the funding for FE colleges means that we get less per student than schools do. It is not enough. It makes it difficult for the College to maintain the quality of facilities and support that we want for our students, so that they can continue to achieve at these high levels.”

Two thirds of all young learners – over 700,000 people - study in Further Education colleges. Closing the funding gap between school sixth forms and colleges is a long-standing issue for the FE sector. With schools receiving in the region of 10% more per student to teach the same courses, colleges are potentially missing out on an average of £500,000 each year.

ENDS