16 - 19 EDUCATIONAL PROVISION IN THE CITY OF NOTTINGHAM

by

JOY TAL HOLE

A Master's Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requ1rements for the award of the degree of H.A. 1n EDUCATION STUDIES of the Loughborough University of Technology, January 1982.

Supervisor: Professor L. H. Cantor, H.A. c by JOY TAL HOLE 1982 16 - 19 EDUCATIONAL PROVISION IN THE CITY OF NOTTINGHAM

by

JOY TAL HOLE

This work looks at the educat~onal provision ~or one particular age group, the 16 - 19 year olds, in one city, Nottingham. It exam~nes the background (since the 1944 Education Act) wh~ch led up to the present provis~on o~ three sixth ~orm colleges, one s~xth ~orm

~n an 11 - 18 comprehens~ve school, and s~x colleges o~ further educat~on. It deals only w~th the ma~ntained sector o~ 16 - 19 education and, in the case of ~urther education, w~th the non-advanced sector only.

The various institutions catering for th~s age group are examined, and an attempt made to determine how the individual establishments recruit their students, how they treat them once they have enrolled by providing such things as pastoral care ~nvolving counsell~ng, careers guidance, etc., how much responsibil~ty the students are allowed, and what courses are available to them. An attempt ~s made to examine the courses prov~- ded at the dif~erent inst~tut~ons in .order to see ~f any rational~sation takes place within the city. Course prov~- . s~on w~th~n the ~urther education sector is, of course, not only ~ull-time, as in the s~xth ~orms, but may also be by various part-time modes, and this also is examined but in lesser deta~l. The part taken by the Manpower

Serv~ces Co~nission in recent years w~th~n the FE sector 2

is considered of' l.mportance, and some exam1nat1.on 1s made oC this,

Finally, an attempt is made to assess what Cuture

developments in this area m1ght be w1thin the c1ty oC

Nottingham, and what tl1e attitudes oC the various pr1ncipals oC 1ts 16 - 19 inst1tutions would be to a

tert1ary system of educat1on Cor th1s age group, CONTENTS

Page ACKNO\VLEDGEHENTS

INTRODUCTION 1 PART I

THE BACKGROUND (from 1944 until 1973)

Further Education

Secondary School Sixth Form Provision 19

PART II

THE PRESENT (from 1973 to date) 39

Sixth Forms 42

Further Education Colleges 73

Possible Future Develop- ments 1.21 CONCLUSION 129

BIBLIOGRAPHY 132 ACKNO\{LEDGEHENTS

I would like to express my s1.ncere thanks to the many people who have given me thel.r time and assistance in

order to allOl< me to write thl.s work. W:~.thout their knowledge and help it could not have been done. These include: Hr. A. J. Sweetland, Sen1.or Ass1.stant Director for Further and H1.gher Education, Nottinghamshire

County Council; Hr. R. l{oodward, former Act1.ng Deputy

Director of Education (Further Educatl.on), Nottinghamshl.re

County Council; ~~. R. A1nscough and}~. J. Stannard of the Regional Advisory Council for the Organisation of

Further Education in the East Ml.dlands; Mr. J. E. Hotchin,

Divl.sl.onal Careers Offl.cer, Nott1.nghamsh1.re County Council;

Mr. c. G. Hartin, Principal, B1lborough College; }~. K. G.

Buxton, Principal, Forest Fields College; Mr. P. J.

Banlthead, Pr1.ncipal., High Pavement College; Mr. M. Cl.ark,

Head Teacher, Fairham Comprehensive School.; Mr. T. Hanl.ey,

Principal., Arnold and Carl.ton Col.l.ege of FE; ~~. J. C.

Wil.kins, Prl.ncipal., Basford Hal.l. Co11ege of FE; Mr. A.

Ridings, former Principal., Beeston Col.l.ege o£ FE; Mr.

K. W. Lokes and Hr. J. J. Evans, Pr1.ncipal. and Vice

Principal, Clarendon Col.l.ege of FE; Mr. H. Humphreys,

Principal., Peopl.e 1 s College of FE; Hr. A. Purdy, Principal.,

West Bridgford Coll.ege o£ FE; Mr. D. o. Turner, Chief

Administrative Officer, Cl.arendon College of FE; Hrs.

H. Gascoyne, Librarian, Cl.arendon Col.lege of FE; Hrs.

A. Bourke, Student Counsell.or, Clarendon Col.l.ege o£ FE; as well as numerous others who contr1buted in so many ways, including the sta11s o1 the Nottingham Local

Studies Library and the Nottingham Education Library.

Above all, I would like to thank my supervisor,

Pro1essor L. H. Cantor, 1or the 1nvaluable ass1stance and support he has given me throughout this period. 16 - 19 EDUCATIONAL PROVISION IN THE CITY OF NOTTINGHAM

INTRODUCTION

The prospect of rapidly fall1ng rolls within the 16 to

19 age sector in educat1on has made the question of prov1s1on for this age group a major educational issue

1n recent years, and educat1onal prov1s1on for them has been the concern of success1ve governments. Dur1ng 1979 the government previously 1n off1ce publ1shed 11 16 - 18:

Educat1on and Tra1n1ng for 16 - 18 Year Olds 11 , "A Better

Start 1n \vork1ng L1fe 11 and 11 Prov1d1ng Educat1onal Oppor- tun1t1es for 16 - 18 Year Olds 11 • The present government began its term of office by committing 1tself to review the relat1onship between schools, further education and training; the result was the Macfarlane Report. Th1s report ant1c1pated that this age group would reach its peak and then decline nationally by about a quarter by

1993.(l) In Nottingham this figure is likely to be even (2) h1gher - around one tlurd - and th1s seems an appropr1ate t1me to rev1ew the provision made for this sector by the c1ty of Nottingham.

(1) Educat1on for 16 - 19 Year Olds (the Macfarlane Report) (196o). DES.

(2) Nottinghamshire County Counc1l (19bO). Work1ng Party Report on Educational Prov1slion for the 16 - 19 Age Group. Append1ces 5 and 6. 2

It 1s intended ~1th1n th1s "ork to exam1ne the back­ ground leading up to the present 16 - 19 educat1onal prov1s1on w1thin the c1ty (now the conurbat1on) of"

Nottingham, examine the structure of" the education no;~ provided, and attempt to assess what the outlook f"or tl1e f"uture w1ll be. It 1s proposed to deal only ~1th prov1s1on w1th1n the mainta1ned sector, cover111g only non-advanced f"urther educat1on in the FE sector, and not to 1nclude the ~ork of" Trent Polytechn1c, whose provis1on 1n th1s area 1s very m1n1mal with the major1ty of" courses being 1n the more advanced areas.

The term 11 16 - 19 11 1s 1ntended to cover all students at the c1ty's s1xth Corm colleges and 1n the s1xth Corm of" the one 11 18 city comprehens1ve school, as well as all students within the f"urther educat1on sector who are aged f"rom 16 to 19 at the start of" the academ1c year 1n question. PART I

THE BACKGROUND (from 1944 unt1l 1973)

Further Educat1on

The 1944 Educat1on Act was brought about partly as a result of the demands engendered by the Second World

War and an intelligent forecast by the government of the k1nds of demands l1kely to be made "hen 1t was over, and partly as a result of a gradual internal develop­ ment by British education 1tself. The Act itself had been 1nfluenced by the Hadow Report of 1926, the Spens

Report of 1936, the 1943 Norwood Report, and further reports of 1944 - the Flern1ng and McNair Reports.

The 1944 Act was the most comprehensive of all such acts in this country. The outstanding feature of the Act was probably that all children aged bet\;een, ll and 12 years of age were to pass on to some form of secondary education, w1th the term "elementary" d1sappearing, to be replaced by

11 primary11 and "secondary". Local author1ties were allowed a certa1n amount of discretion as to how they would carry out this prov1sion. The school-leav1ng age was to be raised to 15, and th1s became effective in 1947; 1t was to be ra1sed to 16 when practicable (although this d1d not happen until 1973), and fees were to be abolished in all ma1ntained schools. For children who left school at 15 there was to be free, compulsory part-time education 1n county colleges for the equ1valent of one day a week during work1ng hours, although th1s measure - f1rst advocated by H. A. L, F1sher 1n 1918 - was not able to be enforced as 1t required careful plann1ng, new build1ng accommoda­ t1on, and an increased supply of teachers.(!)

At the time of the 1944 Act Nottingham was a thr1ving commun1ty of some 290,000 1nhab1tants.(2 ) There were

35,257 children on roll in public elementary and special schools in the c1ty, with a further 165 evacuees. Apart from the elementary schools there were three secondary schools w1thin the city boundar1es - High Pavement, Mann1ng and Mundella,(3) In the f1eld of further education

Nottingham boasted the Nottingham and District Technical

College, wh1ch was established 1n 1945, the College of

Art and Des1gn, the Nursery Nurses' College, and 17

Evening Institutes, which included the Senior Inst1tutes of People's and Clare~don.

Under the new Act People's Junior Technical School for the Building Industry was to be classified as a Secondary 4 (Technical) School and Senior Eve~ing Institute.< > The Nottingham Even1ng Inst1tutes had 7,874 students reg1stered during the academic year 1955/45, an increase of 10% over

(1) Jarman, T. L. (1963). Landmarl

(3) C1ty of Nott1ngham Education Committee (1944). Annual Report - 31st Narch, 1944.

(4) City of Nott1ngham Education Committee (1945). Annual Report - 31st Narch, 1945. 5 the prev1ous year, and enrolments at tl1e Tecl1n1cal and

Art Colleges 1ncreased by more than one tl1~rd over the year before. ~ott1ngham was aware thdt tl1e demand for further educat1on was on the 1ncrease, and dur1ng 1945 the f1rst Further Educat1on Sub-Committee was formed.

Coming also under the aegis of further educat1on was the

Boots 1 College, ,,hich was a progressive day continua t1on school started by Jesse Boot, the founder of Boots the

Chemists, to enable h1s young employees to cont1nue their general educat1on. This school was funded and staffed by the Nottingham Educat~on Comm1ttee, but the prem~ses and equ1pment l

Outs1de the secondary schools full-time educat~on beyond the age of 14 1n the city was negligible - a mere 15 students of under 18 attended the Technical College, around 90 at the College of Arts and Crafts, and only minimal numbers at the Senior Inst~tutes, which catered mainly for part-time day and even1ng students. The part­ tlme day provision was greater "~th some 411 students at the Technical College, 153 at the Arts College, 524 at

People's, 233 at Clarendon, and around 914 of the1r m;n students at Boots' College. Even1ng Inst1tutes catered for around 3,000 students under the age of 18 w.a1nly on vocat~onal courses. 6

The Nottinghnm L.E.A. had great plans for further educa- t~on ~n the city. Shortly after the passing of the 1944

Act, the then C~ty of Nottingham Educat~on Comm~ttee drew up proposals for their scheme for further educat~on and plans for county colleges, ~n accordance w~th Sect~ons

42 and 43 of the Act, which were passed by the Comm~ttee and presented to the Nin~ster of Education in 1948. The

Sen~or Institutes were to be des~gnated Colleges of Further

Education, and expanded. Provis~on was made for a further f~ve colleges, although ~t was stated that there was l~ttle l~kel~hood of the necessary bu~lding pr~or~ty being available \dthin the f~ve years st~pulated by the Act.

Because of this there were no specific proposals made for the closing of the existing evening ~nstitutes.

It was proposed that each college would provide county

college facil~ties for around 2 1 400 students- 480 on each day of a f~ve day week, and would also include even~ng vocat~onal train~ng for students over lb, part~cularly for students under the age of 18, w~th evening recrea- (1) t~onal fac~l~t~es being ava~lable for all young people.

Other proposals included the establishment of a residential college of further education outside the city to provide fac~lit~es for the training of such people as teachers and youth leaders, and that the Technical College and College of Art should prov~de advanced courses on a reg~onal basis, and not normally provide for part-t~me students of county college age. It was the aim of the Educat~on Com.:nittee that the county colleges should provide general educat~on,

(1) C~ty of Nottingham Education Com,:nttee (1948). Scheme of FE and Plan for County Colleges. 7 including physical education and educat1on for citizen- sh1p.

It is regrettable that county colleges never came 1nto existence under the terms of the 1944 Act, Due to the economic cond1t1ons preva1l1ng at that t1me it was to be left to the 1nd1v1dual L,E,A.s to prov1de for this age group as best they could, with no leg1slation being

1ntroduced to enforce the prov1sion, so once aga1n very few of this age group were being catered for (except 1n the secondary grammar and 1ndependent schools in the c1ty).

In 1947 the 15 - 18 year old population of the city was

12,589, ,;ith some 10,413 of th1s number being involved 1n some form of education or youth movement, although 1t 1s likely that some double counting occurred and that the real figure was less than 9,000. The following table illustrates how few full-time students of this age group were actually

1n the Nottingham colleges at this t1me.

CITY OF NOTTINGHAM - STUDENTS ATTENDING INSTITUTES OF FURTHER EDUCATION IN THE YEAR 1947/4&

F/T PTD EVE Nottingham College of Arts and Crafts 90 153 175 Nottingham & D1strict Technical College 15 411 577

Nursery Train1ng Centre

People's College Senior Teclmical Institute 524 666

Clarendon Senior Institute 233 272

Boots' College 914

Junior (Even1ng) Institutes 2769

(C1ty of Nottingham - Scheme of FE and Plan for County Colleges, p. 78). 8

It must be noted that these f'~gures show only students under the age of' ll.l; there ~s no breal

In comparison to the Nottingham figures, national figures show that in the year ending July 1947 there were 45,000 full-time students (including sandwich students), 196,000 part-t~me day students, and 527,000 evening students, w~th . . t t t ( l ) aroun d 8 2 7 , 000 s t u d ent s a t t en d ~ng even~ng ~ns ~ u es.

The 1944 Act was rather ~mprecise as far as further educa- tion was concerned, and detailed no regional or national plann~ng; with the lack o£ money available at both central and local government level, it is hardly surpr~sing that few maJor establishments were set up, and that further education in Nottingham - as in other parts of' the country - developed in a rather haphazard manner. Although great ideas had been envisaged ~n the Nottingham Scheme of' FE and Plan for County Colleges, which had been presented to the Hinister in 1948, Nottingham was attempting to recover from the effects of the war and build up her school side of educat~on, so there was little f~nance available for the proposed expans~on in further education. Following the Percy Report in 1947 the National Advisory Council on

Education for Industry and Commerce (NACEIC) was set up, and by 1948 Regional Adv~sory Counc~ls with appropriate

Regional Academic Boards, had been established to bring together educat~on andindustry ~n order to advise on the suitable prov~sion of courses for young workers, and to

(1) Cantor, L. H. and Roberts, I. F. (1969). Further Educat~on in England and Wales. London: RKP, p.l. 9

(1) ensure that th1s ~as done ~1th reasonable economy.

By 1956 e1ght National Colleges had been establ1shed 1n

England and Wales to meet spec1fically the needs of certa1n specialised 1ndustries.

Three main types of technical colleges began to evolve dur1ng the decade between 19~6 and 1956 - Regional Colleges,

Area Colleges and Local Colleges. By 1956 22 well- establ1shed institutions in and around the large cities in the country had been re-designated as Regional Colleges, offer1ng a variety of courses, offering ma1nly full-time and sandw1ch courses at a high level, including those of f1rst degree and post-graduate standard.( 2 ) But 1t was not unt1l 1963 that the Nott1ngham and D1str1ct Techn1cal

College became the Nottingham Regional College of Technology, some five years after having moved into 1ts new build1ngs in Burton Street. It kept this nomenclature until 1970 when it jo1ned w1th the College of Art to become Trent

Polytechn1c, later - with the amalgamation of the C1ty and

County Authorities - taking in the Nottingham College of Education in 1975, and becom1ng one of the largest polytech- nics 1n the country.

This period in the city of Nottingham saw no great building work 1n the field of further educat1on, but 195~ salv the opening of Beeston College of Further Education by the

County of Nottinghamsh1re, and this college is now part of

(1) Cantor, L. M. and Roberts, I. F. (1969). Further Education 1n England and ll'ales. London: RICP, p. ~.

(2) Ibid. 10

the city conurbation o1 colleges, Some gestures were

made 1n the direct1on of further educat1on 1 as the L.E,A, found that the existing colleges could not cope w1th the

demand for places, and new premises were provided at

Canaan Street 1or People's Colleges, these be1ng off1c1ally

opened by the Sheriff of Nottingham 1n January 1951, and the o111c1al open1ng of the extension to the Arts College took place 1n October of the same year. In 1955 approval was finally g1ven to one o1 the approved new colleges of further education sho,,-n on the 19lfb plan - wh1ch would be the Central College o1 Further Education (to be used by

People's College), and in the following year plans were approved for yet another - to be situated o1f Mansfield

Road and occupied by Clarendon College o1 Further Education.

Further educat1on in the city was finally being allocated a portion o1 the educational budget,

The publication of the government White Paper on Techn1cal

Educat1on (Command 9703) in 1956, made a great impact on the education of the 16 - 18 year old age group in further educat1on, making people aware that Great Brita1n 1 s posit1on as a leading industrial nat1onal ,,·as being endangered by her 1ailure to suff1ciently apply science to industry, It proposed that boys and girls should be g1ven the opportun1- ties to partal

As far as Nottingham was concerned, the Techn1cal College was one of the 2lf specified by the White Paper as requiring to of1load 1ts lower level work on to the colleges of 11 further educat1on, and concentrate on more advanced work.

This fact encouraged ti1e approval already ment1oned of a new build1ng for People's College, as Mell as one for

Clarendon College on its exist1ng s1te, as ti1e LEA real1sed that unless more accommodat1on were prov1ded the ex1st1ng colleges would not be able to cope w1th the extra "ork. The emphasis throughout the Further Educat1on

Sub-Comm1ttee Reports of th1s era was on the large numbers of students of this age and the 1nsuff1c1ent accommodat1on ava1lable for them. They could certa1nly not cope w1th any more courses - and therefore students. It was JUst after th1s, 1n 1958, that the new bu1ld1ng for the

Techn1cal College was opened. Nott1ngham now seemed set for great expansion 1n the field of further educat1on.

It must not be forgotten that at th1s t1me the Evening

Institutes were continu1ng to play their part in provid­ ing educat1on for the older teenager, as well as other age group,. In the academic year 1957/58 the Nott1ngham

Evening Institutes provided classes for 2,9q7 students under the age of 21, w1th the lesser f1gure of 2,131 for the students over this age.

Day release of apprentices has always played a large part

1n Nott1ngham. It has been a c1ty that until recent years had always had high unemployment, w1th the build1ng and all1ed trades always prov1d1ng a very high proport1on of all the apprent1ces bet\'oeen tl1e ages of 15 and lb years.

Nottingham's record throughout the years ot: young people in full t1me educat1on when past the compulsory school­ leav1ng age has not shown up too well "hen compared w1th 12

other parts of' the United Kl.ngdom, but this has always

been because there was no lack of Jobs l.n Nottl.ngham

for the young school leavcr, thus provl.dl.ng hl.m or her

Wl.th the temptation to leave school at the earll.est

possl.ble age. Although there are no percentage f1gures

aVal.lable for this perl.od, whereas later f1gures for the

nl.neteen-seventl.es are aval.lable, thl.s appears to be an

underlying assumption in many of the papers and in many

of' the conversations wl.th people who were l.n further

educatl.on at that time. The Nottl.ngham Educatl.on Committee

point out that with the increase l.n accommodatl.on for

People's College l.n 195b, the day release of apprentices

l.ncreased rapl.dly, and the workshops and preml.ses were filled to capacity almost from the moment of openl.ng.(l)

It would appear that the slo" grm

the city greatly hampered the growth of day release,

although Nottingham's day release system has much for

whl.ch to thank the publl.catl.ons of this era - The White

Paper on Technical EdJcation and the Carr and Crowther

Reports of this time. It was the Crowther Report which

led dl.rectly to the government's White Paper on "Better

Opportunities l.n Technical Education" in 1961, which

recommended the_settl.ng up of courses for the tral.ning

of junior technicl.ans, craftsmen and operatl.ves.

In 1960 the Nottingham Education Committee proudly announ-

ced that the new Clarendon College preml.ses ,.,ere completed

(1) Cl.ty of Nottingham Educatl.on Committee (195b). Annual Report - 31st March, l95b. 13

and taken over, so that Clarendon and People's ~ould now take over some 8,000 full-t1me and part-t1me students

1n classes rang1ng generally up to ONC level and beyond, w1th more advanced work be1ng done at the Technical College.

But it was stressed that even this prov1s1on - for some

40% of the age group - would be l1kely to prove 1nadequate

1n the years ahead. It was also emphasised that Nott1ngham 1 s future prosperity lay 1n the fullest development of the ab1l1t1es and aptitudes of her young people, and called repeatedly for greater lia1son between Nottingham's schools and colleges of further education.

It 1s difficult to see how any further recruitment to further educat1on could have been carr1ed out at that t1me.

The problems of overcrowd1ng 1n the colleges recurred despite the extra bu1ldings and showed that the demand for further educat1on in the city was not be1ng fulf1lled.

Hm;ever, at that t1me - 1961 Nottingham was able to announce that the city had the highest amount of day rel­ ease, in proport1on to its s1ze, 1n the whole of the country, wh1ch appeared to show that although 1nsuffic1ent young people appeared to stay in full-time education after the compulsory leaving age, a large proportion of these young people did rece1ve some form of tra1n1ng. Around this t1me - 1n September 1960 - a further college of further educat1on was opened by the County of Nottingham

(Arnold and Carlton College of Further Educat1on) and this is now part of the Nottingham conurbat1on of colleges.

It was 1n 1961 that the Nottingham Educat1on Comm1ttee announced the steady development of trends within tl•e c1ty 14

ror more and more pupils to stay at school beyond the m1nimum leav1ng age, and they re1terated the statement made by Crowther that ''Further Educat1on is the next great battlef'1eld in Engl1sh Education", announc1ng maJor exten- s1ons planned f'or the Techn1cal College, yet f'urther accommodat1on ror People's College, the plann1ng or a new

College of' Arts and Crafts, and 1nitial steps be1ng taken for a new college of' f'urther education. They bel1eved that the ruture role of' the Evening Institutes (5059 on roll in 1961) would be more in the f'1eld or recreational, soc1al and cultural act1v1t1es, rather than in the f'1eld of general educat1on.

The picture of' expans1on in f'urther education was presented

regularly by the Nott1ngham Education Comm1ttee 1 part1cularly

1n the sphere or vocational educat1on 1 but they stressed always that the ex1sting build1ngs were stretched to the1r l1mits, and stated: 11 All colleges in Nottingham have some- th1ng 1n common - as soon as they are built they are filled (1) to overf'low1ng 11 • Mention is made of' the Robb1ns Report of 1963 which, being concerned ~1th higher education, made recommendations concerning advanced f'urther educat1on, and the Report or the Henn1ker-Heaton Comm1ttee which sought the doubling of day release for young workers, ~1th 1970 as the target date. Nottingham conr1rmed that there was to be much expans1on in the city by way of' extens1ons to ex1sting buildings, also 1t began rat1onal1sat1on of' some of' the courses of'f'ered 1n the c1ty, 1ncluding 1n its plans the new

(1) C1ty of' Nott1ngham Euucat1on Comm1ttee (1962). Annual Report - 31st March, 1962. 15

college which was to be opened at BasforJ, Nott1ngham,

although Dasford Hall J1d not open off1c1ally unt1l

September 1969, M1th the proposed 3,000 students on roll.

At this time ~ork was also progres~ing on West Br1dgford

College of Further Educat1on 1 be1ng bu1lt by the

Nott1nghamshire LEA. Th1s was opened off1c1ally 1n

September 1970, and 1s now part of the Nottingham conurba-

t1on. Regrettably, like the lack of legislat1on regard1ng

the establ1shment of county colleges, such reports as

Henn1ker-Heaton concentrated only on the techn1cal educa-

t1on of the more able ch1ldren 1 and thus the general

educat1on of the maJor1ty of school leavers was largely

ignored and left entirely to the 1ndividual efforts of the

local educat1on authorit1es.

In one area of vocat1onal training central government took

a hand, by pass1ng the Industr1al Tra1ning Act in 1964, which empowered the M1nister to set up Industrial Tra1n1ng

Boards to be responsible for ensuring that the training

provided was adequate to meet the needs of the relevant

industries. It recognised that the voluntary efforts of

1ndustry were not suff1c1ent to ensure adequate industrial

tra1n1ng. In December 1969 the Haslegrave Committee publ1-

shed 1ts report recommend1ng the 1ntroauct1on of a new

pattern of technic1an courses, and the establ1shment of

the Technic1an Education Counc1l and the Bus1ness Educat1on

Counc1l to plan and adm1n1ster them, wlale 1n 1972 two

further documents of importance - Training for the Future,

issued by the Department of Employment and deal1ng w1th

industr1al training, and the James Committee Report on

' Teacher Education and Tra1ning, were published. All these 16 have had a great 1mpact on further educat1on as 1t is today.

By 1974 and the t1me of reorganisat1on of local government, and hence educat1on, the c1ty of Nottingham was st1ll expanding 1n the area o£ further educat1on. Although

Nottingham was predom1nantly a •ork1ng class c1ty, affected by the cont1nued m1gration of the more able families 1nto ti>e adjo1ning dorm1tory areas, nevertheless about lOH of its population stayed on to enter full-time higher educa- tion at the age of 1~-plus (by 1971), about 4oH of 1ts young 16 - 19 year olds attended either full-t1me or part- t1me courses 1n grammar schools or 1n colleges of further

/ education, and approx1mately 45% of Nott1ngham pupils stayed on at school until the age of 16.(!) By 1972 the numbers of students w1thin the area of further education had r1sen to more than 20,000, although, as can be seen from the following table, only 1,2b2 of these were full-t1me students.

CITY'OF NOTTINGHAM FE ENROLNENTS FOR 1972/73:

F/T BR PTD EVE TOTAL

Basford Hall College 430 538 2013 1979 4960 Clarendon College 595 134 1664 3189 5582 People's College 257 601 2007 902 3767 Waverley College (Nursery Nurses) 50 366 58 474

1282 1323 6050 6!28

Adult Education Classes - 4200 Communal Centres and Women's Classes - 1900

Youth Service - 13764 (Nottingham Educat1on Comm1ttee - Annual Report 1973).

(I) City of Nott1ngham Educat1on Committee (1971). Annual Report - 31st March, 1971. 17

Although 1t would appear that even by 1973 only a relat1v­ ely small proport1on of Nottingham's 16 - 19 year olds

attended full-t1me courses, the p1cture changes in the f1eld of part-time educat1on, br1ng1ng the percentage in full and part-t1me educat1on to 4or,.

It 1s interest1ng to note that whereas the nat1onal f1gures for th1s age group grew from 45,000 students 1n full-t1me educat1on 1n 1947/4U to 135,000 students 1n

1973/74, the Nottingham f1gures increased from 139 of this age group in 1947/48 to 1,282 1n the year 1972/73.

The national figures had, therefore, trebled, but the

Nottingham f1gures had 1ncreased n1ne-fold in this period.

By the start of the seventies courses at Nottingham colleges had expanded greatly. The Nottingham Regional

College of Technology had moved 1nto the more advanced range of courses preparatory to becom1ng Trent Polytechnic, and these included Un1vers1ty of London external degrees,

CNAA, HND and HNC courses, and courses leading to final professional examinat1ons, as well as the final examinat1ons of the C1ty and Guilds of London Inst1tute. The College of Art and Design covered the pr1ncipal Art and Fashion d1plomas, providing courses leading to examinations of the

C1ty and Guilds of London Institute, the Institute of

Brit1sh Decorators, the Inst1tute of Photographers, the

Associat1on of Reta1l Furnishers, Town Plann1ng d1plomas and certificates, as well as their own college d1plomas in such areas as Fashion Design, Text1le Des1gn, Theatre

Design, Graphic Design and Interior Design, and a post d1ploma spec1alist course in Costume Design. 18

Down the scale, People's College was prov1d1ng GCE courses

at both 11 0 11 and 11 A11 level, together with ONC courses and

courses lead1ng to the examinat1ons of the C1ty and Guilds of London Inst1tute and the local East Midlands Educational

Union (E}ffiU). Clarendon College covered a similar range,

also prov1ding GCE "0" and "A" level courses, ONC and OND, and those leading to the exam1nations of the Royal Society of Arts and other such bod1es. The Nursery Nurses' College worked towards the examination of the Nurses' Exam1nation

Board, and the new Basford Hall College offered 11 0 11 level

English, courses leading to the Cert1f1cate 1n Office

Studies, RSA exam1nations, and the Chemical Plant Operation

City and Guilds Ordinary level certificate.(!)

It was noted at the time that there was a great increase

1n demand for further education 1n Nottingham - not so much in eng1neering and the applied sc1ences, but in the fields of business studies and the social sciences. Th1s was the area in which Nottingham w1shed to expand, because-. of popular demand, and this was a1ded by the opening of

Basford Hall College and the enlargement of Clarendon.

Nothing more was to be done until reorgan1sat1on, when the

City and County Education Comm1ttees came together and organised the ex1sting city and county colleges in the city area to form the 11 city conurbation" of colleges which, together w1th the c1ty 1 s s1xth form colleges and the one city 11 - 18 comprehensive school, provided all the main- ta1ned educat1on for the 16 - 19 year age group of the c1ty of Nottingham.

C1ty of Nottingham Education Comm1ttee (1968). Annual Report - 31st March, 1968. 19

Secondary Schoo1 Sixth Form ProvJ.sion

WJ.th the ama1gamation of tl1e two CommJ.ttees, NottJ.ngham

schoo1s became even more :~.nvo1ved in the educatJ.on of the

16 - 19 year o1d age group.

At the time of the 1944 EducatJ.on Act NottJ.ngham Education

Comnll.ttee "·as responsib1c for four secondary schoo1s the }~nnJ.ng Schoo1 (for gir1s), Hl.gh Pavement Schoo1 (for boys), Nunde11a Schoo1 (mixed), which were a11 grammar

schoo1s, and the Boots' Co11ege, which was a day continua- tJ.on schoo1. In Ju1y 1946 the Education Comm:Lttee submJ.tted a p1an for prl.mary and secondary educatJ.on to the CJ.ty

Counci1, which was subseyuent1y forwarded to the Hinistry

of Education for consJ.deratJ.on. Thl.s dea1t w:~.th the long term policy planned for the CJ.ty - some 49 ne>< nursery schools, 29 ne>< primary schoo1s, >< secondary

schools being p1anned, and extensJ.ons and l.mprovements to

existJ.ng schools.(l) By 1947 the Committee was to report • that the reductJ.on in c1ass sl.ze had not come about, nor had the resumption of the schoo1 buJ.1ding programme, which needed to be carried out J.n order to J.mp1ement the provi-

sions of the •44 Act. Even more difficu1ties had arisen

l.n accommodating the extra pupi1s caused by the raJ.sing to 15 of the school 1eaving age in that year, but by 1950 things were on the uptake and the Nottingham buJ.ldJ.ng programme was in fu11 sw1ng as far as the schoo1s were concerned.

(1) City of Nottingham Educ~tJ.on CommJ.ttee (1946). Annua1 Report - 31st Narch, 1946. 20

Nottingham had more or less followed the pattern of the

1944 Act as far as secondary prov1s1on was concerned, and by 1954 there was a steady development 1n these schools.

At tl•e end of this academ1c year the Author1ty was able to state that dur1ng the 10 years since the 1 44 Act they had made great efforts to ra1se the standards provided

1n the new secondary schools w1thout lowering the stan- dards of educat1on prov1ded in the old secondary (grammar) schools.(!) Hany difficulties were encountered by the

Authority at this stage, which were obviously reflected

1n other parts of the country - the acute shortage of teachers and the curtailment of teacher tra1ning activ1- ties, the increase in the b1rth rate and the moving of fam1l1es to housing estates on the outskirts of the c1ty.

The Author1ty admitted that 1ts grammar schools had chan- ged greatly following the national pattern of no fee payers being adm1tted, but requir1ng all entrants to have reached a certain standard in the selection exam1nations.

Some able children were being taken out of the maintained system, with fees be1ng pa1d by the Author1ty for some particularly able children to attend the Nottingham Boys'

High School, the Nottingham Girls' H1gh School, and the

Beckett Catholic Boys' School.

In 1955 a new co-educat1onal grammar school, Forest F1elds, moved into the premises occupied by High Pavement Grammar

School, l

(1) City of Nottingham Educat1on Committee (1954). Annual Report - 31st }mrch, 1954. 21

Bestwood. By 1956 Nottingham had expanded 1ts number of

secondary schools to 34, not includ1ng the grammar schools.

September of the follow1ng year - 1957 - was to see a

change 1n Nottingham's plans for its secondary education, with the opening of bilateral schools within the city, which were to prov1de f1ve year courses leading to the

General Cert1ficate of Education for some 30% of children

entering secondary school, This was a definite step

forward in the quality of educat1on provided by the c1ty,

as prev1ous to th1s prov1sion for such courses allowed

for only 11% of the relevant population. At this time

ment1on was made of the grow1ng co-operat1on between

grammar and secondary school heads regarding the ease of

transfer to the s1xth forms of the c1ty grammar schools,(l)

In another part of the city - Cl1fton, plans were be1ng

made for a comprehensive school for boys to be set up.

This was the first comprehensive school in the city and was to be tr1ed as an exper1ment, In September 1957 th1s

school opened - the Fa1rham Comprehensive School for Boys,

which was to provide academic and technical educat1on for

all those boys within the 11 - 18 age group who lived south

of the River Trent but within the city boundaries, Early the following year, in the same area of the c1ty, the

Cl1fton Hall Girls' Grammar School opened its doors to

its first pupils - the able girls of this area, Thus one

part of the city was to be well equipped with secondary

schools for this age group, the only people los1ng out

(1) C1ty of Nottingham Education Comm1ttee (1958). Annual Report - 31st March, 1968. 22 be1ng the rather less able girls. The open1ng o£ the

Cl1£ton Hall Girls' Grammar School now brought the number of the grammar schools with1n the c1ty to s1x 1 at wh1ch number it stayed until reorgan1sat1on took place.

The 1960s appeared to be rather a fallow per1od in

Nott1ngham as far as development in secondary educat1on was concerned. The Education Committee believed that the b1laterals had extended the range of opportunities avail- able to school children, with children being allo\;ed to follm~ 11 0 11 level courses 1n selected streams, and those of an appropr:~.ate standard were able to transfer to grammar s1xths in order to follow 11 A11 level courses. They con- sidered this to be an 1deal system and tended to s1t back on the1r laurels bel1eving that the b1laterals solved all their problems, not least of >

At this time Nottingham had a total of 20,300 pupils in the c1ty secondary schools and a teaching staff of 1,179 full-t1me and part-time teachers. There were six county grammar schools - three m1xed, one for boys only and two for girls only, and a voluntary a1ded Roman Catholic grammar school for girls. The Committee prov1ded places for able

Roman Catholic boys at the independent Beckett School, as well as several places at the direct grant Nottingham High

School for G1rls, and the independent Nott1ngham H1gh School

(1) Jackson, W. G. (1966). Education in the City­ Nottingham and its Region. Br1t1sh Assoc1at1on for the Advancement of Science. p. 430. 23

for Boys. The Cl~fton Estate, w~th ~ts populat~on of

30,000 on the other s~de of the R~ver Trent, was well prov~ded for by Fairham Comprehens~ve School for Boys.

The city also had 18 bilateral schools, some m~xed and some single sex, ~ncluding two voluntary a~ded Roman

Cathol~c schools. There were 13 secondary modern schools, but three of these were to be closed when a new 1200 pupil bilateral school opened, together w~th a third voluntary a~ded Roman Catholic secondary school. In September 1967 the Nott~ngham Bluecoat School became a voluntary aided

Church of England Grammar School, and moved to new prem-

ises ~n Aspley Lane.

By 1965 some fourteen city secondary schools, both modern

and bilateral, l

tion to metalwork and woodwork as a foundation on wh~ch vocational courses of further education could later be

based. Mr. W, G. Jackson, the city's former Director of

Education, stated that the majority of the city secondary

schools were very active in the fields of mus~c and drama,

as well as in sport and physical education, while languages were flour~sh~ng with the installation of language labora-

tories in two of the grammar schools. At this t~me the new Cert~f~cate of Secondary Education exam~nations replaced

all f~fth year exam~nat~ons other than the GCE.{l)

{1) Jackson, W, G, {1966). Educat~on ~n the City­ Nott~ngham and its Region. Br1t1sh Assoc1at1on for the Advancement of Sc~ence, p. 432. It was at this time, in 1965, that the first mention of

prov1s1on, other than academ1c, for the s1xth form pupils

of the c1ty was made, when it was reported that with

extens1ons be1ng made to sixth form accommodation at one

of the city's mixed grammar schools, prov1sion was to be made for conunon rooms, 1ndividual study, and a more adult approach generally towards th e o 1 der pup1"1 s. (1) Nottingham was at last beginn1ng to thinlc of her 16-plus pupils as young adults,

The Education Comm1ttee stated in 1966 that its aim was to replace all remaining secondary modern schools with large, mixed b1lateral schools, and that they had given considerat1on to the admiss1on of all pupils at 11-plus to bilateral schools, without any selection, and using the existing grammar schools as sixth form colleges, as a possible long-term future development. The Nottingham

Education Committee's Annual Report of 1966 stated that the Comm1ttee adopted in principle a scheme of comprehen- sive schools for 11 - 16 year old pupils on full-time and part-time courses 1n colleges of advanced secondary educa- tion and colleges of further education. This was done in consultation with Nottingham teachers who had pledged the1r support for the scheme, although the Committee emphasised that they were well aware of the difficulties 2 of implementation,( ) These colleges of advanced secondary educat1on were to be the sixth form colleges of today.

(1) Jackson, W. G. (1966). Education in the City­ Nottingham and its Region, Br1t1sh Assoc1ation for the Advancement of Science, p. 432. (2) City of Nott1ngham Education Comm1ttee (1966), Annual Report - 31st March, 1966, 25

Follow:~.ng the publ:~.cation of' the DES Circular 10/65,

the Author:~.ty submitted its proposals f'or secondary reorganisation the f'ollowing year, f'ollowing this in

1967 w:~.th a statement that the Cornrn:~.ttee had reserved

its right to amend the scheme af'ter consultation with

teachers and parents.

The academic year of' 1968/69 was marked in Nottingham,

as in many other parts of' the country, by groKing ten-

s1ons restrictions on local author:~.ty development

imposed by central government, f'ollowed by a campaign

by the Department of Educat:~.on and Science to persuade

author:~.t:~.es to appoint more teachers. In support of'

salary claims teachers' unions took str:~.ke act:~.on, student

unrest made nat:~.onal headlines, and there was a sharp

:~.ncrease in all material costs. Nott:~.ngham found that

it had to make provision for a r:~.se in the number of'

students on major awards :~.n colleges of' education, which was an extra financial burden. The next two or ~hree years

sa'~ little development in Nottingham as the Conun1ttee

strove to keep pace with the status quo, but the local

elections of' Hay 1972 were to br:~.ng about marked changes

in the c:~.ty's educat:~.on pol:~.cy. The control of' the C1ty

Council changed hands, and the new Labour-doml.nated

Education Committee immed1ately began a policy of reorgan:~.­

sing the secondary school system on comprehens:~.ve lines.

They began consultations with teachers, governors and parents.

The scheme submitted to the DES in 1966 had never been

:Lmplemented, and 1 t ''as decided that now was the t:~.me to

convert all the secondary schools in the c:~.ty to comprellens1ve 26 ones. The Committee believed that the growing number of secondary pup1ls and the programme for rais1ng the school­ leaving age necessitated a steady expansion of accommoda­ t1on 1n schools under major building and ROSLA programmes.

It \vas believed that tlus bu1lding had the effect of implementing most of the proposals set out 1n the Author1ty's or1g1nal scheme, and resulted in a s1tuat1on where the

C1ty•s bilateral schools were now suff1ciently well equipped and sufficiently large to serve as comprehensive schools for pupils aged ll to 16 years.

It was believed by the Education Committee that the exist­ ing system of bilateral schools had been successful, but

1t had produced a s1tuat1on which overlapped, w1th both b1lateral and grammar schools prov1ding courses for ll to

16 year olds which led to GCE and'CsE examinations. It was stressed that the b1lateral schools had done well, and that the more able ch1ldren in these schools had had more exacnnation successes than the less ,able grammar school children, mainly because of their high mot1vat1on, and 1t was confirmed that many able pupils transferred from the bilaterals to the grammar schools' sixth forms

1n order to follow "A" level courses.

Nevertheless, 1t was dec1ded that this educat1onal overlap was not desirable, and th1s was one of the factors uhich allo,;ed the Education Committee to press for comprehens1ve schools. Another factor which had some bear1ng on the1r dec1s1on uas the fact that although the ex1st1ng scheme appeared to funct1on fa1rly smoothly, 1t l

The Education Comm:~.ttee noted at th:ts time the fears of parents that the new comprehensive schools would be too large, and they stated the:tr intent:ton of hav:~.ng no school

(w:tth one except:ton) larger than an eight-form entry of l, 200 pupils, lO"i th the majority of them being much small er than this. The scheme put forward by them would, they felt, meet the known cr:tteria of the Secretary of State :1.11 that the schools would not be too large, none would be on a divided s:tte, there would be no break of schooling at 13 or 14, there would be no need for any nel; large-scale proposals f'or building programmes, there would be provision for single sex schools, and there would be flex:tb:tl:tty 1 n 28 catchment areas J.n order to meet any reasonable parental requests.

The Committee felt that J.t could not :favour a pattern o:f 11 - 18 schools wJ.thin the cJ.ty, as the scattered premises avaJ.lable could not produce an overall system o:f schools with VJ.able sJ.xth forms. It decided, there- fore, to base its scheme on schools :for 11 to 16 year olds, and colleges o:f advanced secondary education (sixth (1) form colleges) :for students aged 16 - 19 years. It was theJ.r J.ntention that all pupJ.ls l

(1) City of NottJ.ngham (1972). Proposals for Comprehen­ sive Education in Nottingham. September 1972. P• 3. 29 that it would end the art1fic1ality of tlte separat1on of pupils 1nto two groups, and that a better school/ parent relationship would develop \<1 th the school being in the neighbourhood of the home.

These new c1ty comprehens1ve schools were to cons1st of the ex1sting c1ty b1lateral schools, two of the c1ty 1 s grammar schools, a comprehens1ve school, a school which was a county grammar school but was •1thin the c1ty boundary, and a new scltool wh1ch was to be opened 1n

September 1973 - the Top Valley Comprehens1ve School, sited on one of the newer housing estates on the outskirts of the c1ty. It •as hoped that each school would offer a full programme of courses ranging from those appropr1ate to ch1ldren of the h1ghest ab1l1ty to those for children

1n need of remed1al help. Whereas the b1lateral schools already prov1ded such courses, up to now they had not rece1ved many able pup1ls, and 1t was hoped that th1s would now be rect1fied. It was hoped that the schools, of fiv~ to e1ght form entry, would be suff1ciently large to enable the whole width of the curr1culum to be covered, but suffic1ently small to reassure both parents and pupils that 1nd1vidual needs would not go unnot1ced and would be catered for, and that the grammar schools - which would now no longer be select1ve - would widen their present courses to meet the requ1rements of pup1ls of all ab1l1t1es.

Two areas to which these ne\; comprehensive schools were to give particular attent1on were 1n the prov1s1on of a complete scheme of pastoral care to ensure that the complete development of each child was mon1tored throughout h1s or 30 her career, w1th gu:Ldance at every stage, and to ensure that the part1cular needs of the urban child, both black and wh:Lte, would be met. This was to be ach1eved by extra teacl11ng support 1n the inner c1ty schools wh:Lch most needed 1t, and a well-structured programme of :Ln­ serv:Lce tra1ning for the teach1ng staffs.

A great deal of thought •as g1vcn to the catchment areas of the schools, w1th d1scussions •ith teachers,,parents and governors, and it was agreed that although the areas of Nott1ngham var1cd greatly, 1t would not be satisfact­ ory to produce an art1f1cially balanced 1ntake of ch1ldren by race, soc1al class or ability, 1t be1ng more 1mportant to establ1sh the school in 1ts own commun1ty. But :Lt was agreed that where :1.t was possible to amend local catchment areas w1thout any great d1ff1culty in order to ach:Leve a w:Lder cross-sect:Lon of pup1ls then that would be done.

S1ngle sex provis1on was made for parents who held strong v1ews on the need to educate boys and girls separately, and th:Ls was to be at the Nann1ng School (for g:Lrls) and the Claremont School (for boys). But on the whole, the idea was that the 11 - 16 schools would serve the1r own communit:Les, meeting the needs of all the pup1ls 1n the:Lr own neighbourhood.

The Nottingham Education Author:Lty adm:Ltted some confl:Lct­

:Lng philosoph:Les as far as prov1ding appropr1ate provis:Lon for the 16 - 19 age group was concerned. They quote the argument that older pupils form a very necessary, valuable sect:Lon of any secondary school b:Lth the older ci>:Lldren g1v1ng leadership to the younger ones, as well as prov1d1ng 31 opportun1t1es for mature contacts bet\,een teJchers and pup1ls, aga1nst the argument that tl11s age group should have 1ts own establishments \>here they could rece1ve an adult approach :from their tutors, and "here they would rece1ve mucl1 greater :freedom that "ould be possible 1n the ord1nary school s1tuat1on.(l) The decis1on of the

Author1ty to favour the establ1shment o:f s1xth form colleges was aided by the lo\>er1ng o:f the age of major1ty, and tbe very obvious attract1ons "hich the colleges o:f

:further educat1on have always had :for the young school leaver. The prov1s1on o:f s1~th form colleges w1th1n the c1ty \>as expected to a1d the Author1ty 1n 1ts a1m o:f ach1ev-

1ng a higher percentage o:f young people stay1ng in :full- t1me educat1on beyond the age o:f s1xteen, as 1t was :felt that the East Midlands percentage o:f 49.8%, wh1ch was one o:f the lo\\est 1n the country, should be improved.

It was proposed that there should be three Colleges o:f

Advanced.Secondary Educat1on, each with a max1mum o:f 500 students, to be establ1shed 1n the premises of B1lborough,

Forest Fields and High Pavement Grammar Schools. They were to be mixed, and l>Ould prov1de not only the essent1al academ1c courses :for the very able children who 1ntended to go on to h1gher educat1on, but would also provide :for any young people who had no wish to :follow purely academic courses but ,,ha, nevertheless, :felt that there would be some value 1n cont1nu1ng their :full-t1me educat1on.

(1) City o:f Xottingham (1972). Proposals :for Comprehen­ S1Ve Education 1n Nottingham. September 1972. P• 5. 32

An 1mportant ~eature o~ tl>o s1xth ~orm colleges has tl1at tl>ey would be open access, w1th no entry requ1rements, so that pup1ls from the 11 - 16 schools would simply trans~cr to thelll at the ond o~ tlw1r ~1ve-year course. The colleges would have a much l<1der curr1cula than thobe o~~ered in the sixth forms of the grammar schools, and 1t was 1ntended that they should off'er the follow1ng courses:

''A" level courses or the1r equivalent, with more choice than at a normal grammar s1xth form;

"O" level courses, wh1ch could be repetit1ons of those taken 1n the schools, or new courses 1n a w1de range of subjects; courses to meet the syllabus requ1rements of any new exam1nations des1gned for the 16 - 19 age group; courses o~ a bridging nature to equ1p students to follow vocat1onal courses in further or cagher educat1on establish­ ments, as well as br1dg1ng courses for ~uture ONC and OND students; ., courses des1gned espec1ally for g1rls 1ntend1ng to work in educat1on, nursing and social services, who were await­ ing adm1ss1on to the Nursery Nurses' Centre or elsewhere; courses designed to help young people to equ1p themselves more properly for adult l1fe, which would 1nclude courses

1nvolv1ng preparat1on forrunning a home, ra1s1ng a fam1ly, f1ll1ng le1sure t1me, and so on; a w1der range of m1nority courses for students of all ab1l1t1es, wh1ch would 1nclude current affairs, both local and nat1onal, cra:ft and des1gn courses, conversation courses 1n fore1gn languages, socJ..ology, govern111ent studies and mus1c; 33

any cxpans1on 1n tile requ1rements Cor g1rls h1th office

sk1lls and sccretar1al qual1f1cat1ons would be met 1n one

or more of the colleges, rather th.1n by an expansion of

the colleges of further educat1on;

a w1de ranse of le1sure act1v1t1es to meet the recrea­

t1onal needs of the students.(!)

It was env1saged that the college prenuses would be used

for adult classes out of school hours, and that the

students would be able to use the college l1brary and

study fac1lit1es 1n the even1ngs.

It was thought by Nottingham that one of the most important

cr1ter1a for the success of its new colleges would be the

introduct1on of a well structured and properly 1nformed

gu1dance service, wh1ch would 1nvolve the careers teachers

and officers, the colleges themselves, and the colleges of

further educat1on, so that the students would be able to attend an appropr1ate course 1n an appropriate college,

although it was real1sed that th1s •ould place an extra burden on the people concerned. It •as felt strongly by

the Authority at th1s t1me that they would need to pay close attention to the courses being prov1ded at the colleges of further education, and they saw the two types of establishment as be1ng supportive and complementary.

They hoped that ultinately the DES would make one set of

statutory regulations cover1ng the educat1on of th1s age group.

(l) C1ty of Nott1ngham (1972). Proposals for Comprehen­ s1ve Educat1on in Nott1ngham. September 1972. p. 6. It was ant1c1pated by the Nott1ngham ELlucat1on Committee that th1s scl1eme of s1xth form colleges •ould take f1ve years to grow to fulf1lment, w1th the new s1xth form colleges beg1nn1ng the1r intake 1n September 1973 but not beginn1ng to operate fully unt1l September 1977, dur1ng •l1ich year the first compruhens1ve entry of pup1ls to the 11 - 16 schools would complete the1r f1ve year cour.;,e. The phasing in of th1s scheme would, 1t was felt, allo• the Author1ty and the teachers concerned to obta1n full advantage, and would also ensure that no pup1l who had already started h1s or her course in a b1lateral or grammar school would have to cons1der chang-

1ng before the sixth form level.

The Chairman of the Education Committee, when recommend1ng the reorganisation of secondary educat1on to the full

Council, stated that he had no doubts that once 1mplemented

1t would greatly enhance the educat1onal opportunities ava1lable to Nottingham's young people, also that 1n ~is v1ew, and that of the Sub-Committee, the ma1n tasks of the schools •ere not to produce academ1c el1tes but to

ass1st 1n the development, through a l1beral educat1on 1 of good husbands and wives, parents, and c1t1zens of the future, who would comb1ne a capac1ty for soc1al un1ty •1th the ab1lity to th1nk independently for themselves and for the benef1t of others, and thereby ensure the only •orthwh1le {1) and stable basis for a democratic and human soc1ety.

{1) City of Nottingham {1972). Proposals for Comprehen­ sive Education 1n Nottingham. September 1972. Append1x A. 35

The year pr>.or to secondary reorgan>.sat>.on an analys>.s of the s>.xth forms revealed that tl•ere were b63 pup>.ls on roll at the ma>.ntained schools, as under: B>.lborough 181 Cl>.fton Hall 127 Forest F>.elds 140 High Pavement 125 Hann>.ng 88 Mundella 105 Fairham ....2.1. ( 1) Total 863

It was bel>.eved that the var>.ous factors wh>.ch would be l>.kely to shape the s>.xth form act>.v>.t>.es of the future would be: the nat>.onal trend towards larger s>.xth forms, with more pup>.ls stay>.ng on to complete 11 A11 level courses; the s>.m>.lar growth 1n the numbers of pup>.ls who rema>.ned for s>.xth form work but ,-ho d>.d not follow 11 A11 level courses; the plans for the new examination of below 11 A11 level standard for this age group; and the fact that s>.xth form colleges m>.ght attract pupils from outs>.de the Nott>.ngham distr>.ct.

It was ant>.cipated that the Church of England and Roman

Cathol>.c prov>.s>.on would rema>.n separate from the main- ta>.ned sector, although both bod>.es had put forward pro- posals to introduce a comprehens>.ve system, and the

Author>.ty bel>.eved that >.t "'ould be real>.stic to assume a demand for 1,500 places, winch could be accommodated >.n the three colleges, each w>.th a max>.mum of 500 places.

(1) C>.ty of Nottingham (1972). Proposals for Comprehen­ s>.ve Educat>.on in Nott>.ngham. September 1972. p. 29. It 1s 1nterest1ng to note that several people to whom

l have spoken during my research for tl1is work have

stated qu1te spec1f1cally that two s1xtl1 form colleges

would have been qu1te suf:fic1ent for the c1ty 1 s needs,

and that the Author1ty was well aware of th1s fact at

the t1me.(l) W1th hinds1ght 1t would appear that two

would have been suffic1ent, although the unexpected

events of the past few years of mass1ve youth unemploy-

ment and dlnndl1ng in the numbers of apprent1ces being

taken on 1n the c1ty, have cau&ed the sixth forms (and

the colleges of further educat1on) to have increased

numbers in the 1past year or two. However, the Author1ty

dec1ded to stand by 1ts or1ginal dec1s1on to establish

three s1xth form•colleges, and these were to be B1lborough,

Forest Fields and High Pavement, which were chosen for very spec1f1c reasons - all were relatively new prem1ses w1th the oldest of them hav1ng been bu1lt in 1955; two of

them were m1xed and the other eas1ly convert1ble; all had

adequate fac1lities for sixth form courses with two of

them having accommodat1on wh1ch had been especially des- igned for s1xth form students; all of them had adequate

sc1ence laboratories; they were all eas1ly accessible from

all parts of the city except Clifton - be1ng s1tuated west,

east and north of the c1ty; and they were all adequate 1n

size for the numbers ant1c1pated.

Although, as stated, it was cons1dered by many that two

s1xth forms would have been suff1c1ent for the c1ty 1 s needs,

(l) Includ1ng }~. K. W. Lokes, Pr1nc1pal, Clarendon College of Further Educat1on; }~. J. C. Wilk1ns, Pr1ncipal, Basford Hall College of Further Educat1on; }~. R. Woodward, Former Act1ng Deputy D1rector of Educat1on (FE), Nottingham. '57 the Author1ty gave ser1ous considerat1on to a f'ourth - at Clif'ton, but an examination of' the proJected numbers showed that a college at Clif'ton could not be just1f'1ed.

A prov1so was made that should c1rcumstances change then possibly a f'urther s1xth f'orm college could be prov1ded there. In the meant1me, Fairham Comprehens1ve School stayed as 1t was, hav1ng been changed to a m1xed scl1ool populat1on, as the city's only 11 - lti comprehensive.

Th1s then was the pos1t1on lead1ng to the present-day

16 - 19 prov1sion 1n Nottingham.

V1rtually all the proposals put f'orward by the Nottingham

Educat1on Committee were approved by the DES, with the except1on of' the closure of' Clif'ton Hall School and the change of' character to a comprehensive of' Mundella Grammar

School. These changes were held up due to parental pres- sure with pet1t1tons being put f'orward to the DES by parents of' children at these schools, although eventually all'the city's proposals were carried out.

By June 1973, w1th most of' its plans approved, Nottingham

Education Committee l

(1) City of' Nottingham Education Committee (1973). Annual Report - 31st March 1973 (the last one 1ssued by the City of' Nott1ngham Educat1on Author1ty). t1me, the city's S1Xth rorm COlleges Opened their doors to the1r r1rst customers. A new era or 16 - 19 education had begun 1n Nottingham. 39

PART II

THE PRESENT (from 1973 to date)

Th1s then was the s1tuation as Nottingham began the reorganisat1on of her 16 - 19 education 1n 1973•

The city of Nottingham, amalgamated with the county of

Nottingham since the start of local government reorganisa-

t1on 1n 1974, 1s st1ll for educat1onal purposes v1rtually

a separate ent1ty. The old 11 city11 conta1ns the three

s1xth form colleges and the one 11 - lb comprehensive

school at Clifton, but those colleges of further educa-

t1on w1th1n the "city conurbation" are also 1ncluded.

The latter compr1se six colleges - h.-o of them are the long-stand1ng city colleges of People's and Clarendon, wh1ch had grO\..-n up 1n the trad1 t1on of the Even1ng

Institutes, and which are st1ll very much part of the old city, People's be1ng in the very centre on Castle

Road w1th1n a stone's throw of Rob1n Hood's statue in the

castle grounds, while Clarendon 1s little more than a mile north of the centre, in a stra1ght run from the

Victor1a Centre 1n tl>e c1ty centre - one of the largest

shopp1ng prec1ncts 1n Europe. The third c1ty college 1s

Basford Hall, the newcomer to the scene, which 1s only a

couple of nules from the c1ty centre and fa1rly eas1ly accessible. Basford Hall now provides the Nursery Nurses'

Tra1ning which has been moved from l>averley College.

\{averley 1s now used by the Nanagement Sect1on and Adult

Educat1on Section of Clarendon College. The three colleges 40 which were orl.gl.nally part of' the county consl.'3t of'

Beeston, the oldest of' the three which was opened in

1954, Arnold and Carlton wlll.Cil opened J.ts doors l.n

1960, and the newest college of' West Dridgf'ord, whJ.ch was opened l.n 1970 l.n order to provl.de further educa­ tional facl.ll.tl.es for county students ll.Vl.ng south of the River Trent, (See map p, 41), All colleges of further education cater for both full-time and part-time students,

The sJ.xth form colleges are made up of Forest Fields on

Carlton Road, to the east of the city and the nearest of the sJ.xth forms to the cJ.ty centre, Bilborough to the west, well on the outskirts of' the cJ.ty, and H1gh Pavement to the north, s1tuated on the Bestwood Park Hous1ng Estate.

The rema1n1ng ma1nta1ned prov1sion withl.n the c1ty is at

Fa1rham Comprehens1ve School, south of the city, on the

Cl1fton Housing Estate, Cl1fton, although part of the c1ty of Nottingham, l.S well away from the centre and to reach

1t 1t l.s necessary to travel through many ''county'' areas,

Obviously it made sense to keep thl.s 11 - 18 mixed compre­ hensive in order to save the local (Clifton) students the long trip to the c1ty centre. Those \vllo are keen or need to enter f'urther education are able to make the fairly easy journey to West Dr1dgf'ord College, which 1s still south of the river, or to People's College l.n the city centre.

Sixth form provl.sl.on f'or Clifton pup1ls at present 1s at

Forest Fields College. (See map p. 41), The s1xth form colleges and the sixth form of the one 11 - l!l cor.~prehensl.ve school cater only for f'ull-tJ.me students,

42

Add1tional sixth Corm places are also ava1lable at the

Bluecoat Church oC England School, and at the Roman

Catholic secondary schools oC Becket, Tr1n1ty and St.

Bernadette•s, which are all with1n the c1ty of Nott1ngham,

and were reorganised along comprehens1ve l1nes in order

to develop 1nto 11 - 18 schools.

S1xth Forms

There is some doubt as to how the or1ginal 1dea Cor a

separate 1nst1tut1on w1th1n the schools sector Cor

pupils over the school leaving age actually began, but

1t is generally bel1eved that such plans were first

proposed 1n 1954 by Hr. R. W. K1ng, the Clnef Education

Officer for Croydon, and}~. E. J. Weeks, the Chief

Inspector of Schools, although they were rejected by

the Croydon Education Committee at that t1me. The first

local education author1ty to approve such an innovation

was the l'est Rid1ng of Yorkshire, which agreed to the

-, bu1lding of a s1xth form unit attached to Hexborough

Grammar School 1n 1964. However, this college was not

the prototype of the sixth form colleges wh1ch were to

follow, as 1t was closely assoc1ated w1tn the adJ01ning

school, had the same head teacher, and was part of a

select1ve secondary system. (l) Nevertheless, it was the

forerunner of many such innovations in the area of s1xth

form teach1ng. It was not until after the appearance of

DES Circular 10/65 that many LEAs decided to reorgan1se

their secondary school1ng on the l1nes of comprehens1ve

( 1) Dean, J. and Choppin, B. (1977). Educational Prov1sion 16 - 19. London: NFER. p. 12. schools with an 11 - 16 age range, comb1ned ~1th s1xth form colleges for pup1ls over 16. At the t1me 1t was po1nted out that there were two concept1ons of the s1xth form colleges wh1ch should be considered: one which catered for all the educat1onal needs of young people staying on at school beyond the age of 16, and the other wh1ch would allow entry upon the sat1sfaction of certa1n cond1tions, such as 5 passes at Ord1nary level or a declared intention of preparing for Advanced level.(l)

Almost all sixth form colleges in this country (which 2 numbered 97 1n 1980)( ) are 11 open-entry 11 and do not

1ns1st on any part1cular level of educational standard be1ng atta1ned by the student before entry. ( 3 )

Nottingham is no exception to th1s rule; the s1xth form colleges established lnthin the city in 1973 are all open access, so there are no st1pulat1ons as to levels of attainment before entry. They all operate on a full-t1me basis only, and all students are w1thin the age range of

16 to 19. Students may attend the colleges for a per1od of from one to three years, although the maJority of the students stay for two years.

(1) Dean, J. and Choppin, B. (1977). Educat1onal Provis1on 16 - 19. London: NFER. P• 14, (2) Education for 16 - 19 Year Olds (the Hacfarlane Report) ( 19o0) . DES.

(3) Dean, J. et al (1979). The Sixth Form and its Alter­ natives. London: NFER. During the academic year 19oO/lll the Nottingham sixth

form colleges had on roll the following numbers of pupils: B1lborough a l1ttle in excess of 600, w1th

Forest F1elds JUst under 4oo, and High Pavement around

46o.(l) It was estimated by the Nott1nghamsh1re Educa-

t1on Committee that the peak year for numbers in the city s1xth forms "ould be 197&, >nth numbers gradually

dwindling unt1l 1937/88, folloued by a steep fall through­ out the years 1990 to 1994. ( 2 ) It 1s perhaps hearten- ing, educationally, to note that the 191il/1l2 numbers on roll at all colleges have increased qu1te substantially for the current academic year, but 1t 1s l1kely to be for the wrong reason, and due mainly to the lack of opportun1ty 111 the job marltet for the young school leaver.

The sixth form colleges recruit the1r students mainly from the 11 - 16 schools. All colleges have very clear and def1nite linlts \i1th spec1f1c 11 - 16 schools, the1r feeder schools, and on the whole these l1nks have been maintained, although it is not unltnown for certa1n colleges to 11 poach11 other colleges' students. Literature is sent to all the feeder schools, followed by vis1ts from the

Principals, Vice-Principals and/or Careers Teachers in order to talk about s1xth forms generally and the1r own college in particular. If pupils are interested in s1xth

(1) Figures obtained from Pr1ncipals of the Sixth Form Colleges, July - October 1981.

(2) Nottinghamshire County Council (1980). \vorking Party Report on Educat1onal Prov1sion for the 16 - 19 Age Group - 15th February 1980. Appendices 4 and 5. Corm educat1on then the school adv1sory staff steer them to\mrds the colleges, Careers conventions are also held at many of the Nottingham schools, and repres­ entat1ves from both the sixth Corm and the further education sector are normally inv1ted, The careers advisers with1n the schools usually pass on information about the opportunities in other establishments to the fifth formers, who are normally gu1ded towards the college for their area. It is not imposs1ble for students to attend a d1fferent college Crom the one w1th .,.-hich they are 11 linl

1t 1s not encouraged, and students are penalised by not be1ng eligible for 'bus fares if they attend a s1milar course at a college farther from the1r home, Nevertheless, this fact does not d1ssuade many students from choosing which college to attend. One of the colleges, Bilborough, which is on the outskirts of the city, has a high propor­ tion of 11 non-city 11 students from the adjo1n1ng county area with which "free trade" is allowed, and many of its city students come from the local 1ndependent sector,

Principals of all three sixth form colleges are \~ell a\~are of the low tal

B1lborough College stated that the college was overflowing l

The present principal, who hnd only been l<>.th the college for one year, bel1cved that the 11 - 16 schools ,;ere to blame in many ways by prov1d1ng d1fferent syllabuses for certain subjects which would make one s1xth form college more suitable than another for certain pupils, although, of course, th1s would not affect the overall number of students >

Fairham Comprehens1ve School, and l

Fields if the requ1red course was not available at Fa1rham.

Adm1nistrat1vely this makes sense but - despite all the difficulties encountered in travell1ng - it is a blow for a sixth form college which 1s already low 1n nwnbers. As yet no alternative feeder schools have been given to th1s college. The pr1ncipal of High Pavement College believed that to attract more students into full-time education we need to spell out the benef1ts of more education to the parents and the employers, as well as to the students themselves, using tl1e schools and pos­ sibly the media to help. The quest1on of paying a grant to all 16 - 19 year olds in non-advanced full-time educa­ tion appeared to all tile principals to be one way of recru1ting more students, but they all felt that it was unliltely 1n the current economic s1 tuation. The pr1ncipal of H1gh Pavement College, who has nearly one quarter of his students receiving maintenance grants, believed that the priorit1es must be for the resources of the college, in part1cular books, but that the possibility of universal grants at some time in the future would certa1nly give

16 - 19 education a boost. At present the maintenance grant for low 1ncome students is very low, be1ng a maximum of £350 per annum, and students only qual1fy for this when parental 1ncome 1s very low - with one child 1t is just slightly above the social security lim1t.

All s1xth form colleges in the city of Nottingham come under school res;ulat1ons, 1

11 1-hnor Award", which means that they qual1fy for free tu1t1on, reimbursement of examination fees, and free travel

1f they live more than three m1les from school or college. 48

The maintenance grant is the fourth element in the }!J.nor

Award. Under school regulations-lunches are subsJ.dised and J.n low-income families are free, text-books and stationery are provided by the authorJ.ty, examination fees (except re-sits) are paid, and travelling to the allocated college is subsidJ.sed; J.f more than tlrree miles dJ.stant from the student's home then it J.s free, but J.f under three mJ.les then half the cost of a 'bus pass J.s paid for by the authority. The student l

The "house" system prevailed in only one of the sixth form colleges, allowing what 1qas considered to be a healthy competition amongst the houses, partJ.cularly in such areas as sports and drama. All principals felt that their o~ particular colleges had reasonably contented -. students and a 11 nice 11 atmosphere, and certainly this appeared to be borne out by their appearance. All colleges have staff/student committees or councils which do such thJ.ngs as runnJ.ng the coffee bars and common rooms, and making representatJ.on to the principal or his staff on matters of student interest and welfare. As far as pastoral care J.s concerned, the tutor system oper­ ates throughout the colleges, with students beJ.ng selected across age, course and abilJ.ty level, and thJ.s usually involves all the staff. In one of the colleges, Forest

Fields, an effort J.s made to gear the subject element of tl>e student to tl>c teacl>er, thus allow1ng the teacher to know those 1n his tutor group reasonably well, The tutor groups vary in size from 10 to 17. At all the colleges these groups meet for registration both morn1ng and afternoon. At Bilborough College the tutor group is considered to be a completely separate structure from that of the college, and in th1s group the student 1s taught such things as life sk1lls and self-assessment, and g1ven advice on careers. At Forest F1elds an exper1ment is be1ng started th1s year to allow a longer period for registrat1on to allow t1me for teachers to make appo1ntments to see students, and school assembly 1s to be replaced by a tutor meet1ng on alternate weeks. At H1gh Pavement all problems are taken to tutors or to one of the deputy pr1nc1pals 1 who have pastoral duties. At all the colleges everyth1ng

1s mon1tored through the tutor groups, part1cularly the students• work wh1ch is assessed on average t•ice a term.

Each princ1pal felt that his college had an excellent system of pastoral care, and each said that problems could be brought to him 1f it was thought necessary. No princ1pal felt that an external couns~llor, as often used by colleges of further education, ,,•ould be necessary for his part1cular college, but it was agreed by all of them that outs1de agenc1es specialis1ng in the student's part1cular problem could be contacted 1f necessary.

All college principals felt that careers adv1ce was neces- sary for the 16 - 19 age group. Such adv1ce 1s freely ava1lnble in all the colleges, and one of them (Forest

F1elds) prov1des th1s serv1ce also for any ex-students. 50

At B1lborough College a careers team or six operates

under a Head or Careers and prov1des 1n:formation :from

the 1mrncdiate employment situat1on to the spec1:fic dem-

ands o:f h1gher education. The team 1s backed by an

1n:format1on sect1on, wh1ch stutlents are encouraged to

use, and throughout the year v1sits to the college are

made by special1sts 1n certa1n areas, as well as organ1sed

visits to industry and open days in var1ous 1nstitutions

and places o:f higher educat1on. Forest Fields also has

spec1alised careers tutors, a careers room and a comprehen-

sive careers l1brary. Throughout the year they organ1se

:f1lms, lectures anti visits, and stutlents are encouraged

to use the careers library and to make appo1ntments w1th

their careers tutors. H1gh Pavement's Head o:f Careers

spec1alises 1n the teach1ng o:f th1s subject, teaching noth­

ing else; he a1ms to encourage students to use the Careers

Library and will make appointments :for 1ndiv1dual 1nterv1ews.

All the sixth :form pr1ncipals stressed that the County

Careers O:f:f1cers ~ere always ava1lable, and that they were

always prepared to arrange interv1ews :for any students who w1shed to see them.

The sixth :form colleges attempt to treat the1r 16 - 19

year olds as responsible young adults, but vary greatly

1n the amount o:f :freedom they allow them. At all three

colleges students are allowed :freedom o:f choice as :far as

clothes are concerned, but w1th1n reason. At Bilborough

students are allowed only to smoke in the college grounds,

or d1screetly 1ns1de 0 at Forest F1elds students are allowed

to smoke 1n certa1n areas o:f the college, and at H1gh 51

Pavement smolu.ng is not allol>cd any>>here 1.n tl.c building

or grounds. students are expected to partl.cipate l.n tile

college recreational programme on one afternoon a week, but in some of the colleges they are allowed much more cho1.ce than 1.n others. At one college they are not allowed to use th1.s t1.me for pr1.vate study, or any acad-

emic l-iork, under any cJ.rcumstances. As almost all students at these colleges are there on a voluntary bas1.s very few disc1.pl1.ne problems are encountered. A small amount of vandalism is experienced, together l

students who need to be "thro"-n off" a course, and thus

out of college - mainly the so-called "social misfits" who are not usually sufficiently motivated to l>Ork and often

end up caus1.ng disturbances or truant1.ng. Pr1.vate study

time 1.s used by all the s1.xth form colleges, and is consid­

ered bi'all the colleges to be very valuable, but little

1.s actually done to gu1.oe the student 1.n t111.s d1.rect1.on.

In fact, Bilborough 1.s the only college which makes ment1.on of this in 1.ts prospectus.

All the principals of the s1.xth form colleges see sixth form educat1.on as part of the 11 - 18 spectrum - as a con- tinuation of their 11 - 16 school1.ng. The pr1.ncipal of

Bilborough College believes that students are ready for a change at 16 and that they should be given a fresh start.

He bel1.eves that they need gu1.dance but that they should be treated as young adults and g1.ven much more respons1.b1.lity 52 than a pup1l at school. Th1s ph1losophy 1s shared by tl>e pr1nc1pal of Forest Fields, •ho endorses the v1ew that they need more respons1b1lity than the school pup1l.

However, the pr1ncipal of H1gh Pavement bel1eves that

16-year olds have very little self-d1sc1pline and that they need 1 t imposed from outs1de to allOl< them to work at college. He d1d, however, agree later that a very large proport1on of the student& have a mature approach and are able to disc1pline themselves.

Course prov1sion:

The range of courses wluch are ava1lable to the students in the sixth form colleges are var1ed, but can be broadly class1f1ed as: General Certificate of Education (GCE)

Advanced level, which is the traditional entrance require-

ment for un1versity and other forms of higher educat1on 1 and th1s 1s normally a two year course following "O" level study generally taken 1n three subjects; General Cert1ficate ., of Education (GCE) Ord1nary level, which was or1ginally des1gned for the top 20% of the ab1l1ty range, and is normally taken prior to 11 A11 levels; Certif1cate of Secon- dary Education (CSE) wh1ch was des1gned for those students who ''ere not likely to be able to master an 11 0 11 level course, although a CSE Grade I is normally cons1dered to be the equivalent of a Grade C 11 0 11 level, and 1s usually considered by the universities as such; Cert1f1cate of

Extended Educat1on (CEE), ,,·h1ch ••as introduced to cover

11 0 11 level standard and belOl; for students over the age of

16, and which at present has tr1al schemes for this examina- tion operating on a limited bas1s; vocat1onal prov1s1on, 53

which is maJ.nly carried out in the colleges ot: t:urther

education, although some sixth t:orm colleges do oft:er

courses wJ.th a vocatJ.onal bias; non-examJ.natJ.on courses,

whJ.ch have been made available to meet the demand for

general studies educatJ..on; foundatJ.on courses, whJ.ch have

been developed by the sixth form colleges, and whJ.ch can

lead to internal certJ.fJ.cation courses, external examina-

tions, or to a mixture of both, These foundation courses

cater maJ.nly for students wishJ.ng to achJ.eve skills J.n

literacy and numeracy, and are specifJ.cally desJ.gned for

the less able or under-achievJ.ng student.(!)

Early in 1980 the NottinghamshJ.re Education CommJ.ttee 1 s

Working Party on Educational ProvJ.sJ.on for the 16 - 19

Age Group stated that t11ey belJ.eved it important to main-

taJ.n a core curriculum of 11 A11 level subJects J.n all the

schools and sixth form, colleges, whJ.ch would normally be

EnglJ.sh, ~~thematJ.cs, Pnysics, Chemistry, BJ.ology, History,

., Geography and Modern Languages.( 2 ) As can be seen from

the table overleaf (p. 54) all Nottingham sJ.xth form

colleges offer these subjects. It J.S in the area of

mJ.nority subjects that a certain amount of rationalisation

has already tal< en place, with a student ""ho wished to

study "A" level Spanish needing to attend High Pavement

College, while a student wishing to take Russian to the

(1) NottinghamshJ.re County CouncJ.l (1980). Working Party Report on Educational Provision for the 16 - 19 Age Group - 15th February, 1980. pp 2 - 3.

(2) Ibid - p 10. 5lt

CO!J:lSES PROVl1JEl.l llY TJ.E SJ>.Tii FOIU·~ COLLJ:GCS J:\ TLE CITY OF :\OTTI:\GHAN - G.C.E. "A" LEVEL AND "O" LEVEL "A" Level "O" Level BC FF HP IJC FF liP

Accounts X l- Art X X X X X X Art & Craf'ts • • X B~ology . . X X X X X X B~olozy - Human X X RusJ.ness StudJes X Chem1stry X X X X X X Comr.1erce X X Computer Sc1ence X X Computer Studies X X X Des1gn (Tech) . . X X Ora ma .. X X EcononlJ cs X X X X X X Eng1neer1ng Drg. X X X X X English Language X X X Engl1sh L1terature X X X X X X Fabr1c Pr~nting X Faslnon Des1gn X French . . X X X X X X Geography X X X X X X Geo!J:raphy (Econ) X Geology X X X X German X X X X X Government & Pol. X X X H1nd~ & PunJab1 X lhstory X X X X X X Home Econom1cs X X X Ital1an X Latin X X X Lal\"" .. X X X Hathemat~cs - Pure X X X X X X "• }Jnthemat1CS - Fur. X X X X Nathemat1cs , .. ]. th Stats. X X }lathenat1CS "'1 th Hech. X X ~!USlC .. X X X X X Needle¥ork X X X X :r-:utr1. tion & Cool

25 subjects, Bilborough College 24 subJects, and High

Pavement 21. Bilborough is the only college to offer AO levels which are provided 1n s1x subJects.

It is recogn1sed by the princ1pals of the colleges that each s1xth form college tends to have built up a reputa­ tlon 1n certa1n areas, with Bilborough spec1alising in the area of Mus1c, High Pavement 1n Computer Stud1es and

Drama, wh1le Forest Fields does part1cularly well 1n the more technical subjects connected w1th Engineer1ng.-

The 11 0 11 level spread within the colleges ranges from some

30 subjects offered by Forest F1elds to the 17 offered by

High Pavement College. Aga1n, all colleges tend to offer all the traditional subjects, with some rational1sation tak1ng place in m1nority subjects such as Fash1on Des1gn, where it is only ava1lable at Forest Fields, Government and Polit1cs where 1t 1s necessary to attend B1lborough (although both B1lborough and High Pavement offer this at 11 A11 level), Ital1an at Forest F1elds, and H1nd1 and

Punjabi at B1lborough. High Pavement College does not offer such a wide range of 11 0" level courses as the other two colleges, poss1bly due to the fact that they offer a wide range of foundation courses as well as the Cert1fi- cate of Extended Education. The princ1pal 1s proud of the fact that High Pavement 1s the only college 1n the area to be offer1ng what he calls ABC Courses, l

11 0 11 level course successfully, but needed some type of pre-cmployment course.(!)

CSE (Cert1ficate of Secondary Education) courses seem to be phasing out of the colleges. Forest Fields offers

CSE in Geology, History and Human Biology, Bilborough offers Accounts and Commerce, but High Pavement does not offer any CSE courses at all. It is believed by the college that the CEE and the CGLI courses are more suited to the needs of the1r students.

All the colleges offer CEE (Certificate of Extended Educa- tion) courses, and the academic year 191H/il2 1s likely to see an increase in these courses. All colleges offer

}~themat1cs at this level, both Bilborough and H1gh Pavement offer Engl1sh, and both Forest Fields and H1gh Pavement offer Phys1cs, Geography and European Studies. Bilborough

(1) FECRDU (1979). A Basis for Choice: Report of a Study Group on Post-16 Pre-Employment Courses. London: H}ffiO. 57

offers Healtl1 Sc1ence 1 Forest Fields offers General Studies, and H1gh Pavement also provides Matl1ematics for 11 A11 level students, Chemistry and Soc1al Sc1ence.

Although CEE is still at the infant stage, 1t seems that the Nottingham colleges believe that 1t w1ll take over a large proport1on of s1xth form college work, part1cularly for the so-called 11 new11 sixth former, although it has been shown that although the one-year s1xth formers do vary cons1derably from those on a two-year s1xth form course, there is no just1ficat1on for a stereotype of th1s kind.(l)

Vocat1onal courses are tra

(1) V1ncent, D. ~Dean, J. (1977). One Year Courses in Call eges and S 1xth ForhJS. London: .,~E.{. p. 103. 58 and direct1on from the LEA, left to the colleges of further eJucat1on.

The non-examination courses offered by the sixth form colleges cons1st ma1n.Jy of an clement of general studies offered to all students at the colleges. Recent research shows that the maJority of students 1n colleges cons1der such courses to be a \

Elements of Human Biology, and Economics for Life, ,;bile

High Pavement offers under its Creative Studies programme such diverse subJects as Art, Drama, Pottery, Craft, Techn1- cal Drawing, Italian, }!1nor Games, Computing, Music, Maths for Physics, Needle1

Type1

(1) Dean, J. et al (1979). The Sixth Form and Its Alter­ natives. London: NFER. 59

All the sixth form colleges offer foundatJ.on courses of one kJ.nd or another. BJ.lborough describes J.ts founda- tion courses as beJ.ng for those who, before loolung for employment, need help Wl. th spol

StudJ.es, all of these beJ.ng studJ.ed for five hours each.

As well as these, each student must choose from: one other subject studJ.ed to 11 0 11 level, a ChJ.ld Welfare course which would prepare him or her for work wJ.th chil- dren or as entry to a nursJ.ng course, one other non- examJ.nation course, or a course of TypewritJ.ng. Host of the students are also expected to spend one half day a week in another establishment doing CommunJ.ty Service or gaining further experience whJ.ch will count to1rards their course work, as well as takJ.ng part l.n some relevant work experience. Students on this foundation course also partJ.ci-.. pate in the Common Studies programme of the college and recreational activities. Foundation courses at Forest

Fields College are classJ.fied as Special Courses, and are offered to those students whom the college feels are less able to benefit by taking or re-takJ.ng 11 0" levels. The subJects offered J.nclude English, MathematJ.cs, ScJ.ence,

PhysJ.cal Education, French, Human Biology, and such sub­ jects as Hospital and Social Careers and EconomJ.cs for

Life. The principal of this college expects the less able students entering the college to tal

cover~ng some tra1n~ng ~n the sk1lls. Any student on a

Spec1al Course may bu1ld up h1s qual~f1cat1ons and stay on to obta1n more. The pr~nc1pal bel1eves that some of h1s 16-year olds would be far more su~ted to vocat1onal tra~n~ng ~n the colleges of further educat1on, but that the FE colleges have opted out of the~r trad1t1onal role

~n allow~ng the less able to have another chance, and he th~nks that ~n Nott~ngham the s~xth forms are tak~ng over the role of prov~d~ng th1s. H~gh Pavement College has taken much note of the fact that there ~s a d~sturb1ngly h~gh fa~lure rate amongst young people on one-year post-16

11 0" level courses. (l) Th~s college ~s very !teen to prov~de opportun~t~es for the 16-year old who 1s not really capable of pass~ng exam1nat1ons to 11 0" level standard, and to th1s end offers a range of CGLI courses for tlus type of student.

The courses are ~ntended for those students who are l~ltely to ach1eve only modest successes at CSE (around Grades 4 or 5) or who were non-examinat~on cand~dates at their

11 - 16 schools, and they are offered a C~ty and Guilds course 1n Sc1ence Industr1es, Commun~ty Care or General

Industry. All the courses conta1n a core element of Engl1sh,

Hathematics, Environmental Stud~es, Bas1c Law and C:Lt~zen- sh~p, therafter the student stud1es subjects relevant to that part~cular course. Work exper~ence :Ls also used as part of the course, and a cert~f~cate :LS ga:~.ned at the end of :Lt ~f sat:~.sfactor:~.ly completed. At the end of the course :~.t :LS poss:Lble for students tolook for employment

~n the area of :~.nterest to them, or they may stay on at college for a further year in order to take 11 0 11 levels.

(1) FECRDU (1979). A Basis for Cho:~.ce: Report of a Study Group on Post-16 Pre-Employment Courses. London: HHSO. P• 11. 61

These courses seem to be of part1cular 1ntercst to those students whose second language is English.

Although the Nottingham sixth form colleges arc required to be open-access, th1s does not mean that anybody can be accepted for any course. In order to be accepted for a two-year three "A" level course, for example, 1t 1s expected that the student l>111 have obtained a rn1n1mum of five "O" levels w1th good grades in the subjects he or she requires to study to "A" level. Bilborough is the only college which will accept students with fewer than the stipulated five 11 0 11 levels. In all the colleges subJects are chosen from "blocks", although Bilborough

1s less stringent about th1s than the other two colleges.

Combined A" and 11 0 11 level courses are offered by all the colleges, but qualify1ng grades demanded by the colleges vary cons1derably. B1lborough does not spec1fy hm~ many

11 0 11 levels (or CSE ls) are requ1red for someth1ng like a two 11 A11 level plus "O" level course, except for specifying good grades 1n the subJects to be taken to "A" level, whereas Forest Fields asks for four 11 0 11 levels and High

Pavement for three. One qualifying grade is required by those students who w1sh to take just one 11 A11 level. As far as 11 0 11 level stud1es are concerned, qualify1ng grades also vary. Bilborough has no all-embracing gu1de but believes that study of the subJect to 11 0 11 level standard or m¥ard of CSE 2 or 3 would be advantageous; Forest Fields require a student to have taken the subJect previously at

11 0 11 level, or to have obta1ned at least a CSE Grade 3, l

Foundation course.

Hany students enter1ng sixth :form colleges have no

academ1c quali:ficat1ons 1 th1s number being as high as

30% at Bilborough College. As many as one th1rd of a year's intake of students may stay at college for one year, but the majority o:f the students attend for the full two years, with between 20 and 30 students at each of the colleges staying for three, often converting the1r f1rst-year 11 0 11 levels into "A" levels during their second and third years. The principal of Forest Fields College believes that all sixth forms find it very diff1cult to cope with many of the less able pupils staying on at 16- plus. He believes that intermediate colleges should be provided for students with literacy problems, which would then poss1bly allow them to move on to the FE colleges to tackle vocational work, ~nd that the FE colleges should concentrate on vocational work rather than the more academ1c work of recent years. All princ1pals agree that there are difficulties in accepting the less able students. No col-

lege is allowed to turn away a student and 1s 1 therefore, obl1ged to find him or her a suitable course. W1th the sixth form colleges' limited resources this causes problems, and the principals believe that the FE colleges should play the1r part 1n helping those students who would benefit from some vocational tra1ning. One of the principals is bitter about the fact that although colleges of further educat1on are not of:f1c1ally allm;ed to offer full-t1me "free stand- ing 11 "A" 1 eve 1 courses, some of these st1ll appear to operate; he :feels thnt the LEA sl.ould not nrgue when the s1xth :form colleges begin to 1ntroduce vocnt1onal work into the curr1culum. All the sixth :form princ1pals believe in the idea o:f a sixth :form college, and that 1t

1s an innovation ideally s111 ted to the 16 - 19 age group 1 although the degree o:f commitment they hold var1es con­ siderably. 64

Tl1e School Sixth Form

Fairham Comprehensive School was opened as the ~1rst

comprehensive school in the c1ty of Nott1ngham 1n

September 1957. It was for boys only, and qu1ckly

became the largest school 1n the city, at one t1me

housing l,Soo pup1ls. It l

pup1ls plus the s1xth ~orm, but at present contains

some 1,200 pup1ls, 1ncluding 73 s1xth-formers. Since

the reorganisation o~ secondary schooling in the city

1t has been m1xed. It operates under school regulations, as do the city sixth form colleges. It 1s the only

11 - 18 school on the Cl1fton Estate, as well as being

the only 11 - 18 school in the c1ty of Nottingham.

Fairham is fed by its nearby jun1or schools (see map p. 65) but was also intended to take in 16-year olds from the

nearby Charn~;ood Comprehensive and Farnborough Comprehens1ve

Schools on the Clifton Estate. For several reasons th1s

does not seem to operate, and 16-year olds from these two

schools tend to move 1nto further education, attending

such colleges as 1vest Br1dgford, on the same side of the river, People's College 1n the city centre, or even Clarendon

1f they wish to study Catering or Hairdressing, and Basford

Hall for Child Care or Nursery Nursing. Until September

1981 16-year olds in this area also had the opportun1ty of obtaining sixth form educat1on at Forest F1elds College, although the travell1ng involved d1d not make this an ideal situat1on, but from th1s academ1c year the LEA has st1pulated that all pupils from Charnwood and Farnborough who w·1sh to attend a s1xth form must attend Fairham. ' ~ I •, ' . : :-

... o 'I \ " .·'.. ,,,{ . ;, ... ./ '"'•o': I ' I ' ; "- ,.. ' ~ ~ ''' j I •,-:" ·~ 'p·J_\', ·f.. -·: ' ...... -~ .,., ~ ~)l ,,. :...... '~',•';(' ; •' .. . •. ~,!. ~:.. "~ ,. ' ' " '... .,~'. ' - • ·~~ ~~ • w • "'V;•• ~.I" ;..; .. ~- . ..-. ' ".,,..· . ' ., . -·{~" •',• .. :

-.

.,

' ' . ,': r J)·Q' - ·. / - - ' ... -.:. .. . \1~· J "id~) -. ... _ . 1 •\~"-· - &onds '-,• ,, ...... #Ill .. 1 ~ .'.: ''1-r Clifton Comprehensives . ' . / . ,,.ith present feeder sche>ols I 66

Geographically it ~s as easy, ~~ not easier, ~or ch~ldren

~rom the c~ty side o~ the Cli~ton Estate to travel to the c~ty as ~t is ~or them to travel to Fairham, consequently many children who have been obl~ged to attend the Cli~ton secondary scl>ools tend at s~xteen to ''vote w1th the~r ~eet 11 and move on to the colleges o~ ~urthcr educat~on. This, coupled w~th the poor image that has dogged Fairham ~rom its days o~ being a very large, all boys comprehensive school, has not made pup~ls on the estate particularly keen to enter its s~xth ~orm. The new head teacher of

Fairham plans to do all he can to alter this image in order to make h~s school the centre ~or all sixth form work in the c~ty south of the River Trent.

Fa~rham Comprehens~ve School runs on a house system, and was purpose-bu~lt w~th eight separate houses l<~thin the school. Each un~t contains a games foyer, assembly/dining room, change room and showers, l{ith extra rooms for the

Head of House, the staff, and for any quiet work that needs to be done. Everything is mon~tored through the house system, and it is very much a family affair. Pupils belong to a Tutor Set, which changes at any time between one and three years, and they meet for registrat~on tl

The Head of House, Ass~stant House Tutor and the House Staff play a very important part ~n the lives of the pup~ls.

Although the House is geared mainly to the 11 - 16 year olds, the sixth formers too stay liruced to the~r houses but also have the~r mm accommodation ava~lable in the s~xth

Form Centre. L~terature publ~shed on the Fairham Sixth

Form originally called ~t the 11 Clifton Sixth Form Centre'' 67 although it has never l1ved up to this name. However, the !lead Teacher of: Fairham is hopeful that 1n future years it may well prove to be the s1xth f:orm centre f:or

Clif:ton.

Each House at Fairham Comprehensive has a House Support

Group made up of: interested parents who help at social events, at breaks and luncht1mes, \:1 th decorat1ng, and so on, and the House is regarded as the social centre f:or all its pup1ls. The school encourages parents to make contact w1th the Head of: House at regular 1ntervals and keep him 1nf:ormed of: all matters \

\

It is, hm

Disclipline does not appear to cause any tremendous prob­ lems at Fairham. The school is lceen on good attendance and punctuality, which is enforced by tne Educational lvelf:are Of:f:icer who 1s based there, so truant111g does not present any great problem. There 1s a Social Worker all1ed to the school l

1s also a frequent v1sitor, often f:or purely soc1al reasons, 68 as the Head bel.Lcvcs th'-lt it 1s good f'or the pu;:nls to meet b1m tl11s way, also 1t helps to keep tl1e school 1n touch with the local community. As f'ar as un1f'orm is concerned, the scnool ins1sts on th:~.s during tile f'irst three years at school but f'inds 1t 1ncreas1ngly d:~.f'f':~.cult to enf'orce th1s during the f'ourth and fif'th years, conse­ quently by the t:~.me pupils attend the sixth form they are accustomed to wearing anyth:~.ng they like within reason.

Smolang is not allowed anywhere w1 thin the school, as the

Head feels that he would hate to be responsible f'or pup:~.ls starting th:~.s habit whilst at his school. Although all pupils are t:~.metabled for recreat:~.on, and Fairham 1s part:~.cularly sports-conscious, pup1ls are not obliged to partic1pate and are able to choose from a range of' act:~.v1- ties such as photography, crafts, community aid, or even ass:~.sting in the reading laboratories.

As f'ar as careers guidance is concerned, Fairham begins this work in the third year under a team of staff from the

Social Educat:~.on and Careers Departments, to assist pupils

1n maldng their option choices for the1r f'ourth and f'if'th year courses. Dur:~.ng the fourth and f:~.fth years all pupils follmv a Soc:~.al Educat:~.on course for two periods a week, wh:~.ch includes careers guidance and related work-experience schemes, and during this t:~.me pup1ls are encouraged to seek individual intervieus on careers w:~.thin the school as well as >vith the Author:~.ty' s Careers Of'f:~.cers. Fairham has a well-equipped careers room where a Careers Clinic is held at 4 p.m. on certain days of the wee!<, to allow pup1ls to obtain further inf'ormation and d:~.scuss career opportun:~.ties, and during tile sJ.xth year the school's career advisers liorlt closely liJ.th the AutllorJ.ty' s Career Of.fJ.cers to develop general careers programmes and give indJ.vidual careers advJ.ce. A recent innovation at the school J.S the

J.ntroduction of Careers Conventions where a variety of fJ.rms and instJ.tutJ.ons are represented.

The Head Teacher of Fairham believes strongly that the sixth form unit must be seen as part of the 11 - 18 school pattern, but that the sixth formers must be allowed more freedom and responsJ.bility than the younger pupils.

He hopes to increase this responsJ.bility in the years to come, but stJ.ll provide the guidance and dJ.sCJ.pline whJ.ch he feels they need.

Although Fairham is considered to be open-access, like all sixth forms wJ.thin the CJ.ty, the school as yet has no suitable courses for the less academic pupil. At present the only courses available are "O" levels, either fresh ones or repeats, and 11 A11 1 evels. 16 subjects are offered at 11 0 11 level, which cover all the traditJ.onal subjects as well as HetalHork, Technical Drawing and lvoodwork, while at

11 A11 level there is a choJ.ce of 24 different subjects - Art,

BJ.ology, Chemistry, Economics, English, French, Geography,

Geology, German, History, Home Economics, Hathematics,

Applied Hathematics, Pure NathematJ.cs, Hetalwork, HusJ.c,

Physics, PolJ.tics, ReligJ.ous Studies, RussJ.an, Sociology,

Spanish, Technical Dra,nng and Wood,~ork. Although thJ.s would appear to be a very wide choice of subjects for a sJ.xth form which numbers only 73, tne teachJ.ng resources are, of course, shared by the rest of the school. 70

The present Head Teacher, who only started w1th Fairllam at the beginning o~ this academ1c year (September 1981) plans to change tl1e image of the school in many ways, and wishes 1n particular to make the s1xth form worthy of 1ts

11 open-access 11 tag. l!l.s previous exper1ence 1ncludes worlang at B1lborough College and one of the county com­ prchcns1ve schools, and he 1s attempt1ng to br1ng the best of what they offer to Fairham. He 1s also part1cularly

1nterested 1n the type of foundation courses (CGLI) offered by High Pavement College, and is currently meeting the pr1nc1pal of that college 1n an attempt to f1nd out as much as possible about the courses and the possibil1ty of starting them for h1s 11 new11 sixth formers.

The question of attracting more students to stay on in full-time education is more of a problem at Clifton than an~vhere else in the c1ty. The Clifton Housing Estate was bu1lt just after \vorld \var II and became, uithin two years, the largest CQUnc11 estate in Europe. The ch1ldren of the estate, like children from many working-class fam1lies, have not been encouraged to stay on at school for post-compulsory educat1on, part1cularly at a school which offers only academ1c subjects. The Head Teacher hopes that by offering courses su1table to the less acad- em1c pupil he may well build up h1s s1xth form. He would also like to be able to assist some of the 16-year olds on the estate who are unemployed and tend to "hang around" the school at all times, and is hoping that the government will soon give a ruling as to whether the young unemployed would be allowed to receive social security and still 71

attend a school or college. Tl1crc 15, however, a reverse side to th1s - that poss1bly some of tl1e 16-year olds in full-time educat1on will become dissat1sfied with their lot 1f members of the1r peer group are allowed to attend school part t1me, and be pa1d for 1t! Nevertheless, this is a risk that must be taken. Certa1nly Fairham could become a successful sixth form centre if the Head Teacher succeeds 1n his aims of bring1ng more 1mag1nation to 1t, by prov1ding general education and vocational programmes

1n order to provide for the present needs of the young unemployed and to tempt more pup1ls to stay on at 16.

At present things are 1n a state of flux at Cl1fton.

Fall1ng rolls began to affect this area some two years before the rest of the city, and consultations are taking place at present about the future of the three comprehen- sive schools on the estate. During the last few years major reorganisation of the pr1mary schools has taken place, and now it is the turn of the secondary schools ••

Fairham is by far the largest school 1dth a capac1ty of

1,500 pup1ls, plus a s1xth form, \i'lule Farnborough and

Charnwood each have 750 maximum. The take-up at Charn1vood

Comprehens1ve is lm;, and 1t is lii<:ely that this school w·ill be phased out. F1gures given by the Nottinghamslure

Education Committee show that secondary school numbers in

Clifton will virtually halve between 1980/81 and 1989/90, and present numbers have already dropped steeply s1nce 1977.(l)

(1) Nottinghamshire County Council (1981). Educat1on Pol1cy and Standards Committee Report - 28th September 1981. 72

W1 th Fa1rlwm hav1ng the only s1xth i'orm 1n the area,

and all the s1gns po1nt1ng to Charn\

school likely to close, the Head i'eels that they are probably secure, but 1t 1s nevertheless a source oi' unrest \>1 tlun the school and certainly does not allow i'or any complacency. Now is probably the r1ght t1me to beg1n the 1nnovat1ons wh1ch he would like, and certainly they ,,-111 be necessary ii' he is to reach the 120-pup11 sixth form he 1s a1ming for, w1th poss1bly 150 in the years to come. The 10 pupils he would gain from Charnwood would help, but for a really act1ve sixth i'orm he would need all the 16-year olds in the area to 11 shop" locally.

Fa1rham Comprehens1ve School 1s obv1ously even more "ith1n the spectrum of 11 - 18 educat1on than are the sixth i'orm colleges, but 1f the new Head Teacher has his way 1t 1s likely to enter 1982/83 \<1 th a completely new 1mage.

Geographical1y it w111 st111 be part of the same spec­ trum, and 1t 1s to be hoped that 1t \dll keep all the advantages that tlus allows, but lose 1ts present dis­ advantases 1n order to become a real centre for the

16 - 19 age group in Clifton. 73

Further Educat1on Colle~es

S1nce the days of the Hcchan1cs Inst1tutes 1n the m1d- nineteenth century further educat1on has flour1shed.

In fact, s1nce the end of the Second World War the growth has been so phenomenal that 1t has been descr1bed as an 11 explosion11 .(l) Certa1nly Nottingham now has its f1ar share of FE colleges, but 1n th1s c1ty 1t was not so much an explosion as a slow growth. Nottingham has always had more students wish1ng to attend her FE colleges than places available, anJ tl11s s1tuation still remains desp1te the compet1t1on from the new s1xth form colleges which have emerged 111 the c1ty during the seventies.

Rat1onalisat1on of many courses has, to sorne extent, prevented too much compet1t1on, but 1t st1ll appears that

some subject areas of FE colleges, namely the General

Stud1es Departments, are battling for the same students

as the sixth form colleges •

. , All the FE colleges in the conurbat1on of Nott1ngham are run on fa1rly trad1tional lines. They accept students of

any age over the mandatory school leaving age. The only

e·xcept1ons are the "link" students, who come 1nto colleges

on one or two days a week from the fourth and f1fth years

of some of the local comprehens1ve schools, 1n order to

obtain some vocat1onal tra1n1ng, such as secretarial or

cler1cal work. Occas1onally a younger student may attend

(l) Cantor, L. H. and Roberts, I. F. (1969). Further Educat1on 1n England and Wales. London: RKP. p. l. an even1ng class, but only with the express pcrm1ss1on o~ h1s or her Head Teaclaer. All Nottingham colleges o~ further educat1on are empowered to ofJ:er J:ull-t1me, sand­

W1Ch, and even1ng only courses, although not every college o~fers sandw1ch and block release.

All the FE colleges are run unuer FE regulat1ons, winch means that 1n some ways they have not bene~1ted as much as the schools, and pupils taking an FE course are lil

made available for textbooks and stat1onery 1 so that stu­ dents need now only purchase a min1mal amount o~ these.

Lunches at the FE colleges have not normally been subsidl.­ sed in past years so that, although cheaper than a comparable meal outs1de, can st1ll leave a hole in the pocket of a youngster who needs a hot meal at mid-day.

However, the Nottinghamsh1re Author1ty has f1nally dec1ded to rect1fy this and from the beg1nn1ng of the Spr1ng Term 75

1982 all full-t1me students follow1ng non-advanced

courses 1n the FE colleges, but exclud1ng MaJor Award

holders, overseas students and TOPS and YOPS students,

w1ll be el1g1ble for a meals subs1dy t1cket (value 20p)

to ass1st them w1th the purchase of a 70p meal, Th1s

now brings meals prov1sion in the FE colleges more 1n

l1ne with the s1xtl1 form colleges who have subs1d1sed

meals prov1ded as in the schools, Exam1nat1on entrance

fees are pa1d for by the Author1ty prov1ded that no more

than one grade 1n one subJeCt 1s taken, but th1s can

somet1mes cause f1nanc1al problems 1n the colleges where, in the teaching of skills, exam1nat1ons are often

used as stepp1ng stones by the students, and where

examinat1ons boards frequently overlap in the1r grades.

Although the maJOr1ty of older students 1n further educa­

tlon receive grants from the LEA, only a minor1ty of the

16 - 19 year olds rece1ve them. In line w1th the sixth

form colleges, only students who are likely to suffer

extreme hardship, as 1n the case of very low income fami­

lies, one parent fam1l1es and so on, rece1ve anyth1ng

from the Author1ty, and this is a very small amount, the max1mum grant be1ng £350 p.a. The Nott1ngham FE colleges appear to have only a very small proport1on of students

in this age group rece1v1ng such grants.

As can be seen from the table (p. 76) the Nott1ngham colleges vary greatly in s1ze, w1th Clarendon College, the largest, hav1ng nearly tw1ce as many students as the smallest of the colleges, Arnold and Carlton, wh1ch never­ theless st1ll has more than 3,000 students on roll, As far 76

Th0 Iollo,\·ln~ tnhle ~ho"~ n1u hers of student.~ ntten !Jll~ the J-;ottJn_gb~,··l ColJc>[.;C'S ol Fnri..'1c•r Ednc'-\t~o11 dur1.11~~ the u.catlPnllC ye::~r 19Dojfl1 under ; L<' vcH'lOtls cnicgorlcs, sub-d1vi

ACC BHC BC CC Ef. lffiC 1..2.+ .!ill.+ 16+ 20+ 16+ 20+ 16+ 20+ 16+ 20+ ll+ 2..Q.+

FULL-TINE 480 63 463 130 449 156 667 109 335 31 667 127

SAl\DUICH 28

BLOCK REL. 37 376 13 55 l. 15 356 l. 155 19 PART-TH:E DAY REL. 68 16 133 318 39 32 274 1.83 62 38 101 42 PART-THJE DAY/EVE 290 37 751. 137 563 79 448 206 1.505 426 18 21 OTHE:< PTD :lELI:ASE 155 8o 24 1.48 2 6o 22 74 l. 1

OTHER PTD/ EVE REL. 11 7 3 3 174 300 346 29 34 EVEKI!>G o:\LY 324 1615 456 1067 444 2095 542 2654 191 956 584 244 4

1354 1822 2238 181.6 1555 2597 2253 3587 2479 1487 1539 2996 Total - • 3,176 4,054 4,152 5,840 3,966 4,535

Key -

ACC- Arnold & Carlton College of' Further EducatJ.on BHC - Basf'ord Hall College of' Further Education BC - Beeston College of' Further EdTJCation CC - Clarenclon Coilege o:[ Further Educat1on PC - Peopl.c's College of Further Edllcation li"BC - 1>'est Bridg:ford Coll<>gr> of' Furth0r Education

(f'Jgures extractPd f'rom DJ:;$ FESR 5 Return, RACFE, Not tJ.ni:;ham). 77

as ~ull-t1me stu~ents are concerne~, West Bridg~ord

witl1 1ts 794 ~ull-t1mers has more than double the 366

full-time students at People's College, whose ma1n body

of work 1s 1n the part-t1me day sector. Clarendon

College and West Bridgford College both have 667 ~ull­

t1me students 1n the 16 - 19 age group, ~h1cl1 1s more

than the largest of the Nott1ngham s1xth forms.

By far tl1e largest proport1on of full-t1me ~ork 1n tJ1e

colleges 1s carried out ~1th tl1e 16 - 19 age group. As

can be seen from the table, the proport1on of students

1n the 20-plus age group tak1ng full-t1me courses var1es

from around 25% at Beeston College to less than 10% at

People's College. It 1s only 1n the area of even1ng

courses that the older students outnumber the younger

ones, and, s1gnificantly, at one college only in the area

of other part-time day and even1ng release work - Beeston

College where a large number of mature students take "A"

level subjects on this bas1s 1 and areas of eng1neer1ng

are pursued by the older student. It 1s fa1r to say that

the maj or1 ty of the full-t1me worlc 1n the further educa­

t1on colleses is d<:,fin1tely geared to the 16 - 19 year

old student.

The colleges of further educat1on do not have spec1fic

catchment areas but County pol1cy at the present t1me is

that students must attend the college nearest to the1r

home if there 1s a suitable course available, but they

may choose to attend a course of a sim1lar nature at a more d1stant college prov1ded they pay the1r own truvell1ng expenses. At present KottJ.nghamslnre has no 11 i'ree trade 11

system as i'ar as students are concerned, but until the

last few years J.t was possJ.ble i'or students i'rom the

adjoJ.nJ.ng countJ.es oi' DerbyshJ.re, LeJ.cestershJ.re and

LJ.ncolnshJ.re to attend certaJ.n courses in NottJ.nghamslnre.

Hov1ever 1 WJ. th the str1ngenc1es beJ.ng practJ.sed by today's

LEAs, it is now unlJ.kely that a student i'rorn another

county will be allowed to attend an out-county course

unless it is not provJ.ded in Ius olm county, as the large

recoupment i'ees payable make J.t a very expensJ.ve busJ.ness

i'or the LEAs. It is possible, however, that the new

Nottingham adminJ.stratJ.on, "·hich has loosened its purse

strings considerably as i'ar as the colleges oi' i'urther

educatJ.on are concerned, wJ.ll allow more co-operation J.n

this matter in the i'uture. Nevertheless, students i'rom

other countJ.es do attend the Nottingham colleges oi' FE,

and Clarendon College seems to have the widest spread oi'

these, l

Cleveland, Derbyshire, Herei'ordshJ.re, Humberside,

Lel.cestershire, LJ.ncolnshJ.re, Northamptonshire,

Stai'i'ordshJ.re 1 Surry 1 \varwickshire 1 \VJ.l tsh1re and Yorl

with Beeston, i'or example, having amongst J.ts student

population students i'rom AustralJ.a, Hong Kong, Iran,

Jordan, J!.JalaysJ.a, NJ.geria, the Sudan and Sl>J.tzerland.

As i'ar as local students are concerned, the FE colleges

appear to have to do more recruitJ.ng than the sJ.xth form

colleges. Recent resarch has shown that students J.n FE

colleges had to rely more on unoi'i'J.CJ.al channels and 79 those external to scl1ool for 1nformat1on about courses ( 1) they offer. Tl11s certa1nly appl1es to Nott1ngham where many FE students obta1n 1nformat1on about courses by word of mouth. One of the FE pr~nc1pals 1n the c~ty adm1tted that 1t was very d1ff1cult to get any further educat~on l1terature ~nto some of the 11 - 16 schools 1n h~s area, and almost 1mposs1ble 1n the 11 - 18 schools near h1s part1CUlar college. W~ tlnn the last year or two th~s s~tuat1on does seem to have eased a l1ttle, poss1ble due to rat1onal1sat1on of many of the courses

1n the s1xth forms and FE colleges, and many of the schools are beg~nn1ng to hold careers convent~ons to wh~ch the FE colleges are generally ~nv~ted. Neverthe- less, the maJOr~ty of the FE pr1nc~pals feel that pup1ls are gu~ded ~n a rather subvers1ve manner towards the s~xth forms rather than the FE colleges, and one pr1nc1- pal found that h1s college was looked upon w~th extreme d~sfavour ~f 11 0 11 or 11 A11 levels were ment~oned. Apparently, the major~ty of the schools bel~eve that ~t ~s perfectly

~n order for the FE colleges to cater for the less able pup~l, but not for them to show ~nterest 1n the more academic one.

All the FE pr~nc~pals bel~eve that, w~th the1r full col- leses, it ~s probably suff1c1ent at present to cont~nue to send the~r l~terature to all the l1brar1es and schools

1n the area, but they all real1se that from th1s year

( 1) Dean, J. et al (1979). The S1xth Form and Its Alternat1ves. London: NFER. P• 79. Bo onwards when fall1n::; rolls ,,ill beg111 to afi'ect the

16 - 19 1nst1tut1ons, it blll obv1ously not be enough.

The LEA allows a very small budget to each college for advertising purposes, wh1ch is certa1nly not suff1cient for newspaper advert1sing of any note, apart from the annual one pr1or to enrolment ,,eek, and 1t 1s very unl1kely that this w1ll be increased in the next few years, so pr1ncipals in several of the colleges are beg1nn1ng to tlunk of other ways to publ1c1se their courses. Advice on further educat1on is, of course, offered by the LEA and also by RACFE (the Regional Coun- cil for Further Education) ,,·h1ch has 1ts East Hidlands headquarters at Nott1ngham, but fe\v Nottingham parents or students contact them. The careers adv1sers in schools also offer adv1ce on further education to their pup1ls, but only to a l1mited extent, and it is left to the County Careers Adv1sers to do this 1n full when they vis1t the schools. It was stressed t1me and time again ., by the FE princ1pals that these advisers do a splend1d

Job, and do more to promote FE 1n the area than anybody else. It l

Without exception, all FE pr1nc1pals felt that they treated their students as adults. They expect them to accept responsib1l1ty for the•rselves, and feel that they are seldom d1sappo1nted. The average 16 - 19 year old 81

l.n further education has opted to go to college, and

is mostly motivated to l

exceptl.ons, but all the FE prl.ncipals felt that they were few. With1n the FE sector there are few restrl.c­

tl.ons on students - they are allm;ed to wear anything

they w1sh, within reason, are allowed to smoke l.n cer­

tain areas of the college, are often on first name terms w1th some members of staff, partl.cularly in the General

Studies Departments, have no restrictl.ons on leavl.ng the

college prer.lises if they have some free time, but they

are nevertheless expected to behave as young adults.

Some of the colleges, part1cula rly those wl. th a fa1rly large male element, reported a small amount of vandalism, and theft was experienced in all colleges if art1cles were left unattended; very little truant1ng was experien­

ced with full-tJ.me students, although it sometimes occurred

to a small extent with the younger part-time day students

in some of the colleges. There are'few rules in ex1stence

in the Nottingham colleges of FE, but when rules do exist

students are expected to keep them. Although students receive a consl.derable amount of guidance lil.thin the

colleges, vary1ng in degree according to the course he or

she l.s taking, 1t was felt generally by the Nott1ngham prl.ncl.pals that they were allov.ed a great deal more free­

dom than those l.n sixth form colleges, and 1t would appear

that this is so. In Nottingham partJ.cularly the sixth form colleges are all based at scl>ools wh1ch were originally grammar schools, with many of the staff stay1ng on when the changeover took place, so J.t would seem inevJ.table 82 that some o:f the old gram101ar school traJ1 t1ons stayed w1th them, although 1t 1s probable that 1n the years to come tl1ese ~ill greatly d1min1sh.

All the Nottingham colleges of :further educat1on have very active Student Union bodies, wluch part1c1pate fully

1n the l1:fe of tl1e colleges.

The colleges o:f further educat1on all operate some type of recreat1on proc;ramme wlnch var1es 1n t1me and importance from college to college. At Clarendon College, for exam-

11 11 ple 1 Wednesday afternoon elect1ves are a ''ay of life, and are bu1lt in to tne students' timetables. The pr1nc1pal believes strongly that young people need a change from academic and/or vocational work 1n the middle of the weelt, so all young people are expected to partlci­ pate in this programme which covers a wide range of diverse activities such as squash, badminton, :Lee-skating, conversat1on in a foreign language, photography, twentieth

century mus1x 1 soft toy mak1ng, coJnmun1ty a1d 1 and dozens of others. All 16 - 19 year olds are timetabled for elec- tives, unl1ke the older students - who often ''ish they vere - and are not allm;ed to "opt out". ~lith such a w1de range of activ1ties from "hich to choose, the student

1nvar1ably f1nds something ,;inch appeals to lam, h1s prob­ lem often being 1n l

At the otl1er end of the spectrum, People's College provides a small number of recreational activ1t1es on a Fr1day afternoon, which often alternate with tutorial groups.

Students at this college are usually 1nvolved 1n scient1 f 1 cf eng1ncering type subjects which 1nvolve a lot of pract1 cal work and very little pr1vate study t1me, so 1f they choose to opt out of the recreat1onal act1v1t1es a

"blind eye" is often turned,

Pr1vate study periods vary greatly in the colleges, but not so much from college to college as from subJect to subJect, with tl>ose students who are taking a more academ1c 11 A11 level subJect, part1cularly those in the arts, having far more free t1me than those on a str1ctly vocatlonal course. All the princ1pals concerned felt that pr1vate study periods were 1mportant for the young student, but 1t appeared that very little more off1cial gu1dance is given 1n the FE colleges than in the sixth forms. Course tutors tend to g1ve ind1V1dual and class advice, and all students are introduced to the l1brary and librarian, but no college appears to have any part1cu- lar policy on this, }mny students on vocational courses have found that, particularly 1n their f1rst year, no free periods have been available, but a comb1nation-'of ag1tat1on by General Studies Departments, and the cuts imposed by the LEA in recent years (of one hour taken from the t1metable, wh1ch is 1nvar1ably l1beral stud1es), have resulted in many classes nOl; hav1ng a private study per1od dur1ng the first year and often two in the second,

Although it is often felt that colleges of further educa­ t1on do not prov1de the same qual1ty of pastoral care as that prov1ded by the sixth form colleges, the Nottingham colleges appear to set a high value on this. All the colleges operate a Course Tutor system, with a course tutor for each course l.n the college. InvarJ.ably these are subJect tutors which means that the students are well known to the teacher and vice versa. Only on exceptJ.onal occasJ.ons are the course tutors not involved J.n teachJ.ng that partJ.cular group. The colleges operate this system for both full-tJ.me and part-tJ.me day students, but do not J.nclude evenJ.ng students wJ.thJ.n the system for the obvious reason that such students are often only at college for two or three hours on one day a l'l'eek. Every- thJ.ng is monitored through the course tutors. In some colleges the course tutors may l

Hall College, specJ.fJ.c subject tutors are used for higher grade work, where the maJorJ.ty of problems tend to be academic rather than personal. In many of the colleges, particularly wJ.th the "A" level students, time is alloca- ted to 11 tutorJ.al 11 periods.

All the Nottingham coll'eges consider counsellJ.ng to be part of the wider supportive pastoral service, partJ.cularly as far as the full-time students are concerned. A WorkJ.ng

Party Report by the Nottinghamshire County CouncJ.l on

Liberal Studies found that at all Nottinghamshire FE col- leges the need for counselling was accepted, and that some of the colleges emphasJ.sed personal counsellJ.ng whJ.le others consJ.dered it part of a supportJ.ve servJ.ce whJ.ch

J.ncluded careers guidance.(!) All colleges in the

(1) NottinghamsllJ.re County CouncJ.l (1976). Working Party Report on the teachJ.ng of Liberal Studies J.n Further EducatJ.on, J.ncludJ.ng CounsellJ.ng ServJ.ces. 85 conurbation prov1de tlus service, although 1n some

colleges (Clarendon and Basf'ord Hall) 1t is provided by a qualif1ed social worker on a part-t1me bas1s, while

1n others (Arnold and Carlton, Beeston and People's) members of staff are given respons1bility for this. All

colleges use tl1e1r course tutor system to a large extent, and the maJOr1ty of problems are tal

All colleges are very w1lling to contact outs1de agenc1es l

dec1ded that a non-teach1ng counsellor would maintain full confident1ality, and in the other because of the recommenda- tions of the Students' Un1on. \vhere members of staff take on counselling duties it 1s usually found that they have been g1ven some training in this area - although this is often minimal; nevertheless, all colleges felt that they provided a more than adequate counselling serv1ce. It is, however, worth not1ng that in some colleges, despite leaf- lets distributed, not1ces and general public1ty, some of

the part-time and block release students were unaware of

the service provided.

All Nott1ngham FE colleges have members of staff who are responsible for careers counsell1ng. In some of the

colleges, for example Beeston College and West Br1dgford

College, a careers counsellor 1s used who deals ,,ith all careers counsell1ng throughout the college w1th some 86 ass1stance from h1s colleagues. At Basford Hall College tl11s system was used until the current academ1c year when - due to two rcdundanc1es 1n the General Stud1es

Department (one of which was the Careers spec1alist) -

1t was dcc1ded to operate on a departmental basis. This

1s the system used at Clarendon College in recent years, and the careers team is used for visit1ng schools as well as for provid1ng 1ndiv1dual careers adv1ce \ii th1n the college. At People's College a member of the Science

Department deals l>ith careers gu1dance, but it 1s usual for Heads of Department to adv1se on academ1c matters,

\i1th the V1ce Pr1nc1pal of the college be1ng very involved.

All the colleges are prepared to arrange 1nterv1ews uith

County Careers Advisers, and tl1e FE colleges 1n Nottingham all bel1eve that an excellent job 1s done by them.

It is noticeable that at present many colleges are think­ ing in terms of a careers team for future use. Although it \

1ts share of 16 - 19 education. 87

Courbe prov1s1on:

The range of' courses "luch is ava1lable to the stoudents

1n the FE colleges 1s much more var1ed than that of' the sixth form colleges, but ca11 be broadly class1f'1ed 1n a s1milar manner: tl1e General Cert1f'1catc of' Educat1on

(GCE) Advanced and Ord1nary level, as in the s1xth forms; the Certificate of' Secondary Education (CSE) which 1s prov1ded by only one or two of' the colleges; the Cert1f'1- cate of' Further Educat1on, l

Certif'1cate of' Extended Educat1on (CFE and CEE), as a one-year course for those >iho wished to continue their f'ull-time educat1on but lacked the necessary qual1f'ica­ tions to embark on vocat1onal courses, but this again has only been developed on a lim1ted basis; vocat1onal

prov1sion 1 w1th many of the courses coming under the aegis of e1ther the Techn1cian Educat1on Council (TEC) or the

Bus1ness Education Counc1l (BEC), hav1ng been designed to replace existing Ord1nary National Certificate and Diploma

Courses, the C1ty and Guilds of' London Institute Technic1an courses, and the Certificate of Of'f'ice Stud1es, while other vocational courses cater for part1cular careers such as those leading to Royal Society of' Arts exam1nations; non-examination courses 1

lastly, Foundat1on Courses 1 l

Art be1ng seen as a pre-requis1te to Art D1ploc.a courses.

Courses in colleges of' further education are complicated 88

by the fact that prov1s1on 1s not only for full-t1me

courses but also for sandw1ch or block release, part­

t1me day or part-t1me day and evening courses, as well

as even1ng only courses. Hany courses taught at the FE

colleges are prov1ded in all three areas.

The years between 1974 and 1977, ,,Inch followed the open-

1ng of the s1xth form colleges 1n 1973, brought about qu1te a lot of rat1onalisat1on of courses w1th1n the FE sector, partly to benef1t the newly formed s1xth form colleges. It was not unt1l early 19bO, however, that the Authority began to take a hard l1ne in th1s d1rect1on, after the Nott1ngham LEA's Work1ng Party reported on

16 - 19 education in the area. It was 1n the particular area of GCE courses that the axe fell: the colleges of further education were no longer allowed to offer "free standing" 11 0 11 and 11 A11 level courses in their establ1sh- ments. These were to be the remit of the Nott1ngham s1xth form colleges, and FE colleges could only offer them under certa1n circumstances which w1ll be ment1oned later.

As can be seen from the table of 11 A11 level courses

(pp 89 - 91) and 11 0 11 level courses (pp 92 - 94) provided by the FE colleges, a w1de range of these come under full- t1me prov1s1on. At 11 A11 level Basford Hall 1s the only college not prov1d1ng any full-t1me (or part-t1me day) courses at this level, but the other colleges range from the 12 offered by People's College to a very w1de range of 30 at \vest Br1dgford College. Full-time "O" level subJects are also offered 1n large numbers at West

Bridgford College, 31 in total, wh1le Arnold and Carlton 89

CC:lJ{S~S I'RC'VL)SD llY T 'E F!: CC'Ll SG_S 1'. Tl::; cu;;l'·l"\Tlo:; OF :\OTTJ ':GHA' l- G. C, E. 11 ·" L.:VI:L

FT D:1. I:VE Accounts •. .. . . ACC \:UC \VBC Art (Dcsl:£n) . . .. ;cc cc cc l:flC Art (IIidory) •. cc '.. 'BC 1:nc Art nnd Cr,..ft~ .. BC ne \·7I:C \lBC B1olo::y • • .. ACC BC !JC PC PC PC \lBC TlBC Biolo::y (Pune1n) BIIC BC BC \.'BC "BC PC PC PC Boo}c-:: cep:_n:;/ ~.cc :::>u:Pts .-cc ACC Botnny •• .. •. FC PC PC Chemistry •• • • . . .. ACC BC BC PC PC PC \JBC Comr.un1cation Studjes • • .. •• BC cc \·lBC Corputcr Science • • • • • • •• ACC ACC ACC BC BC l>'BC Computer Studies •• ...... BC BC Coo1~ery • • • . . . . . ACC DoMestic Sc1 enc·6 • , . . .. ,, ACC Drana (ThPatre Arts and .. cc cc Dr,..wing/Paintlng . . . . •• hoC \i'BC Econor.:ic s •• .. ACC ACC BC BC BC cc cc 1\TBC \¥BC Econom1cs and Public ACfa1rs ,, •• \ffiC \fBC Econo .. t1cs (SocJal) • . • • • • • • 1>w'13C W'BC •• •• ACC ACC BC BC Engl1sl1 L1terature •• . . • • .. ACC BC BC BC cc cc cc \¥BC HBC French . . • • •• • • .. BC BC BC cc cc \'1BC \i'BC Geo::;raphy • • • • •• • • •• BC BC BC cc cc ~;se HBC

I . .. 90 2 CCU!tS~S 1'.'0\'J.JCD llY TIJr FE COLLt:G .S I:, T• 1: co::ll.dlAl'lu:. OF 1\0TTD:GIIA!l - G.C.I:. 11 A11 LE\'!:L - coni.u.

FT DR EVE

Geology . . •• . . • • •• •• PC PC PC German •• . . . . BC cc cc h'BC lVBC Govt/Polli.:tcs/Brltish Constctnt1on ACC ACC BC BC BC cc cc l.'BC l'lBC History • . . . • . .. .. cc cc History - Econom:tc and Social .. cc cc Law - Eng. General Pr:tnciples •• ACC ACC cc li'BC li'BC Mathemat:tcs - General •• •• PC PC MothPmat:tc~ - Applied .. •• AC PC PC PC \I'BC Hathemat1cs - Further • • • • •• PC PC PC N0.th~mat1cs -Pure •• . . •• ACC ACC BC PC PC PC \lBC Hathematics - Pure and Applied •• ACC ACC BC BC PC PC PC li"BC Hathematics - Pure ,,•ith Stat:tstics ACC BC BC l'iBC Nusic • • • • • • . • . . cc Needlework/Needlecraft/Dress •• •• ACC Nutrition and Food/Cool

I . .. 91

3 COU.1SES P7WVJD~.) RY TJ,E FE COLLl:G,:S I"\ T1.E CC:Il'ZU!ATIC:\ OF' i\OTTI;:GllAH- G.C.E. 11 A11 LEVEL - contd,

FT DR EVE

Stat1<;tics •• . . ACC ACC ACC Surveyinr; •• . . .. lVOC SysteJ.JS - Elect. and Electron BC Zoology ...... PC PC PC

Key -

ACC - Arno 1 d and Carlton Col1ogP of Further Educat1on BHC- Basford Hall College of Further Educat1on BC - BePston College of Further Education CC - Clarcndon College of Further Crlucat1on PC - People's College of Further Education li'BC - 1lest Br1dgford College of Further Euucation

lf1gurcs extracted from D1rcctory of Courses 111 Further Educat1on 111 the Ei''lt l·ndlands - 1980/81). 92

C( U1lS ''S p .-:.ovr ')~:1) BY Tl!'' F' 1~ COLLSG"S r;: Tl~S CG':'~LJ ,t~3ATIC~: OF' l'\OTTI::GJ lA~! - G.C.E. "O'' LEVZL FT nn EVE

Accounts, Acco11ntJn2:, Account.~ncy / Principle" • • .. ACC BBC DIJC BC Art (Dcslgn) 0. .. .. /'.CC 131!C J31!C Arts nnd Cr;; ft s .. BC BC B1oJon;y . . •• ...... ACC ACC BC BC BC PC PC li'BC \VBC D1olo~y (iiun<:ln) . . . . •• • • 13HC BHC PC PC 1JBC 1'BC En~1neering Dra1~~1ng .. . . • • \I'BC English Lnn!;uage . . • • •• ACC ACC BHC BHC BC BC BC 'me lvBC En,g;l1sh L1ter;:,ture • • •• • • .. BHC BHC BC BC BC \IBC \\'BC Environment::~l Stndies .. • • .. UBC European Studies • • • • . . •• ~·TBC French • • • • . . . . • • .. BllC BHC BC BC BC \'iBC \'ll3C Geography . . . . •• •• ACC BHC BHC BC BC BC 17BC \I'BC Geolor;y ...... BHC PC PC Geomctric-En:inecr1ng Dra1-v1ng • • BC BC

/ ... 93

2 CC·U.C.S~: p_:cvJ l_D :oY TJ ' FE Cl'LLSG2S 1:\ T_ . eo:. LmATio:: GF l:GT rr:;GJ:/.1·1 - G.c.::::. "O" LEV:SL - CC'lltd.

FT DR EVE

German •• • • ...... BC 1'TJC \lBC Govrrnr1cnt/Po 11 tJ c s/Ilrl t l sh Con- stltutlon .. • • •• •• . . ACC BEC J31JC BC 1:sc l7BC Gr <' c 1: - Clnss1cnl St11"]J PS .. . . \offiC Ill story . . •• ACC BEC BBC \!BC \offiC Ill story - Econom1c, Soc1nl . . • • BC BC BC liBC Jtnl1an ...... l;IJc La1.; - Eng. Gener~l Princ1ples •• BHC li'I3C \oiBC Hnther.-:Dtlcs - General . . •• . . BHC BHC BC BC BC PC PC \.'BC 1'iBC ~bthematic.: - Ac'd:Ltlonal . . • • ACC BC BC BC J.!nth<»JatlCS - Co•,v:lcrcl.al • • .. li'BC ~bthc1"ntics - Pure . . • • . . ACC ACC i;'e edl et,-ork/1\e cdl ccraft/Dres s • • ACC Kutr1t1on and Food/Coolccry •• .. ACC BHC J BC BC Photo.;raphy • • • • • • BBC Physics .. • • ...... ACC ACC BC BC BC 1i'BC 1\"BC PC PC Ppttery/Ccramics • • •• • • .. ACC BIIC ii'BC \I'BC Pre-r:urs:~.ng ...... cc 1TBC Print-~!aldng • • • • . . •• • • ii'BC 11'BC Religious Kn01dedge . . .. BHC BHC Science - General, Physical • • •• 1iBC Sculpture •• • • ...... ACC 1VBC 1i'BC Soc1oJo~y ...... ACC ACC BHC BHC BC BC BC UBC iiBC Span1sh . . • • • • • • . . .. cc lTBC tVBC

/ ... 94

.) COPHS£5 LWYI ,)~D BY TL.: F:C COLL.SGI:S I:l TJ!E Co::urmATJO}; OF ::OTTIXGI!IIN - G,C.E. "0 11 LCYEL - contd.

FT DR EVE

StatJ.stJ.cs • • •• • • . . ACC BC BC BC II'BC 1ffiC StatJ.stJ.cs - AcldltJ.onal .. BC BC BC Survey1ng ...... UBC Techn1cnl :::>rv.l ..~1 ng ...... BHC

Key -

ACC- Arnolnd Carlton College of Further Education BHC - Bnsford Hall College of Furthrr Education BC - Beeston College of Further E~ucation CC - Clarendon College of Further Education PC - People's College of Further Education HBC - 1:est Bridgford Coc lege of Further Ectuc:>tion

(figures extracted from DJ.rectory of Courses 1n Further Education J.n the East 1-ll.dlands - 1980/bl), 95 o£1er 19 and Beeston 18. Clarendon, follow1ng the earl1er rat1onal1sat1on, takes no share of the 11 0 11

1 evel rm rket, apart £rom those bu1l t 1nto ex1sting vocat1onal courses, and of1ers only Dran1a and Span1sh

Cull-t1me, wlnle People's College also of1er no full­ time 11 0 11 levels and only six at part-t1me day and even-

1ng classes. Basford !!all lost all 1ts full-t1me GCE courses (in 1974 they had between 250 and 300 full-t1me

11 0 11 level students) in 1977, ostens1bly to the sixth forms, although the pr1nc1pal bel1eves that many of the students who were determ1ned to enter FE opted for some of the other further educat1on colleges 1n the area.

This college was only allm

1s set amongst many 11 - 18 11 county11 schools \'o1th small s1xth forms battl1ng for students, and th1s college, there- 96

fore, faces compet1t1on from s1xth forms M1tl11n the

11 - lb schools ratl•er tl•an any of tl1e city s1xth forms

or FE colleges. He bel1eves that tl•e county schools are

cl1ng1ng to the1r s1xth forms, although the numbers

1nvolved do not really make them a v1able propos1t1on,

and tl•ey are greatly aga1nst the idea of an FE college

tak1ng any share of tl1e academ1c mdrket. \~est Bridgford

has bu1lt up 1ts share of the 11 0 11 and "A" level market

1n recent years, but 1s 1n a s1milar pos1t1on to Beeston

College, where there 1s l1ttle cornpetit1on nearby.

Beeston has no s1xth form or FE college anywhere w1th1n

easy travell1ng d1stances, although sixth forms within

the 11 - lb Beeston schools prov1de s1m1lar courses.

Beeston provides both 11 0 11 and "A" level courses across

the spectrum of full-t1me, part-time day and evening, but,

like \vest Br1dgford, caters for a large number of mature

students. West Bridgford College is the only city college .. south of the River Trent, and, although Fa1rham Comprehen­ s1ve School can take sixth form prov1sion for the Cl1fton

area, often students prefer to go on to a college of

further educat1on. The "old" city colleges of Clarendon

and People's were rationalised early on, M1th Clarendon

offer1ng "A" level arts subjects and People's "A" level

sc1ence subJects, and th1s has al•ays worked well for

people l1v1ng 1n the inner c1ty area with no compet1t1on

rais1ng its head. Clarendon, like Arnold and Carlton

and West Bridgford College, does little at th1s level 1n

part-time day prov1s1on, whic11 1s left to People's and

Beeston College. 97

Only 1n certa1n areas does rat1onal1sat1on appear to aCCect GCE courses at the colleges. For example, People's

College, ~l11ch spec1alises in the sc1ences 1 1s tile only Nottingham FE college to offer Botany, Geology or Zoology at 11 A11 level. It 1s not1ceable that none of the sixth form colleges offers e1ther Botany or Zoology at th1s level, ~h1ch leaves an opening for People's to offer 11 free­ stand1ng11 courses (not allied to vocational courses) con­ ta1n1ng an element not on ofCer at the s1xth forms.

Clarendon can do the same w1th Drama or Commun1cat1on

stud1es 1 while West Br1dgford can offer Pottery and Ceram1cs or Survey1ng. Eng1neer1ng Sc1ence 1s only offered by

Beeston College, while Arnold and Carlton 1s the only college offer1ng Book-keeping and Accounts.

By such means the FE colleges are still able to offer some free-stand1ng 11 0 11 and "A" level courses. From September

1980 they were not allowed to offer any 11 0 11 or "A" level wh:i.ch was not part of a vocat1onal course, except for mature students or as part of an 1ntensive one-year course, such as the 18-plus courses prov1ded by Clarendon. It was then up to the individual colleges to produce ev1dence that the courses they were provid1ng could be justified as be1ng part of a vocational course. The colleges of fur­ ther educat1on appear to have done this very well, judg1ng from the large,number of GCE courses they offer. It has, of course, meant a complete re-vamping of courses so that now the FE colleges offer such th1ngs as ''Vocational

Preparatory Courses", incorporating GCE Advanced or Ord1nary levels. These cover such areas as Hosp1tal Careers and 98

Soc1al Worl•, Eng111eer1ng Technolog1es, Nurs1ng, Bus1ness or Secretar1al Stud1es, General Eng~neer1ng or Electron1cs and Telev1s~on Eng1neer1ng, as at Beeston College, or they may cover Car1ng Courses, BU51ness Stud1es, Profes­ s1onal, Secretar~al and Language Stud~es, or even a

Sports Foundat1on Course, as at Clarendon. Th~s has enabled the FE colleges to keep the~r GCE courses - even to expand them ~n some cases, and has led some of the s1xth form colleges to wonder ~f the colleges of further educat1on are play1ng the game.

Wh~le the s~xth form colleges compla1n that the FE colleges should st~ck to vocat~onal work ana not take the1r 11 A 11 level students, the FE colleges bel~eve that they do a good job and that the1r results bear th~s out, It ~s stressed that students frequently come to the FE colleges, after hav1ng fa1led ~n certa1n areas ~n the s1xth form colleges, ~n order to take the second year of an 11 A11 level course or an ~ntens1ve one-year "A" level course - usually -.

;;1th success. Certa1nly at th~s moment ~t looks as though the colleges of FE have won th~s round of the battle of the GCEs, but whether th~s w1ll cont~nue rema1ns to be seen, The problems of fall~ng rolls ~n the near future w1ll certa1nly not allow suff1c1ent students for everyone,

The Nott1ngham colleges of further educat~on do not seem to prov1de many courses lead~ng to the Cert~f~cate of

Further Educat1on, although Beeston College offers a one­ year CFE 1n Eng~neer~ng and 1n Pre-Nurs~ng and Car1ng, and

People's College offers CFE courses ~n both the1r Nechan1cal 99 and Electrical Eng1neer1ng Departments. Some or the colleges also prov1de pre 11 0 11 level Work Preparatory

Courses, such as the General Educat1on Course or the hand1capped students' Towards Employment Course, as at

West Bridgford College. Basrord 1~11 College 1s part1cu- larly proud or 1ts General Education Course Wh1Ch \vas started or1g1nally 1n 1969 for Commonwealth students, and 1s still runn1ng ror students who have had the1r educa- t1on interrupted in some way. It 1s s1milar to the CGLI

Foundat1on Courses but 1s less rormal, and 1t 1s the only such course in the Nottingham conurbation. Clarendon tends to deal \H th what might be termed the 11 up market" end of non-advanced further education, and does not normally accept students who have v1rtually no qualirica- t1ons to orfer, although it 1s l1kely that w1th the

1ntroduction of the new Vocational Preparation Schemes by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) 1n such areas as Cler1cal,

Distribut1on, Basic Recept1on1st/Telephonist Sk1lls and

Pract1cal Commun1cat1ons, more FE colleges w1ll enter the rold, both in the full-time area and the part-t1me var1a­ t1ons that the RSA 1s hoping w1ll emerge.(!) Bees ton

College, which started its new CGLI course 1n Vocational

Preparat1on 1n September 19Bl, and Arnold and Carlton

College, run preparatory courses under the Nanpmver Serv1- ces Commiss1on (NSC), but 1t appears that it has been lert to the s1xth form colleges to prov1de most one year courses for the less able students. Ord1nary General/

(1) Royal Society of Arts (l9Bl). Exam1nat1ons Bullet1n No. 30 - September l9Bl. 100

L~beral Stud~es are, of course, taught - usually as a non-exam~nable subject - as part of the maJor~ty of the further education vocational courses.

Today more and more further education courses are be~ng funded by the Nanpower Services Commiss~on (NSC). The

NSC was set up under the Employment and Tra~n~ng Act of

1973 \<~th t'l>o execut~ve bod~es, the Train~ng Services

Agency (TSA) and the Employment Serv~ces Agency (ESA), but ~n 1978 ~t was reorgan~sed ~nto three d~v~s~ons, two of these correspond~ng to the TSA and ESA, and a third divis1on under Geoffrey Holland which had respons~bil1ty (1) for the MSC's spec1al programmes for the unemployed.

At a time when education has been under great financ1al hardsh1p, income receive from the ~~npower Services

Commiss1on in respect of the1r Training Opportunit1es

Scheme (TOPS) and Youth Opportunities Programme (YOPS) has boosted the funds of further educat1on and allowed a certa1n amount of expansion. In fact, -·this fee income amounted to 6% of the total expend1ture on non-advanced 2 further education in 1980/81.( ) It is likely to be an even higher percentage 1n the 19bl/82 session.

It was felt by several of the FE princ1pals that since their beg1nnings in 196q the Industrial Training Boards

(ITBs) had taken the largest part ~n prov1ding train1ng for youngsters on leav~ng school, but that the1r place is

(1) Cantor, L. M. and Roberts, I. F. (1979). Further Education Today. London: RKP. p. 45.

(2) Educat~on for 16 - 19 Year Olds (the Nacfarlane Report) (19bO). DES. 101 now being taken over by the MSC. At some oC the colleges the ITBs st1ll sponsor many full-time courses; Cor example, at Basford Hall one of the boards (the Construe- t1on Industry Tra1n1ng Board) sponsors courses in carpentry, jo1nery, pa1nt1ng and decorating, but at the moment the future of the boards 1s chang1ng. It was announced by the Employment Secretary in the Commons on

16th November 1981 that the number of industr1al tra1n1ng boards was to be reduced by 16, from 23 to seven. Boards

1n s1x of the seven cases recommended by the Manpower

Serv1ces Commiss1on were to be reta1ned 1 and are: Cloth1ng 1

Construct1on, Engineer1ng, Hotel and Cater1ng, Road Trans- port, and Rubber and Plast1c Processing. Where boards were to be abol1shed 1 the 1ndustr1es concerned were to bear the cost of the alternat1ve voluntary arrangements; where boards were reta1ned they too would be funded by the industry concerned. The seventh board was to be for the offshore sector only of the petroleum 1ndustry. Government support for operat1ng costs was to be extended unt1l the end of Harch 1982.(!)

TOPS courses, wh1ch were originally for the over-19s who had been away from full-time educat1on for at least three years, have now been expanded somewhat to encompass some

16- 19 year olds, but these courses have d1m1nished some- l

(1) Conyers, A. (19bl). 11 16 Tra1n1ng Boards to be Axed",

Da1ly Telegraph - 17th November, 1981 1 p. 1. 102

all tl1e Nottingham colleges o~ FE, w1th the except1on o~

Arnold and Carlton \

TEC Sc1ence Techn1cians course; Beeston of~ers a two-term

Clerk-Typist's course; \Vest Br1dg~ord prov1des a L1mited

1 Sk1lls Eng1neer1ng course 1 as ''ell as a Private Secretary s

Cert1~icate and an Aud1o-Typ1ng course; and Basford Hall offers two-term courses 1n Audio Secretar1al and 1n

Accounts Clerl

Studies, and September 1981 sees the start of a new TOPS preparatory course wh1ch contains 43 students and will run for 43 '"eeks, although each student is not expected to rece1ve more than 15 weeks' study, and 1s then expected to obtain a job or go on to further tra1n1ng. Th1s course is aimed to help those need1ng extra 11teracy and numeracy slt1lls. Basford Hall also o~~ers one of only two courses in the country specialising in Re~rigeration Mechanics, wh1ch 1s funded by the HSC "'ith some levy on the respect1ve employers. Students are recru1ted on a national basis and the course 1s run 1n conjunct1on with Trent Polytechn1c.

As a direct consequence of the 1mplementat1on of the 1977 (1) Holland Report there has been much expansion in the

(1) .Hanpo"'er Serv1ces Commission (1977). Young People and l\orl< (the Holland Report). Lonuon: MSC. 103

Youth Opportun1t1es Programme for the young unemployed.

The YOP progrwm11es cons1st of tl•O elements: liork Exper- ience, "h1ch normally tal

Off1cer for Nottingham South. The years since the Holland

Report have seen a tremendous increase 1n these courses; the academic year of 1981/82 sees many more courses provided than 1n the previous year, and 1t 1s l1kely that th1s 1ncrease will cont1nue Kh1le unemployment 1s so high.

It was announced 1n July 1981 that the }!SC was to receive

an extra £9.6m from the government in 1981/82 1 and that there "ould be an £llm increase for 1982/83. ( 2 ) Latest stat1stics for the Nottingham South D1v1s1on (8th October

1981) show that from an average year group of 9,200 in

(1) NATFHE/NUT (19&0). Educat1on of the 16 - 19 Age Group 1n Leicestersh1re, p. 6.

(2) "Extra Cash for Tra1n1ng", Da1ly Telegraph_ 22nd July 1981, p. 3. 104

th1s area some 3092 are registered as unemployed, w1th

2171 of' these be1ng the 191)1 school leavers. A f'urther

2,579 young people are on YOP courses, so are not reg1s-

tered as unemployed, but the total number who actually

requ1re permanent employment in the area is 5,67l.(l)

The proportion of' these young people who would be class1-

f'1ed as the old 11 city11 students is around one half', but

conurbation numbers would be much greater. With the

unusual way in lvh1ch Nottingham's 16 - 19 educat1on 1s

arranged - s1xth f'orm colleges f'rom the c1ty but FE col-

leges f'ro~ the c1ty and conurbat1on - 1t is V1rtually

1mpossible to obta1n an accurate number. Nevertheless,

the proportions throughout the county do not vary greatly

although students who live 1n the southern part of' the

county, around the city, are likely to f'are better than

the ''northern'' students as the colleges are more accessible to them,

The 1981 (September/October) figures show that 554 places

have been prov1ded f'or young people on short tra1ning

courses wh1ch are either college or 1ndustry based, wh1le

the total provis1on across the year is around 900 on

courses l>h1ch are mostly of 13 weeks 1 duration, and are

usually in such areas as Eng1neering 1 Motor Veh1cles,

Catering or Business stud1es. Most of' the Nott1ngham col- leges play the1r part 1n these schemes, but Arnold and

Carlton have played the sole part dur1ng 1980/81 1n

(1) Conversat1on with Mr. J, E. Hotchin, H,A,, D1v1s1onal Careers Of'f'icer, South D1v1sion, Nottinghamshire County Council - 5th November 1981, 105

prov1d1ng L1fc and Soc1al Sl<1lls courses for the young

people who come 1nto college on one day a week as part

or the1r Worl< Exper1ence courses, Th1s year the college

is expecting about 1,000 - 1 1 200 young people a week,

1n groups of 10 1 and aims to help them to cope w1th tl1e

trans1 t1.on from school to '"ork and thus enhance the1.r

possl.bl.ll.tl.es of obta1.n1.ng jobs. In order to cope with

these large numbers a new annexe 1s being opened. The

principal of this college finds it strange that money for

his college should be coming from somewhere other than

the DES, but realises that in some ways there are advan-

tages, such as dec1.sions be1ng made much more qu1ckly.

W1th the expansion of these ii'ork Exper1.ence programmes

more and more of the colleges have entered tl1e arena,and

both Basford Hall and West Bridgford are now part1cipating with Beeston College just mal

At Basford Hall YOP students 1n the Construct1on Depart- ment have been integrated with other courses, w1th the

exception of a 25-week Introduct1on to Furniture course, which took rather a long time to get off the ground after

several health and safety factors were cons1.dered but th1.s 1 is now being run; the1r Bu1.lding Serv1.ces Department is runn1ng two one-term YOP courses, wh1le the Bus1ness Studl.es

Department has three one-term Introduction to Clerical Work courses, and a one-term Introduct1on to Distr1.but1.on course. September 19Ul sees some 79 students on Work

Exper1ence at college for one day a week for a term, and the General Stud1es Department has a further 20 young people,

The pr1.nc1pal l.s very keen to help the unemployed as much as possible, and has done all he can to prov1.de as many 106 courses as poss1ble.

The Nott1ngham colleges have not been slow to open thc:Lr doors to the young unemployed, and both West Br1dgford and Beeston College are also fulf1ll1ng the1r roles 1n th:Ls d1rect1on. Even Clarendon, w1th 1ts bulg1ng class- rooms, 1s operating a 13-week YOP Catering course at present, and from early 19Cl2 is prepar1ng to take several young people on work experience placements. Although it has been thought that YOP courses have grown so rap1dly that the emphasis has been more on quant1ty than quality, and that the lil

It is estimated that they now cater for one in three of every school leaver 1n 19Ll, ...,.1 th the l1kel1hood of th:Ls be1ng one J..n two in 1982. (l) It :Ls now a force to be reckoned with 1n the world of education, and 1s likely to become an even larger force 1n the years to come.

Geoffrey Holland recently pointed out at Coombe Lodge that the FE colleges'reaction to MSC proposals have been rather patchy, luke-warm and even hostile on occas1ons,( 2 ) but this has certainly not been the case w1th Nottingham.

Without the co-operat1on rece:Lved from the Nottingham colleges there could have been no way in which these government sponsored courses could have been so successful.

(1) Farley, H. (1981). "Quality in YOP 11 , NATFHE Journal, Nay 1981, pp 20 - 24. (2) Holland, G. in T1mes Higher Educ. Supplement - 30th October 1981, p. 3. 107

The colleges are not merely helping to keep young people

o11 the unemployment reg1ster, but are 1ul11lling the1r

trad1t1onal role of prov1d1ng d second chunce - opening

up all sorts of opportun1ties to young people who m1ght

otherwise never have had that second chance. Perhaps,

also, 1or the FE colleges who have the prospect o1 fall-

1ng rolls in the near 1uture, 1t has come at a very

opportune t1me. Certa1nly 1t 1s believed that unless

the FE colleges are prepared to accept the 11 new11 FE,

then there 1s a poss1b1l1ty that the serv1ce w1ll 1nev1t-

ably shr1nk and, 1f conf1ned purely to trad1t1onal courses,

become isolated and irrelevant to progress1ve develop­

ments.(!) With the far-s1ghtedness that the Nottingham

colleges are showing in this direct1on, it appears unlikely

that such a 1ate is 1n store for them; they can assuredly

look forward to a bright future.

It has just been announced that new government plans are • being drawn up to provide a £1.5 billion JObs drive 1or

young people, which will guarantee school leavers £15 a

week 1or a year while they learn new skills.(2 ) This w1ll

mean that these longer term formal training schemes will

gradually replace the shorter six months YOP schemes, and

should encourage employers to take on more school leavers.

(1) Farley, M. (1981). "The new FE 11 , NATFHE Journal, November 1981, pp 24 - 26. (2) "Plans for Jobs Drive", Nottingham Evening Post, 8th December 1981, p 6. 108

Vocat1onal educat1on has tradJ.tJ.onally been prov1dcd by

the "Tcch 11 • All the Nott1ngham colleges of further educa-

tion run true to trad1t1on and prov1de tl1is for local, and not so local, students, spread over the1r range of full-time, block release, part-time and evening courses.

In Nottingham the only sandlil.Ch course run by an FE college is at Basford Hall, hhere school-leavers may take a 3-year TEC D1ploma in Furniture Studl.es. The range of courses may be sum•:1arised by looking at the departments

1n t!1e different colleges, hhl.ch are:

Arnold and Carlton - N1n1ng and Engineer1.ng; General

Stud1es; Business Stud1es; Adult Educat1on.

Basford Hall - Construct1on; Bu1ld1ng Serv1ces Eng1neer- ing; BusJ.ness Stud1es; General Stud1es; Community Care;

Adult EducatJ.on.

Beeston - Engineer1ng; General Education; Professl.onal

StudJ.es; Adult Educatl.on.

Clarendon - Business, Profess1onal and Management StudJ.es; • General StudJ.es and Languages; Cater1ng and Food Stud1es;

Ha1rdressing; Fashion and Sc1ence; Adult Educat1on.

People's - Mechan1cal Engineer1ng; ElectrJ.cal Eugineering;

Science; General Studl.es and Adult EducatJ.on.

West Bridgford - Bus1ness Stud1es; Science and General

Studies; Pr1nt1ng, Art and Des1gn; Adult EducatJ.on.

It can be seen (pp 109 - 113) that although all colleges offer I

General and Adult Educat~on, and People's is the only college wh1ch does not offer Bus1ness/Profess1onal Stud1es, there is a certa1n amount of ratJ.onal1sat1on w1thin the conurbat1on. This began follow1ng the establ1shment of 109

COUHSES I': VOCATIOl:AL (EXA:ii':ATIOi:) Stl.JJ,'CTS P.10'.'IJ :n r;y TilE FE COLLEGES n: TI'E C0~:U.l.!1ATIO:i' OF c OTTL\'GIIAH, EXCLt.:.JI:,G G,C,E, 11 A11 AXD 11 0 11 LEVEL

FT SAN PTD EVE A:lT MW D!:SIGN .. ACC cc cc \Vl3C HBC l{BC BBC BBC BHC HAIRDRESSI!\G, BEAUTY CULTURE cc cc cc TEXTILES 1!.. CLOTHI~:G ~iA>WF.\CTUHE PC cc • • •• . . \'ll3C + Bl.:lel, HBC \VBC BH SURVEYI:.JG/r.UAKTITIES, TO\.'!\' & COUST.RY PLA1GI;·:G, BUILDL:G CC::sr::RVATIO:; , , • • • • BllC BHC BBC BBC I:AUTlCAL • . • • • • • • • • ACC £!\VI:~Ol\~JEi\'TAL HEALTH • • • • cc cc HEALTH, SOCIAL SEHVICES/SCI!LC£S \I'BC \VBC A XL> \i:SLFARE • • • • • • • • CC .L Bl. Rcl. cc BHC BHC BBC BC ACC 1-lBC \i'BC \-!BC PC PC TEACII!::RS' COURSES . . CCOlus1c) cc CC (EFL) (C£.G 730) CC (OP) CC(SHD) CC(TYPG) l>'BC H13C ( OP) (C&G 730) 1-ffiC ( SH.)) \VBC(TYPG) HBC(C&G7 SPEECH, DRAHI\, THEAT:l.E .. cc cc BC DATA PTIOCESSING, CO!iPUTJ!\G A:;-o }!ATHENATICS • • • • • • • . cc ACC ACC ACC BC \iBC lVBC \\'BC Dm!SSTICjC,E 1 HOT:::L R:::Ct:PTIO:>:. ETC. CC cc cc SCI:::XCES General • • ...... PC PC PC Earth & L1f'e Sc1ences • • •• PC PC Hcdical . . .. • • PC PC PC Phys1cs R Chenistry . . . . PC NIXIXG A:-.'D C.UATIRYI!'IG . . . . ACC Bl.Rel. ACC BPSil\'ESS EDUCATION COUXCIL B.E.C. GPncral Ccrt1f'1cntc ACC ACC BH BH l3C li'BC ; ... 110

2 COU.IS:S ] :; VCC <\TlO., '\L ( :Xi\lli::t.T] 0:0 SUL1J tcC:TS P ~OVJ >::IJ llY Tl': F2 COLL:GrS r:; T: t£ CC:\P~flATIOX OF XOTTI::GJJAol, ~XCLUDJ :;G G , C , E • 11 A 11 A' :D 11 0 11 L:C:VI:L - con t d,

FT PT;) EVE

Bl'Sn:sss I:DGCATION COU~:CIL Cont d. B.E.C. Gcncrnl DjpJo:~~ •• ACC ACC BHC BHC 13C 1I!JC B.fl,C, Nat1ona] CcrtJficate ,, ACC BBC 13C cc 1fBC WBC B.E.C. National D1plona ACC RC cc cc 1ii3C B.s.c. Ili:rher Netional Certifi­ cate ConvcrsJon cc SEC,CTA!UAL RSA/ENEU Shorthand Typew·r1 t1ng ACC ACC ACC BBC BI!C BHC BC BC BC cc cc cc 1?BC h'BC 1VBC Pi tr.1an Shorthand Tyre>>T1 t1ng ACC ACC ACC BBC BHC BHC BC BC BC 1IDC 1VBC 1-lBC PJ..tmanscript •• ...... ACC cc cc Pitman 2000 .. • • •• ,, ACC ACC ACC BHC BHC BHC cc 1VBC 1VBC General Secretar1al .. ,, ACC ACC ACC BHC BBC BC BC cc cc 1lBC 1VBC 1VBC RSA Secretar1al Inter/Adv, ACC ACC ACC BI-~C BHC BHC BC BC cc cc 1VBC 1lBC 1-lBC ElffiU Secretar1al . . •• ACC ACC BHC BHC BHC BC BC cc cc \WC 1/BC lfBC AJvanced Secrctar1al .. ACC cc 1VBC Secretar1al/L1n~uists' Cert. ACC cc 1VBC B1l1n~ual Secrctar1al • • .. cc lffiC I . .. 111

3 COUHSCS IK VOCATTO 'AL ( !:;:AJ!Ii\ATIO:\) SL113J >'CTS P.WVJ D.-:D BY n;·.; FE COLU'Gr:S 1;· TLo;: co:;u:1BATJU!; ( F ::OTTIKGl!A~l, r:;;:CLUDil\G G,C,E, "A" A?:D 11 0 11 LI:VSL - contd.

FT SAN PTD EVE SEC~ETA~IAL contd, Prlv~te Secret~ry's LCC Cort. ACC ACC ACC BC cc cc HBC HBC Jun1or Sec. LCC Cert~1lcate 1ll3C Prlvate Sec, LCC Dlploma cc Hord Process1ng . • • • BC Medical Secretarlal Dlploma cc Post Grnduate Sccretc.rlal ,, cc BUSINESS STUDIES Al\'D HANAGEHENT (other than SecrPtarial) Basic Clerical Tra1nin~ ,, BHC lVBC General Com~ercial •• •• ACC ACC ACC RSA f. Ncture Students •• •• ACC ACC ACC BHC BHC BHC BC BC BC cc cc cc lVBC lVBC \VBC Foremen r" Superv1sion: Course ]or Supervlsors in Industry lVBC lYBC Cert. in Supervlsory Studles (KEBSS) • • • • •• • • cc cc II'BC llBC Cert. of Supervlsory Hanage- Ment •• . . . . •• •• cc Inst. of Baths Hanagement (Inter,) • • .. • • lVBC Prlnting Industry Nana~ement lVBC Cert. ln Adnin Hanage~ent & Cert. in Orgn & Method •• cc Inst. of Nanagement Services HBC Book-Keeplng, Inter/Advcnced ACC ACC cc cc l7BC 1VBC Inst. of Accounting Staff, (Parts I and II) • • • • .. cc Assoc. of Cert. Accountants cc cc Chartered Inst. of Insurance cc cc Retailing/Retail Dlstrlbution BHC BHC Unlted ComPlerclal TrC>vellers' Assoclatlon (Parts I/II/III) cc Institute of Packaging •• cc Foundation Course in Overseas Trade • • • • • . cc cc Tnst. of Travel and Tourlsm CPrt (Primary/Inter) •• .. BC Civ;l Service Clerical . . BHC cc cc Civil Servlce Executlve •• cc

TEC Cert. ln Property )~nage­ nent ~ Hous1ng Services •• BHC TEC Cert. ll1 Vnluation and Pro;_1crty i'bn'l~cment •• .. BHC 112

4 CC'U:1SES I'" VOCATIO' AI (;.;;:o\:rr::.J: f''o COLL':GES IX TI:S COI:tUBATio;; OF ;,OTTI!,Gl!AN, EXC! U.JI;:G G.C.2. "A" LZVC:L Al;D "O" L2'lCL - cc:1td.

FT PTD ::VE

AssocJation of Tiat~ng nnd Valuat1on OCf1cers ,. cc Inst1tute of Lc:::;al C::ccut- lVCS • • .. .. ACC ACC Llbrary Ass1st~nts 1 C~rtifl- cn.te • . • • • . 1/BC TEC!l:'IIC IAN E JUCA TI 0:\' COU::c IL E~:Gr;:s:;:n::G COURSES - Ccrt1f~cntcs: Al General • . • . • . • • ACC A2 Clectron1cs • • .. • • BC PC PC Tclccon:>unlcntlons • • , • PC Bl.Rel. PC PC A3 Electr1cnl En~inc0rins •. PC PC A4 Ind. Neasnre and Control Plant •• •. •• •. PC A5 Mech. ~Production Eng • •• ACC BC PC ~6 Fabr1cn.t2on ancl ~lc 1 ding •• PC A8 ~~otor VehJ.cle Eng1neering PC Di?lomas: A2 Electron1cs •• . . ,. BC PC AS }lech. R Production Eng • •• BC PC EL:CCTRICAL EtiGI~:E:'ORii:G (other than TEC) EITB • . • • • • • . ACC Bas1c En~. Craft Studies .. ACC PC Bl.Rel. PC Elect. & Electron1c Craft Stud1es (Parts I and II) • • PC PC Elect. Installat1on Work (Parts I nncl II) . . . . • . ACC PC Bl.Rel. PC PC Illu~inatin~ En~ineering •. BHC Cert. of FE: Elect. ~ Electron1c/ Rad1o, TV 8. Aud1o syster1s •• BC PC Tclecom-unication Mcchs. (Parts I, II and III) • • , , , , PC J:.ECHA?;JCAL E?:GIXZERD:G (other than TEC) Ccrtiflcate of FE .. PC EITB • • • • • • • • . . ACC PC Ens;1ncering Operatives .. BllC Bl.Rel, PC General En~incer1ng •• • • PC BC Bas1c En~. Craft Stu~ies •• ACC ACC BC PC

I . .. 113

5 COU;

DY TJ::: FE COLI Z GSS J :· T, ':; CCJ:\U;m,~ TIC:: OF 1\0TTil\GliA}! 1 I:XCLC'DI!:G G.C ,:,;, "A" LCVI:L A:':D non L!:VE:" - contd,

FT SA:\' PTD EVE }iECIIAl\ICAL E:\GI:'/C:EIU::G (other than TI:C courses) contd, Ncch, Eng, Craft Stud1c~ (Port II) .. . • ACC PC (Part III) • • .. • • PC RcfrJ~crntJ.on llcchanics • • nilC BI!C Or:nnisntion Stu<.hes .. • • PC Ol\D Technology (Eng.) . . . . ACC PC J,ECl:A:UC.\L E:1GI!/8SRI:;G: F ABRICA­ TICK, \.'.SL::>I::G, FOUNDRY A?\D PATTE::lN NAKIXG (other than TI:C courses) ~lcldin~: Craft Practice (Parts I and II) . . • . . • • . PC PC Fnbr1cnt1on Craft •• •• •• PC Bas1c Eng. Craft Stud1es (Part I) • • • • • • • • • • PC We'ding Craft Studies (Part II) . . . . • . • . • • PC Sheet Hetal and Thin Plate Craft Studies (Parts II and II) . . . . •• • • • • PC Structural and Th1ck Plate Craft Stu1ies (Parts II and II I) . . . . • . . . PC Fabrication and \·.'elding Tech- nicHms (Part Ill) • • • • PC Boil er Operat1.ves • • • . • • PC HOTOR VEHICL!:S (other than TEC courses) Certificate 1n Further Edn ••• PC Motor Vehicle Craft Studies ( Pc.rts I and II) • • • • • • BC PC (Part Ill) ...... BC BC PC PC Veh1cle Body 1~rk Craft Studies (P<'.rts I, II "nd Ill) • • • • PC Hotor Vehicle Technicians, (Parts II and Ill) •• •• •• PC PC H<'.lntenance and Re:oa1r of Con­ struct~on Plant . • • • . . BC Road Transport Ind. Integrated Course (Parts I, II and III) BC Bl.Rel, PC Bl.Rel. (P<'.rt IV) • • • • •• •• PC Bl.Rel • IHI Final .. • • • • PC PC

I~ey - ACC - Arnold & Cnrl ton ColJ cge of Further Education BliC - Bnsford Hall College of Further Education BC - Beeston College of Further E·

It has been ment1oned that Basf'ord Hall lost all 1ts f'ull­ tJ.me GCE courses, winch came as a great blow to that college, althougll J.t receJ.ved all Waverley College courses upon J.ts closure, but even worse was to befall West

Br1dgf'ord College. It is bel1eved by most of' the pr1nc1- pals of tJ1e colleges, and partJ.cularly by the pr1nc1pal of'

West Bridgf'ord, that thJ.s college suf'f'ered more than any other; J.t lost a whole eng1neer1ng department, which was shared amongst the other conurbat1on colleges of'f'er1ng thJ.s subject, and merely receJ.ved J.n J.ts place a pr1nt1ng department f'rom Trent PolytechnJ.c, wh1ch J.nvolved the transf'er of' some 13 lecturers and technl.cJ.ans f'rom Trent

PolytechnJ.c. VarJ.ous losses 1n the area of' adult educa- t1on also dJ.d nothing to soften the blow. .1-ll.nor adJust­ ments were made amongst the other colleges. Clarendon and People's both felt that ratJ.onalJ.satJ.on only aff'ected them mJ.nimally, perhaps least, whJ.le the other colleges f'elt that they lost out a little at that time. In the area of' busJ.ness studJ.es, whJ.ch has always had a large share of' Nottingham's 16 - 19 vocational educat1on, courses were arranged so that dJ.f'rerent colleges dl.d dl.fferent levels of work, so that Clarendon - and to a certain extent

West Bridgford - took on, or kept, most of' the higher level work.

It can be seen that Clarendon J.s the only college 1n the conurbation to of'fer catering and food studies, ha1rdress­

J.ng, f'ash1on, and a spec1alised language department. It also specJ..alises 1n music and drama, fac.1.ng 1ts only 115 compet1 t::t.on ::t.n tl11 s area from B::t.l borough S::t.x th Form

College, although Clarendon has the h::t.gl1er level ''Advanced

Husic::t.an11 courses. Clarendon also has a large management section, w::t.th the only other FE college offering anyth::t.ng

1n th::t.s area be::t.ng West Br::t.dgford, and also specialises

1n the h::t.gher, or more unusual courses 1n tue secretar::t.al section of ::t.ts bus::t.ness stud::t.es; for example, 1t offers tl1e only post-graduate secretar::t.al course and med::t.cal secretar::t.al course 1n tl1e county. Basford Hall is the only conurbat::t.on college to offer survey::t.ng and to>

It is also the only college to offer the Nursery Nurses'

Course 1n 1ts Waverley Department, as well as many part- time courses in commun::t.ty care and soc::t.al work; it also

special::t.ses ::t.n retailing. Arnold and Carlton has always done a lot of work 1n the GCE field, but 1s at present

specialis::t.ng also in MSC courses for the young unemployed. "' It also offers the only m::t.n::t.ng engineer::t.ng courses in the conurbation. West Bridgford offers the only Pr::t.nting

Department ::t.n the conurbat::t.on, and also seems to offer a w::t.de range of courses right across the board, poss::t.bly due to the fact that 1t is the only FE college south of the r::t.ver, with its only s::t.xth form compet::t.tion ::t.n the area com::t.ng from Fairham Comprehens::t.ve School, so it has begun courses as they have been needed. People's has by far the largest departn1ent spec1al1sing in eng1neer1ng courses for 1ts particular area, and Arnold and Carlton offer some eng::t.neer-

::t.ng. People's 1s the college wh::t.ch spec::t.al::t.ses 1n all areas of' sc1ence. 116

Nothing has done so much to shake the world of further

educat1on in recent years as TEC and BEC, the Techn1c1an

Education Council and Bus1ness Education Counc1l (in

Scotland SCOTEC and SCOTBEC) formed, eventually, after

the Haslegrave Report on the tra1ning of technicians.

The Awards come 1n the form of a Cert1f1cate or a Diploma,

the Diploma involv1ng a broader base of study, and may be

studied 1n non-advanced further education to General or

Nat1onal standard. The courses are based on modules, or

un1ts, and may be bu1lt up or converted over a per1od of

time. Both TEC and BEC have use of the fac1l1t1es of the

CGLI, and it was a1med that they would eventually take

over all the ,,ork of the CGLI and Ord1nary National courses

at technician level and above, but, unl1ke the ONC and OKD

they are not assoc1ated w1th modes of attendance. Although

TEC and BEC are mak1ng headway, they have not yet succeeded

in taking over completely the courses mentioned, but all

the Nottingham colleges are involved w1th both Counc1ls' ~ courses to a large degree.

V1rtually all TEC courses 1n engineering, which are mostly

carried out on a part-time day and evening bas1s with younger students, are at People's College, w1th one or

two courses also held at Arnold and Carlton and Beeston

College. People's also provides block release 1n one area

of TEC - Communicat1ons, wh1le Beeston runs a full-time

TEC Diploma course in Electron1cs. People's has by far

the largest number of part-t1me day students in the

16- 19 age bracket (seep. 76), all tak1ng such subJects as TEC Engineering Certif1cates or Diplomas, or Eng1neer- ing courses other than TEC 1n the areas of Electr1 cal or 117

Ncc!Janlcal EnglJJccring or Motor Vch1clcs. All engineer-

1ng ,,ork appears to be heavily we1:;hted, 1n the <11rect1on of block release and part-time day and even1ng, w1th relat1V­ ely :fel< even1ng only classes be1ng held. As can be seen

:from the outline o:f courses (pp 109 - 113) only a very small number o:f :full-t1me courses 1n eng1neering 1s ava1l- able at the Nott1ngham FE colleges. This academ1c year

1981/b2 secs the :f1nal year o:f OND Catcr1ng and the :f1rst year o:f TEC Cater1ng at Clarendon College.

BEC courses are offered by all tl>e Nottingham colleges w1th the exception o:f People's, but they vary in what they offer. Four o:f the :five o:f:fer BEC General Certifi­ cate, wh1le Clarendon only offers the National Certificate and Diploma. On the other hand, Bas:ford Hall does not o:f:fer the National level wh1le the other colleges do.

Clarendon 1s the only college to offer the BEC H1gher

National Certificate Convers1on course, and West Bridg:ford

1s the only college to offer part o:f a BEC Nat1onal

Certi:f1cate wh1ch can be taken in the evening. All BEC courses may be taken :full-time or by part-t1me day at one or other o:f the conurbat1on colleges, apart :from the BEC

National Cert1ficate which is run purely on a part-time day bas1s.

The Nottingham colleges offer a wide choice o:f secretar1al courses which can be talcen :fu11-t1me, part-time day or by evening. These are usually geared to the syllabuses o:f such boards as the Royal Society o:f Arts (RSA), the

East H1dlands Educational Un1on (EHEU) or Pitman. The spec1alist courses do, however, tend to be by :full-t1me 118 study only anJ arc based rna1nly at Clarendon, although some may also be taken at West Br1dg£ord. There is a w1de var1ety o£ other Bus1ness Stud1es and Management courses available in the colleges, w1th basic Clerical and Commercial courses tending to be based at Bas£ord

Hall or Arnold and Carlton College, while such courses as Supervisory or Nanagement tend to be based at Clarendon or West Bridg£ord; these are ma1nly on a part-t1me day basis. Insurance and Banl<1ng are based at Clarendon and are, aga1n, ta!,en by day release.

Hany large areas o£ work still come under the aeg1s of

C1ty and Gu1lds examinat1ons. At Clarendon, £or example,

l~here 1 despite large full-time courses, the majority of the students taking Ha1rdressing or Catering come to college on day release, they v1rtually all study tm~ards

CGLI exam1nat1ons. The colleges involved in City and

Gu1lds courses o££er such diverse areas as Furniture Cra£t at Basford Hall, Garment Manufacture at Clarendon, Pr1nting

Production l-lork at \vest Bridg£ord, and Computer Program­ ming at Arnold and Carlton. Although it l~as understood that CGLI were to have phased out their techn1c1an level examinations by 1983, it lvould seem unlikely that TEC w1ll be ready to take over the vast space 1e£t by these by th1s date. Certa1nly CGLI play a large part 1n shap1ng courses in the FE colleges £rom their newest Foundat1on

Courses (also used by one o£ the s1xth £orms) to the

C & G 730 Teachers' Certif1cate.

Nottingham students who rece1ve part-t1me day or block release come £rom a very l>1de range o£ industr1es. Nost 119 of the colleges have a w1de spread of these, and they

1ncl ude: l'hning and Quarrying; Food, Dr1nlc and Tobacco;

Coal/Petroleum products; Cheuncal and All1ed Industries;

Ne tal Manufacture; Nec!1anical Engineer1ng; Industrument

Eng1neer1ng; Electrical Eng1neer1ng; Shipbuild1ng; Leather,

Leather Goods, Fur; Vehicles; Metal Goods; Text1les;

Cloth1ng and Footwear; Bricl

Furniture, etc; Paper, Print1ng, Publish1ng; other manu­ facturing 1ndustries; Construction; Gas, Electr1c1ty and l{ater; Transport/Corrunun1cat1ons; Distr1butive Trades;

Insurance, Banking, F1nance; Professional/Sc1entific

Serv1ces; }~scellaneous Serv1ces Cinclud1ng Hairdressing, etc.); Public Adm1nistration and Defence. So 1t can be seen that the Nottingham colleges offer a varied range of courses to su1t virtually all types of 1ndustry.

As can be seen from the table of students (p. 76) all full-t1me courses at the FE colleges are weighted towards the younger (16 - 19) age range. This is again the ca~e

1n the area of Block Release, with the except1on of

Clarendon College, wh1ch runs only one block release course cons1sting of 15 older students who attend for

Hospital F1rst L1ne Management. Part-time day and part- t1me day and even1ng courses favour the younger student throughout the colleges, with the exception of West

Bridgford w·here a wide range of examinable subJects in tl1e Adult Educat1on Department is attended by the older age group. Aga1n, the even1ng classes favour the more mature student, with tile 16 - 19 year olds averaging bet\\·een 20% and 25% of the whole even1ng intalce throughout 120 the colleges, Numbers overall show that only Basford

Hall, with 1ts 2,23b 16 - 19 year olds and 1,816 20-plus students, and People's College w1th 1ts 2,479 16 - 19 year olds and 1,487 20-plus students, have more 16 - 19 year olds in their total student population. A total of

3,061 16 - 19 year olds attend the Nottingham colleges of further education full-t1me; with the 1,533 students who attend the sixth form colleges and Fa1rham, a total

1s reached of 4,594. Tile total of 4,809 16 - 19 year olds who attend on a part-time day or part-t1me day/ evening bas1s compares favourably with th1s, although this year (1981/82) sees a slight fall in the number of day release students, while a rise (of about 8% 1n some of the colleges) is seen in the number of full-time

students, It 1s 1 however, very diff1cult to relate numbers to areas in the Nottingham colleges, because many 11 county11 students attend the FE colleges, as well as some "out-county" ones, wh1le the s1xth forms, l

the except1on of B1lborough 1 rely heav1ly upon "local" students. Nevertheless, Nottingham appears to more than hold its mm, as far as part t1me day students are con­ cerned, despite the growing reluctance of employers to release them. It is interesting at this point to note that the Nottingham colleges run true to form w1th male domination in the area of day release, w1th the exception of Clarendon College which has 538 males but 619 females on such courses, and 1t is l1kely that th1s 1s due to the large number of female hairdresser apprentices attend­ ing the college. 121

Possible Future DevelopMents

As has been shown, the s1x colleges of the Nott1ngham conurbat1on have fulf1lled a trad1tional role in tl>e provis1on of further educat1on ~1th a strong vocat1onal emphasis for a wide range of students from school leav- lng age onwards and, whereas all FE colleges have a major function in serving the1r 1mmediate local1ty, the

Nottingham colleges of FE have also developed part1cular spec1al1sms wh1ch have extended their role beyond the1r

1mmed1ate geograph1cal area; 1n fact, some of the colleges have adopted a reg1onal role by work1ng in conJunction w1th Trent Polytechn1c in the prov1s1on of certain courses.

Pr1or to local government reorgan1sation in 1974 Further

Education was in the control of the two author1t1es and one of the f1rst steps taken by the new author1ty was to

1n1tiate discussions on the possible rationalisation of vocational courses. As a result, certa1n courses were concentrated 1n particular colleges and, as has been shown, duplicat1on was reduced to a significant extent from 1976.

Th1s rat1onalisat1on primarily affected vocational courses and only relatively minor changes were made in "O" and "A" level prov1s1on within the colleges, although in the case of Basford Hall full-time "0" level prov1s1on >vas discon­ tinued in the ant1c1pation that such courses >vould be suffic1ently provided by the sixth form colleges.

During the past years the colleges have responded as quickly as circumstances and resources have allowed to changing patterns of employment, tra1n1ng and education. 122

They have nlso seen, portJ.cularly 1n the past decade, a s1gni:fJ.cant expansion J.n the demand :for general education l

11 0" level courses '"~hich, as has been shO'\'ln, they have attempted to meet either as port o:f a vocat1onal course or as subjects in their ol

County Council's Working Party report on educatJ.onal prov1sion :for the 16 - 19 age group in Nott1nghamshire recommended that a Pro:fessJ.onal Study Group be :formed

:for the Nottingham conurbation. Th1s \ias set up J.n April

1980, and consJ.sted of the princ1pals o:f the FE colleges, sJ.xth form colleges, and the one 11 - 18 city comprehen-

Sl..Ve. Its purpose is to make consultation amongst the groups more :formal and less of an "ad hoc" operation. At the same t1me it ,...-as stressed that due to the effect of declinJ.ng numbers of this age group, l

taken to try and amalgamate some upper and lower sixth form groups, to examine carefully the justification for

every "A" level subject offered in the curriculum, and to consJ.der carefully l

1t would be J.n that student's best J.nterest to transfer to another inst1tution at the age of 16. Further ratJ.onalisa- t1on \ias to talce place: the \{orkJ.ng Party recommended that from September 1980 the provis1on of full-time "O" and "A" levels as a complete programme o:f study should be regarded 123 as being the renn t of the sJ.xth forms, wh1le the FE colleges would be allowed to Jceep thel.r courses for mature students (the 18-plus group), any part-tJ.me students on a day and/or even1ng basJ.s, and students attendJ.ng on a full-time basl.s for vocatJ.onal courses which requ1re "underpinnJ.ng" from 11 0 11 or "A" levels,

Thl.s is how the situation rema1ns at the moment,

Although J.t was thought by many of the Nottingham princJ.­ pals that the Working Party report would bring about great changes in the 16 - 19 instJ.tutJ.ons, till-S does not appear to have happened. The \vorlang Party dJ.d, 1n fact, stress the importance of a variety of 1nsti tutJ.ons \vhich provided educational opportunJ.ties for this age group in

Nottingham; they belJ.eved that, bear~ng in m~nd the low

staying on rate, the city should provide the best oppor­

tunities possible for these students. As can be seen from the courses provided in Nottingham, the reconunenda­

tions of the Working Party have, to a large extent, been

carried out, Nevertheless, 1t was felt by several princi- pals, mainly of the further education colleges, that the report was lukewarm and s~de-stepped many of the issues.

One of the sixth form pr1ncipals felt that ~t dJ.d not go far enough in preventing the FE colleges from carry~ng on w~th their academic courses in almost the same manner as before, although there is no doubt that qu~te a degree of rational~sation has talcen place in the past few years within the 16 - 19 sector, and there is not a s1gnif~cant amount of duplication of courses ld tlun the area, 124

S1nce the Work1ng Party's report was JIUblishcd early 1n

1980, there has been a change of admin1strat1on 1n

Nottingham. It was felt by some of the pr1nc1pals that

there m1ght be a complete change of policy, but so far

th1s has not occurred. At present the1r educat1onal

man1festo for the 16 - 19 age group appears not to have

been written, w1th the exception that, as has been shown,

certa1n areas of the FE colleges have been brought into

l1ne w1th the sixth form colleges, with more money be1ng

ava1lable than for some years past.

The past few years have brought the education of th1s age

group into the limel1ght possibly more than at any other

t1me, but from central government down controversy st1ll (1) seems to reign. The long-awa1ted Hacfarlane Report

d1d little to help, and certainly throughout the FE sec-

tor seems to be regarded as something of a damp squib.

Once again, central government has been indec1s1ve and has .. left the init1at1ve to the LEAs • As far as Nott1ngham is concerned the author1ty seems to be content to bide its

time, although 1t is l1kely that all the LEAs may soon

need to recons1der the1r provision for this age group and

draw up plans for its 11 comprehensiv1sation". A recent

Labour Party report prom1sed a 11 rad1cal restructure" of

''A'' level examinations (possibly the N and F levels aban-

doned by the present government), and that s1xth form

colleges should be developed 1nto tertiary colleges to

(1) :;';E:"d:.:u::.c:::..:;:a,;:tc;i;.;o:.:n~~fc.;o~r;-,.:;lc.:6;_-~.:;:1;.:9;-Y=e.:::ac:r;_O=l..:d:::.s ( the Hac far 1 an e Report) , ( 19bO). DES. 125 cater for the whole of th1s age group, both full and

o (1) par t t 1me. Tl1is statement alone is something of a bombshell for ever s1nce the f1rst tert1ary college in

Exeter opened its doors they have always been assoc1ated with colleges of FE, being run under FE regulations although cater1ng for the academ1c education of the

16-plus age group as well. Despite the many arguments for and aga1nst th1s type of 1nst1tution, the fact remains that they are grow1ng in number, there be1ng 15 through- (2) out the country by 1979/80. It does appear that many

LEAs bel1eve they are the ansaer to the educat1on of this age group. Certa1nly Nottingham is part of the way there; hav1ng already dec1ded on a break at sixteen the city presumably agreed \qi th the research wh1ch found that many of the problems associated \qith this break are unfounded. {3)

Should Nottingham dec1de to go ahead and turn its 16 - 19

educational system into a more comprehensive tertiary style one, it would have the baclc1ng of most of the principals of its 16 - 19 inst1tutions in the area, and certainly of

the FE pr1ncipals. The response from the sixth form sector is rather less enthusiastic, w1th one pr1ncipal bel1eving that tert1ary educat:~.on is the ep1tome of every-

thing bad in further and s1xth form education. Yet even the most enthusiastic qualified the1r responses by pointing

(1) Doran, A. (1981). 11 No more sixth forms under Labour rule", Da1ly Telegraph - 3rd November, 1981. (2) Education for 16 - 19 Year Olds (the ~lacfarlane Report), (19LO). DES. (3) Dean, J. et al (1979). The S1xth Form and Its Alternatives. London: NFER. p. 322. 126

out all the very obv1ous urawbacl

The question of bu1ld1ngs croppeu up time and time

again as, with a populat1on of around 300,000 people

(more than three times the size of Exeter), find1ng

buildings to accommodate city stuuents, let alone the

conurbation and county students who use the colleges,

would present enormous problems. Obviously no one col- lege would be sufficiently large, wh1ch would mean having

specialisms '~1 th1n certa1n colleges, and thus involve

travelling. Nottingham is a large c1ty to cross and the

time and expense involveu would be exhorb1tant. At th1s

economically str1ngent time 1t was generally felt that new

bu1ldings would be out of the question, and that using

ex1sting bu1ld1ngs would, once aga1n, mean that students

were faced w1th a choice - and travelling, thus obviating

one of the major reasons for choosing a tert1ary type

system, namely unfettered choice for the students. Two

of the three sixth form princ1pals who would be prepared

to cons1der a tertiary system felt also that 1t would be

necessary to start the system from scratch - using new

buildings and new staff and thus, presumably, preventing

the advantage which the FE college might appear to have in

such a system. Certa1nly if Nott1ngham did go ahead with

such plans, many problems would be eliminated - such as

when rather less able young people stay on at school when

they might be better served by an FE vocational course,

the current dissens1on on whether students taking IIQII and

11 A11 levels should be at s1xth form or FE college, and the fact that 1t seems to be the s1xth forms 1n Nott1ngham wh1ch 127 are prov1d1ng the "second chance" t:or less al>le young people by being open-access and prov1d1ng t:oundation and general educat1on courses which the FE colleges, w1th some except1ons, are not prepared to ot:t:er. Above all,

1n, a completely tert1ary system it 1s more lil

1ng the poss1b1lity ot: students attend1ng the wrong type ot: 16 - 19 inst1tution t:or therr particular needs.

It may be, however, that the day ot: reckoning has been somewhat delayed. The intake ot: t:ull-time students in all the colleges (both s1xth t:orm and FE) has gone up consJ.derably 1n the academJ.c year ot: 1981/82, and, while this is in part due to the h1gh unemployment amongst young people, the colleges also stress that they have more "acaden11c" youngsters than they had expected, which could mean that parents have been re-th1nk1ng the1r ideas on their ch1ldren's education, or that the students them­ selves are beginning to real1se that they are going to need better qualit:ications in order to obtain a job. What­ ever the reason it has undoubtedly allowed more students to benefit from post-compulsory education. It J.S obviously not to be hoped that high unemployment will continue, but it is certainly to be hoped that the benefits of extra education w1ll.

It may be that the colleges of further education need to change the1r d1rect1on 1n some ways. The .Hanpower Services

Comm1ss1on is 1ncreas1ngly a force to be reckoned w1th 1n the FE sector, and several colleges in the conurbat1on 128 have shown that they are w1ll1ng and able to take on

MSC sponsored courses. The students funded by the MSC, part1cularly on their Work Experience schemes, are often not the most able, and are certa1nly very different from

the major1ty of students found 1n the Nott1ngham FE col- leges. Nevertheless, almost all the Nott1ngham colleges have opened the1r doors to these students, are help1ng

them to become aware of what FE has to offer, and are giving them opportunit1es they might never have real1sed were available. Possibly this is one of the direct1ons

in wh1ch the FE sector might fulfil its 11 second chance'' role 1n the future, while at the same t1me helping to

overcome the problem of its fall1ng rolls.

There is no doubt that at some t1me in the future

Nott1ngham w1ll prov1de a tert1ary system of education

for its 16 - 19 year olds. Any move in this direct1on

would obviously need much plann1ng 1 but Nott1ngham has

never been afraid to go ahead with any educat1onal ideas

in wh1ch it bel1eved. The reorgan1sation of secondary

schooling into a comprehens1ve system was done with

enthusiasm and little oppos1tion; I am sure that the

reorganisation of the no less important 16 - 19 education

could be undertaken in the same manner. 129

CONCLUSION

As has been shown, the problem of fall1ng rolls w1ll affect Nottingham more than the majority of LEAs in the country, as it l.s lJ.kely that tl>e cJ.ty Wl.ll have about one thJ.rd fewer than J.ts present number of students by the year 1993, whereas the country as a whole will lose about one quarter. The three s1xth form colleges, one sixth form J.n an 11 - 18 comprehensJ.ve, and the sl.X conurbatl.on FE colleges are lilcely to f1nd that they are short of students long before the end of thl.s decade. At present the colleges have not felt this loss as the acad­ eml.c year 1981/82 has seen higher enrolment numbers than l.n the past few years, mal.nly due to h1gh unemployment and the fact that students and parents reall.se that they need h1gher qualifJ.catl.ons for employment. Also many of the FE colleges are working wl.th the l'lanpower Servl.ces

Commiss1on to provJ.de courses for the young unemployed.

Rationalisation between the years 1974 to 1977, and again in 1980,has avoided dupll.cation of many courses both 1n the FE sector and the sixth form colleges, and competi­ tion amongst the colleges is now not so noticeable as in the past, although there is stl.ll much controversy over the teaching of GCE subjects in the collegesof further education, and the fact that the sJ.xth forms, wJ.th thel.r open-access entry, appear to have taken over the tradi­ tJ.onal role of FE by provl.dl.ng a second chance for less able students or those who have not done as well as they might have during thel.r school years. 130

Both sixth forms and FE colleges set a l11gh standard

of pastoral care and appear to have good counsell1ng

fac1lities and careers counsell1ng 1n their colleges.

All colleges bel1eve they treat their students as young

adults, although they appear to be allowed more free­

dom w1th1n the further education colleges than in the

s1xth forms. Recru1tment of students is found more

diff1cult by the FE colleges than the s1xth forms, as

lia1son generally between the 11 - 16 schools and the

FE colleges is not as good as between the schools and

the sixth form colleges, although some improvement has

been seen in recent years. Some of the FE colleges are

beginning to concentrate on public1s1ng their courses 1n

order to attract more students.

However, many of the pr1nc1pals of the 16 - 19 institu­

tions, particularly in the FE sector, th1nk that Nottingham's

16 - 19 educational prov1sion is unsat1sfactory insofar as

the sixth forms come under Schools Regulations and the FE • colleges under FE RegulatJ.ons. It 1s thought that one

single body to deal with the whole of this age group would

be more appropriate. If Nottingham were to cons1der a

tertiary system of educat1on for th1s age group, 1t 1s

likely that this would rece1ve the backing of most of the

16 - 19 principals, part1cularly in the FE sector, although

1t is unlil

buJ.ldings to accommodate such large numbers, which would

mean hav1ng special1sms 1n different colleges, and thus

1nvolve cho1ce and a great deal of travelling. As the 131 question of g1v1ng students rclnt1vely unb1ased careers adv1ce is one of the main reasons for a tert1ary system of education, the fact that a cho1ce of inst1tut1on would be involved would seem to defeat tins. It does, holiever, seem lil

1n Nott1ngham WJ..ll eventually seek to make th1s sector of educat1on a tertiary one, particularly J..n view of the recent statement made by the Labour Party that J..f they return to office they will introduce comprehensive educa­ tion for all pup1ls over the age of 16. If this comes about, there 1s no doubt that all those involved J..n the education of th1s age group in Nottingham will work together to make a success of th1s important venture educat1on for anyone of s1xteen or over who wishes to rece1ve it.

• 132

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