Issue - meetings

To receive a presentation from Mr. Alex Thomas, Headteacher of the Post 16 Education Centre.

That the presentation be received.

The Chairman introduced Mr. Alex Thomas (Headteacher of the Post 16 Education Centre) and Mr. Ian Dickson (Deputy Principal of Coleg Cambria) to the Committee. 

                        Mr. Thomas provided a detailed presentation which covered the following areas:-

·         Deeside Sixth Form Centre

·         Development of Curriculum so far

·         Development of staffing

·         Developing partnerships with schools

·         What could be developed

·         Current applications

Mr. Thomas explained that the £15m centre would provide enhanced A level provision and was a joint development between Coleg Cambria, local partner schools and Flintshire County Council.  The ultimate aim of the centre was to be the best A level provider in the United Kingdom.  The process started some time ago to plan the best A level provision and meetings which included all partner schools helped to plan and develop the strategic route and to share good ideas and best practice.  Mr. Thomas said that it was important that there was a smooth transition into the new centre from local schools and a commitment had been given that the students would have the same teacher in year 13 as they had in year 12.  He circulated a guide about the Sixth Form centre and advised Members that 29 subjects were on offer to the students and spoke of the importance of including subjects that had run successfully in schools along with addressing the areas that employers were looking for.  It was anticipated that the number of subjects would increase to approximately 40 as the centre grew.  Mr. Thomas provided details about the staff appointed to work at the centre and commented on the open evenings and parents evenings that had taken place.  He advised that nearly all 11-16 schools were actively engaged and it was hoped that opportunities to share information with all Flintshire High Schools could be developed.  Mr. Thomas explained that 205 applications had been received for places at the centre from September 2016 with 171 being active applications and the remainder being for students who had decided to study elsewhere or did not meet the entry criteria. 

            In response to a query from Councillor David Healey about particular aspirations, Mr. Thomas spoke of the enrichment programme which would provide guidance and support to enhance the student’s applications for universities.  Councillor Nigel Steele-Mortimer asked about the maximum number of students that the centre could accommodate and the target for next year.  In response, Mr. Thomas said that that maximum was 750 and it was anticipated that there would be approximately 250 pupils in the first year.  Councillor Colin Legg expressed concern that French was the only language offered at the Centre and suggested that German, Chinese and Russian could be languages that could be offered.  Mr. Thomas noted the comments and agreed with the idea to increase the number of languages offered but said that currently only Welsh and French were undertaken at A level in the consortium schools and of the 205 applications, two students had applied for French and one for Welsh.  In response to a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78