I am concerned that your readers understand the role of Sheffield’s education authority in setting up a sixth-form college in the north-east of the city (“Sheffield caught in middle of two bids”, TES, July 6) - assuming the Learning and Skills Council shares our view that this is needed.
This is not about chasing sixth-form numbers for some financial gain as your article seems to suggest. It is about providing in the north of the city the level of provision already available in the south. Our concern is about equity and the quality of the services for 16 to 19-year-olds.
We would not control this sixth-form college but would bring together parties, including local schools, to form a governing body.
Indeed, we are proposing something far more radical than your article suggests: an independent college in the north-east of Sheffield “owned by the secondary feeder schools”, which we believe will boost the numbers of young people continuing their education beyond 16 in the area.
Jonathan Crossley-Holland Executive director of education Sheffield City Council Leopold Street, Sheffield
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