A school losing its sixth form takes away something that we most enjoy about teaching: the chance to really explore and demonstrate our passion for our subject and, hopefully, to pass on that passion and enthusiasm to pupils.”

Thomas Kirkwood is an English teacher trying to come to terms with a huge loss in his working life. And he is not alone. Figures obtained by Tes from 88 councils show that in the past three years, 47 school sixth forms have closed and another 25 are due to follow.

The trend looks set to continue. This week, the Education Policy Institute warned that school sixth-form deficits are becoming “unsustainable” following a 26 per cent funding cut between 2010-11 and 2018-19. Falling rolls and strategic local authority decisions to move to a system where pupils leave their secondary school at 16 to go on to larger sixth-form colleges or free schools, which are seen as more viable, also play their part.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), says there has been a “forced reshaping” of sixth-form education away from schools and into larger post-16 providers, which has been driven by funding cuts.

For pupils, it can mean longer journey times but more choice in A levels. For teachers, the loss of a sixth form means losing the chance to explore their subject in greater depth, work with smaller classes and help students move into further study and into adult life.

Kirkwood does not criticise his school in West Yorkshire for consulting on closing its sixth form, which he has asked Tes not to name. He says he understands the financial reality it faces, but that does not stop him from being disappointed.

“Teaching at A level is an important part of our professional experience,” he says. He believes that sixth-form teaching provides a chance for teachers to connect with both pupils and their subject in a way that 11-16 [teaching] doesn’t always allow for.

“I am an English teacher, so, for example, with poetry, you can explore poems’ imagery and structure in more depth and detail with sixth-form students, and explore a wider range of poetry, confident that the students have chosen the subject and will - hopefully - have the same interest.”

He is also worried that no longer teaching in sixth form will affect his teaching from Years 7 to 11. Without access and familiarity with A-level material, teachers will lose the ability to stretch their most able pupils at GCSE, he says.

Transformation of a city

Bradford is one of several areas where the closure of school sixth forms to make way for larger centres is happening at pace. In total, 10 sixth forms could close as part of a city-wide transformation of post-16 education. Four have already gone to be replaced by two large sixth-form-only free schools.

The plan is to improve the city’s provision by creating up to four large institutions that can offer a breadth of courses beyond what a collection of small school sixth forms can provide. But what does such a change mean for the secondary school teachers no longer able to teach A levels and other post-16 qualifications?

Waqas Ahmed, who works in one of the schools affected, says that the obvious cost is losing the chance to work with smaller class sizes and in a setting “where you are not necessarily going to be focused on behaviour across a large group”.

But he suggests the importance of a school sixth form goes beyond it simply being a more pleasant environment in which to teach. He says: “It is not the same saying goodbye to pupils at 16 when they are going to A levels or further education. When you work with pupils through from Year 7 to sixth-form students, you get the sense that you have helped them to make their next step in life.”

Bradford has the highest number of sixth forms closing nationally, according to figures supplied to Tes under the Freedom of Information Act. It is a trend that is happening across the country from North Tyneside to Cornwall, although the concentrations are higher in some areas - like Bradford and Lancashire - than others.

Overall, there is a mixed picture, with school sixth forms still the norm in some areas while at the other end of the spectrum, in other areas, there are long established sixth-form colleges.

Barton says that it is funding cuts - more than 20 per cent in school sixth form funding over eight years - driving closures. He predicts that more will follow, warning: “The current low level of funding makes it difficult to sustain smaller sixth forms.” There are concerns that this reshaping of sixth-form education will have a negative impact on students in the most disadvantaged areas.

Steve Fowler, the former headteacher of Meadowhead School in Sheffield, is a passionate believer in the importance of school sixth forms as a driver of social mobility.

He led a campaign to open a sixth form at the school - in a deprived area of the South Yorkshire city - and says it transformed the experience of teachers, pupils and families.

“Meadowhead School had to battle against nearly everyone to get a sixth form established in order to give the pupils and families in the community the opportunities that the most affluent part of Sheffield had by right,” he says.

Fowler recalls how, back in the late 1980s, the city was set to move to a sixth-form college model but this was resisted in some areas, meaning there is now what he describes as a two-tier system where more affluent areas retained their sixth forms.

“Unfortunately, the communities in the most disadvantaged areas of Sheffield are only offered 11-16 [school] provision, with no choice of attending an 11-18 school,” he says.

Fowler says the difficulties this created for pupils from disadvantaged communities who wanted to go a school sixth form must not be underestimated.

“Previously, pupils and families who aspired to a sixth-form education had to be confident in applying to the long-established sixth-form schools in the advantaged area of Sheffield.

“For well-supported pupils this was not such an onerous leap, but for the average and disadvantaged pupils it was usually a step too far. The idea of travelling by two buses and being a newcomer to a sixth form where the majority were well known to each other and to the staff meant only the most confident even applied.”

All about the money

Teachers also raise fears that the loss of a school sixth form not only takes away a route into higher education but also the role models that can make younger pupils believe they can get there.

As Kirkwood puts it: “Sixth formers gave them someone to look up to, to aspire to, to think that ‘I could do that’. We use the sixth form to model our expectations on behaviour and learning for our younger pupils.”

Sixth formers, he says, can be aspirational role models, and a key part of that is the visibility of students from the same school who are going to university. Could these role models be lost in the very parts of the country where they are needed most?

As with so much in education, the future will be determined by funding. The decline in school sixth forms comes at a time when student numbers at post-16 are set to surge, with an extra 150,000 students expected by 2028.

Sixth form is a mixed sector with school sixth forms, new standalone sixth-form free schools, established sixth-form colleges (many of which have converted to academy status), further education colleges and university technical colleges. Across this sector, providers are united in calling for more post-16 funding through the Raise the Rate campaign.

But the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) is pressing for even more money from the government’s Spending Review to allow its members to meet the huge rise in student numbers in the system. If this happens, it could further accelerate the decline of the school sixth form.

James Kewin, the association’s deputy chief executive, says: “Sixth-form colleges can offer economies of scale, a broader variety of courses and a specialist workforce, which we think is the best way to teach that age group.”

He believes the main question should simply be: what is in the best interests of pupils? Kewin believes his members have the answer and points to the academic results of sixth-form colleges to back his case.

The extent to which schools and colleges are winners and losers in the Spending Review could determine what happens next. The question is whether sixth-form funding and schools’ core funding can increase to a level at which the school sixth form can become more viable.

If the government thinks larger sixth form providers are the way forward, will that mean the landscape will continue to move towards a model of 11-16 schools and expanding large post-16 institutions? And could that see the changes to teachers’ working lives bleeding out into the wider, and very pressing, issue of secondary teacher recruitment?

David Owen, head of teacher education at Sheffield Hallam University, says: “I think if there is an increasing split at 16, it could affect school recruitment because there will be teachers of subjects like geography, history, science who are at secondary school and for whom A level is what they enjoy most about the job.”

Although school sixth forms are not yet closing en masse, there is a growing sense that more closures seem inevitable without more money for schools. For champions of school sixth forms such as Fowler, the biggest concern is where they are likely to close.

He sees small school sixth forms not as a luxury the system can no longer afford but as essential for promoting social justice. “I believe that across the country, schools with sixth forms are more likely to be found in more advantaged areas,” he says.

“Schools under threat of losing their sixth forms are likely to come from relatively disadvantaged areas. As a country, if we are serious about improving social mobility, we need to ensure an equality of opportunity.”

For teachers such as Kirkwood and Ahmed, sixth form was an integral part of the job they love, both for connecting with students and their subject. Although the economic and academic case for large sixth-form colleges might be well understood, the question is whether policymakers fully understand what is being lost if more and more small school sixth forms are allowed to close.

John Roberts is North of England reporter at Tes. He tweets @JohnGRoberts

This article originally appeared in the 17 May 2019 issue under the headline “Sixth form’s changing landscape”