Big shake-up for education
A MAJOR shake-up of post-16 education provision in Bridgend is under way.
The council is looking at options which involve closing some sixth-form centres, merging others and even creating new ones in places such as Bridgend town centre.
A MAJOR shake-up of post-16 education provision in Bridgend is under way.
The local authority is looking at options which involve closing some sixth-form centres, merging others and even creating new ones in places such as Bridgend town centre and the Pencoed campus of Bridgend College.
The detailed options follow on from more general proposals which went out to consultation earlier this year.
Bridgend County Borough Council says many sixth forms in the county are just too small at the moment to be financially viable and offer a limited number of subjects as a result.
It intends to create centres that have a minimum capacity of 250 students, saying it will then ensure there are enough learners to provide a broad curriculum offer, enabling minority subjects like modern languages to be protected and provide an efficient use of resources.
The projections for Bridgend suggest that both Porthcawl Comprehensive School and Bryntirion Comprehensive School sixth forms will be close to the 250 student benchmark during the next decade, with Brynteg School sixth form continuing to exceed the figure.
All other schools are well below the figure of 250. The current model of post-16 delivery has been in place since 2011.
In total, three options are being considered, with the first option involving several possibilities.
Education officers pointed out at a council meeting on Wednesday, October 30 that elements of both Option 1 and 2 could also be taken forward.
OPTION 1
Education officers have suggested a town-centre sixth form could be created by merging both the sixth forms of Brynteg School and Bryntirion Comprehensive School.
With both schools having successful sixth forms, officers believe there is scope for developing a post-16 centre of excellence on the Brynteg School campus.
However this would mean Bryntirion Comprehensive School would become an 11-16 school, which officers admit is likely to be controversial.
An alternative option involves developing a joint or federated sixth form that belongs to both schools in the town centre with between 550 and 650 students.
This could potentially also see partnerships with Bridgend College and Archbishop McGrath.
Porthcawl – The sixth form at Porthcawl Comprehensive School will remain unchanged under this option – it currently has around 240 students with an expected average of around 260 students in the future.
Education officers say the sixth form meets general viability requirements and given the distance from other sixth forms – excluding Cynffig Comprehensive School – it wouldn’t be right to require students to travel elsewhere for education.
Cynffig Comprehensive School closure or merger – Cynffig Comprehensive School could close, merge with Porthcawl or expand under three different possibilities being considered.
The school has the county’s smallest sixth form, with about 61 students.
Education officers said this is well below the expected minimum size for a sixth form – and it affects the subject choice for students.
The number of timetable subjects is limited to between 12 to 14 although students can take advantage of subjects elsewhere, including through twilight sessions in Bridgend College.
There is already some collaboration between Cynffig and Porthcawl.
Cynffig Comprehensive School expansion – In another possibility, the council says Cynffig
Comprehensive School could act as a host for an expanded sixth-form centre, with students being transported from Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen and Pencoed Comprehensive School.
Currently the three schools have around 360 sixth-form students between them and this is projected to rise to 400 by 2027.
Both Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen and Pencoed Comprehensive School are expected to be over capacity by then.
Maesteg School – Under this option, a sixthform centre would remain at Maesteg School but it could merge with Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen, where over capacity is expected in the future.
Education officers are suggesting that Maesteg School, which has a current surplus of around 300 places, hosts the 160 to 170 sixth-form students from Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen.
They say this would create a “good-size” sixth form of between 300 and 330 students and offer a richer and broader curriculum than if the sixth forms were separate.
However, the council says issues would involve managing staff movement between sites which are some distance from each other and having to fork out extra money to transport many of the students from Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen to Maesteg – that’s if the local authority continues to fund post-16 transport.
Bridgend County Borough Council is currently undertaking a public consultation on a review of learner travel.
Under one proposal, the council is considering ending its financial support for students to get to sixth form and college.
Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen closure – and a new sixth form centre on the Bridgend College Pencoed campus – This option involves four schools – Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen, Cynffig Comprehensive School, Maesteg School and Pencoed Comprehensive School.
Under one possibility, Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen could close with some students going to Maesteg School and others to Pencoed Comprehensive School.
This would then mean Maesteg’s sixth-form centre has around 150
students from Maesteg School, 60 from Cynffig Comprehensive School and around 60 students from Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen – creating a sixth form of around 270, rising to nearly 300 by 2027.
The rest of the Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen students would then head to
Pencoed Comprehensive School to create a sixth form of around 250.
Pencoed has a sixth form of 140 students which is only expected to rise to 150 by 2027 – below the desired 250 benchmark. However officers have pointed out this does not take into account new housing in the east of BCBC which is now contained in the consultation for the new Local Development Plan.
This could mean that Pencoed Comprehensive School would be over capacity in the future, so officers are suggesting some students could be accommodated in a Further Education-based sixth-form centre on the Bridgend College Pencoed campus.
Bridgend College is looking to build a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM ) centre on the Pencoed campus, relocating students from its Cowbridge campus.
And education officers have said that the design of the building is such that it could be expanded to house a sixth-form centre on that site – linked to the Penybont partnership. OPTION 2
This option involves a mix of school sixth forms with some mergers to create new FE college-governed sixth-form centres.
According to education officers, discussions with Bridgend College have centred around two proposals – a long-term suggestion of a town-centre new-build which could incorporate a sixth-form centre and the continued development of the Penybont Sixth-Form College partnership between Pencoed Comprehensive
School and Bridgend College. If there is no merger between Brynteg and Bryntirion School’s sixth forms, then a partnership with Bryntirion Comprehensive School could be considered when Bridgend College brings forward a town-centre newbuild – it is likely to be along the lines of the Penybont Sixth-Form College.
However, if the college chooses to create a centre with a larger capacity of between 500 to 700 students, it could see students come to the FE campus from Cynffig Comprehensive School and Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen alongside those from Bryntirion and Pencoed.
OPTION 3
This option involves the retention of sixth forms in all schools but would involve a raft of new changes. One solution could be for schools to take part in voluntary-merged sixth forms.
This way, all schools would retain their sixth forms but the delivery is in fewer settings and there is movement of staff between centres rather than students.
It would also involve blended learning and an increase of common timetabling across the centres.
The council says blended learning – where students spend some of their time completing studies online rather than in a traditional classroom setting – could be led by staff from different schools.
The council also says more needs to be done to enable A-level teachers to undertake professional development.
The council wants to see schools make better use of training days in schools, with a greater coordination of dates between schools and the development of common agendas for subject development.
A report by education officers which went before councillors at a scrutiny meeting on Wednesday, October 30 states: “As can be seen from the variation in standards across schools and subjects, this is an area which urgently needs addressing.
“It cannot be considered acceptable for learners in a particular school where there may be limited staff experience in A-level delivery to have to face mediocre or poor delivery year on year.
“Schools have to commit collectively to making improvements in delivery across all sixth forms and subjects.”
The sixth form provision in two schools will remain as it is – YGG Llangynwyd is the only Welsh-medium high school in the county.
And Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School is expected to be fully subscribed for the foreseeable future with an average sixth form of 160.
Education officers have said facilities would need to be expanded at the current site for the number of students to increase towards 250.
A report on the various options is due to go to an upcoming cabinet meeting before going out to public consultation.