► How JFS plans to become more fashionable
V ONE OF Rachel Fink’s first acts on becoming head of JFS in mid-2018 was to appoint Oliver Walton as head of sixth form. He followed her from Hasmonean, where he had been head of years 10 and 11 boys for four years.
When he arrived in September that year, he was instantly struck by the size of the school, whose sixth form alone can accommodate 550 students. It took him nearly a year to get used to “the lay of the land”.
JFS’s sixth form enjoys an outstanding rating from Ofsted. But that did not mean no scope for change. He himself is from an academic background, having gained a PhD in early 20th-century English poetry before switching from academia to school teaching eight years ago when he was 38. But one of his first goals was to improve the vocational offering.
“When I started, my sense was that it’s almost an A-levels or nothing culture,” he says. “That probably is something that filters done from parents and grandparents.
“JFS has probably had a fantastic academic record in terms of A-levels and getting people into Oxbridge and redbrick universities. What wasn’t there was this alternative route that is starting to develop.”
So although JFS has offered popular courses in media studies, business studies or childcare, he wants to increase the provision. “We are introducing a fashion and textiles Btec at key stage four with the idea that we’ll bring that in [to the sixth form] too. I’m in discussion with the PE department about a sports Btec.”
While the school currently offers single or double Btec business studies in the sixth form— equivalent to one or two A-levels respectively — it is considering extending that to include the triple award as well.
“I think we need to be a bit more digitally aware but we have to find the right course for us. We are offering an A-level in computer science but I think it’s appropriate to look at what we could offer in a Btec in digital programming.”
Dr Oliver Walton
It has also introduced more support for students thinking of apprenticeships or apprenticeship degrees rather than conventional university courses.
Whereas the school had run a special programme for pupils intending to apply to Oxbridge or medical school, which for example prepared them for interviews, it did not have a parallel for those looking at apprenticeships. Now it helps those students with practice job interviews or writing a CV. “It’s absolutely right we have a brilliant Oxbridge programme,” he says, “but it’s absolutely right we have a brilliant apprenticeship programme as well.”
Indeed, he thinks industry ought to review the apprenticeship application process because it is too arduous. “We should be making it appealing and accessible. You almost feel there are as many hoops to jump through as going to Cambridge. Students find it quite a draining process.”
While he reckons around 95 per cent of JFS sixthformers opt for a standard university course, he believes apprenticeship degrees will