The number of academy-converted sixth form colleges is set to overtake standalone sixth forms for the first time – with seven awaiting a government decision on applications.
Around 90 traditional sixth form colleges existed before legislation in 2015 gave them the option to become 16-to-19 academies and avoid paying VAT.
About a fifth have since merged with general FE colleges, 34 have converted to academy status and seven have live academisation bids.
If all applications are approved there will be just 31 standalone sixth form colleges left.
The trend highlights the diminishing appeal of being a standalone sixth form. The government’s pay snub to sixth form college teachers while funding a 5.5 per cent rise for their counterparts in 16-to-19 academies last year ignited strikes and a judicial review threat.
However, the change of government has caused uncertainty about the likelihood of future conversions, with one sixth form principal suggesting Labour had gone “lukewarm” on academisation.
What’s the appeal?
Paul Britton, chief executive officer of Wyke Sixth Form College in Hull, applied to set up a multi-academy trust with two secondary schools and an infant school last April but is still awaiting a decision.
He said the current funding system “incentivises” becoming a 16-to-19 academy as school budgets are less likely to be cut and academies don’t pay VAT that costs him upwards of £300,000 annually.
He told FE Week: “Sixth form colleges are at a crossroads where they either become an FE college or they become academies. The idea of being an incorporated sixth form is a hangover concept.”
Sixth form colleges are also held to account for meeting local skills needs through vocational courses despite many focusing on A-levels.
Another sixth form college principal awaiting a decision on academy conversion, who did not wish to be named, agreed financial security and local collaboration were drivers of conversion.
He said: “The recent FE teacher pay snub is just another example of the insecurities of being a sixth form.”
Labour’s approach to academisation appears to be “drifting and requires clarity”, the principal added.
Academies curbed
Labour’s new education bill has sparked criticism for attempting to curb academy freedoms, including on pay.
The bill also proposes to stop the enforced academisation of failing schools and instead introduce a “discretionary” duty that includes alternatives such as the involvement of regional improvement teams.
It will remove the legal presumption that new schools should be academies and allow local authorities to table their own proposals.
Schools and sixth form colleges with outstanding applications are also rapidly approaching the deadline for accessing a conversion support grant of £25,000 per school or college, which ends in February.
A government spokesperson told FE Week it will continue to consider applications from sixth form colleges that choose to convert or join a high-quality academy trust, where there is a strong case to do so.
According to DfE guidance, academy applications are ultimately decided by regional directors who consider each case “on its merits”.
Who wants to convert?
The most recent academy conversion applications have come from Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge, Scarborough Sixth Form College in North Yorkshire, and Leyton Sixth Form College in East London.
According to Leyton’s governing board minutes from September last year, the exclusion of sixth form colleges from the July pay deal “raised serious concerns”.
To “maintain financial health and provide effective, impactful sixth form education” the board voted unanimously to academise with William Morris Sixth Form in Hammersmith.
Earlier this month the College of Richard Collyer in Horsham, West Sussex, launched a public consultation on the formation of a multi-academy trust with a nearby secondary school after the Department for Education approved its application in November.
Wilberforce College in Hull, which hopes to form a trust with Withernsea High School, is still waiting for a decision after submitting an application in August 2023.
Sixth Form Colleges Association deputy chief executive James Kewin said the interest in academisation “continues to grow” and it is possible that this year will see convertor sixth form colleges “outnumber FE-sector sixth form colleges for the first time”.
He told FE Week the main drivers of academisation have changed little since 2015 – they include a desire to work more closely with academies or other sixth form colleges to drive up standards, improve efficiency and create CPD opportunities.
Sixth form colleges became incorporated bodies under the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which brought independence benefits.
But this status means they face the same funding inequalities and local skills accountability measures as general further education colleges.
Kewin said that since sixth form colleges and general FE colleges were reclassified as public sector bodies in 2022, “many sixth form colleges report they find it difficult to identify the benefits of remaining in the FE sector as bureaucracy has increased, funding inequalities have not been addressed and policy continues to be driven by a narrowly-defined skills agenda”.
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