’It’s not the end of the world’ is a phrase we’ve all heard from well-meaning family or friends after a setback.

If you have just failed an important exam, however, the chances are that such words will be of little comfort. Instead, what is needed at such moments is practical help – for someone to tell you ‘you can try again, and here’s how’.

That is where Leeds Sixth Form College’s Step-Up Pathway comes in. The programme is designed specifically to help 16-18 year olds, who did not gain the GCSEs they were hoping for, get what they need to progress.

Step-Up provides a three-year route to sitting A levels, or a hybrid option of A levels plus a vocational qualification, and starts with a first year during which each student aims to gain five GCSEs. For some, like former Leeds Sixth Form College student Jamal Mottley, this option has represented a life-changing second chance.

An alternative route to success

Jamal used the Step-Up Pathway to re-sit his GCSEs before going on to achieve three A levels with Leeds Sixth Form College, and has now started university. Speaking in August after finding out his results, he explained how difficult personal circumstances had led to him failing his GCSEs the first time around.

He said: “I didn’t know you could re-sit them and thought it was a one-time thing.

“But then my mum got out of hospital and helped me look for somewhere to re-sit my GCSEs, and found Leeds Sixth Form College. I don’t know where I’d be without Step-up!”

Ro Elliott, meanwhile, has just started her A level courses at the college after successfully gaining five GCSEs through Step-Up.

She said: “I wasn’t really in full-time education for a lot of secondary school which is why I didn’t get the opportunity to do my GCSEs properly, so the fact the college introduced this course was really beneficial to me.”

Helping to tackle inequality

In a recently published study on education inequalities, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) argued that one of the key shortcomings of the country’s education system was the ‘lack of adequate second chances’.

Step-Up, which is especially helpful for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students, allows them to develop their language skills.

Principal of Leeds Sixth Form College, Rachael Booth, said: “We are very proud of our Step-Up Pathway and the route it provides for students who want to study A levels but haven’t, for whatever reason, got the qualifications they need yet.

“Each year we hear from so many talented young people, like Ro and Jamal, about how much having this second opportunity to achieve, and excel, means to them.

“Education, like life, isn’t always a straight line, often due to things we can’t control. This pathway ensures that students can try again for the qualifications they need to progress and shine in whatever they choose to do.”

More information on the Step-Up Pathway can be found here. The IFS study can be viewed here.

We are forging ahead into the new academic year with a ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features Ofsted rating under our belt.

Based in the heart of Leeds and driven by a belief that every student has the ability to excel, Leeds Sixth Form College impressed the inspectors when they visited earlier this year.

Our passionate and expert staff, and the partnership work they do to ensure our educational programmes meet the needs of local employers, were singled out for praise.

Our A level programme, which helps students take the next step in their educational or career journey, is at the heart of what we do.

A tailored approach for each student, full of enrichment opportunities

But our offering is much broader than that, which is why we give every new student a guidance interview before advising them on which of four pathways to follow. This ensures that their courses will help them move on to the job, university degree, or higher apprenticeship they have in mind.

And for 16 to 18 year olds who need extra GCSEs, or higher grades in those they already have, we offer the Step-up Pathway. This one-year programme helps students gain five GCSEs in preparation for taking on A levels.

The college also aims to ensure that students have an exceptional experience during their time with us, which is why we are always working to secure enrichment opportunities.

In June this year, for example, 61 of our politics, law and history students enjoyed a two-day educational trip to London. Their stay included a tour of Hampton Court Palace, a visit to the Supreme Court, meeting a High Court judge and a trip to the Houses of Parliament.

Our Principal, Rachael Booth, said: “We are fully committed to helping every student, whatever their background or field of interest, reach their full potential and excel.

“To help us achieve that we have a dedicated, expert teaching staff and top-class facilities, to give each of our students the very best chance of success.

“We are also always looking at experiences that can enrich students’ studies and bolster their confidence and self-belief.

“Education transforms lives and opens up new opportunities. We are always excited to welcome new students, and to learn how we can best help them take their vital next step. So please get in touch – we look forward to hearing from you!”

State-of-the-art facilities

Our courses are taught in dedicated, well-equipped teaching rooms in the college’s Park Lane campus. Our students also have access to a permanently staffed Independent Learning Zone, where a suite of 60 chrome-books are provided.

Keen to address the country’s healthcare skills gap and promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, the college recently opened a brand new science laboratory.

This specialist facility features a private consultation room and a pharmacy practice room which have been designed to support the college’s two new pioneering courses, Pharmacy T Level and Access to Medicine.

STEM is a key focus for us and we had some fantastic success stories in this area recently among our A level students. Poppy Middleton, for example, achieved A grades in chemistry, maths and physics along with a B in further maths this year. She is now going on to study aerospace engineering at the University of Leeds.

Sporting, as well as academic, excellence

Thanks to our partnerships with some of the region’s leading sporting organisations, through Leeds Sports Connect, we also offer outstanding opportunities for student-athletes.

Under this pioneering scheme, students can pursue a high-quality education with the college, studying three A levels, without sacrificing development in their chosen sport.

The courses are built around training schedules so participants can enjoy outstanding coaching, in top-class facilities, while pursuing their studies.

Our partners include Leeds Rhinos Foundation, Leeds United Foundation, The Hunslet Club, Ultimate Football Coaching Academy, and Let’s Do More. Click here to find out more about courses at Leeds Sixth Form College.

We are pleased to share with you our new branding, which reflects a renewed set of values and vision for the future.

The re-brand coincides with the development of our partner, Pudsey Sixth Form College, to make way for the  growing numbers of  16-year-olds in Leeds.

We want our sixth form to be known for providing young people in Leeds with ‘limitless futures’. With more choice and more opportunities, the experiences our learners could have are endless, and it’s our job to point them in the right direction.

With this in mind, we have committed to three key values:

Confident – we want all our learners to be independent and resilient, so that they have the confidence to set their aspirations high.

Straightforward – we want to provide our students with a clear and direct pathway to the next step in their futures, whether this is higher education, apprenticeships or employment.

Forward thinking – we encourage all our learners to be innovative and progressive, and in turn want to celebrate student success in all forms.

Our sincerest condolences go out to the royal family following the announcement of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

A Leeds Sixth Form College student is celebrating being part of a medal-winning gymnastics team.

Aimee Dann travelled to Switzerland to compete in the 2022 Gym for Life Challenge, with Leeds Gymnastics Club, in July.

The club, representing Great Britain (GB), achieved a silver medal to the delight of Aimee, her clubmates and her teachers.

Balancing act leads to success

Aimee, who is just about to start year 13 of her A levels at Leeds Sixth Form College, said: “It was an amazing experience to represent GB at an international competition.

“I would balance out my studies with gymnastics by doing some while I was away, and revising before and after my gymnastic sessions.

“I think overall it paid off and I was so proud of myself, and my team, for getting silver in the competition.”

The value of transferable skills

Sixth form lecturer, Elizabeth Bailey, said: “What a fantastic achievement!

“Aimee is a pleasure to teach. She works hard to meet her academic goals and is keen to do well.

“Her determination and commitment to gymnastics has clearly transferred over to her academic studies in her religious studies A level, and she is starting year 13 on a really positive footing.

“Aimee is confident and articulate and works well with her peers and is able to work both collaboratively and independently, again something she has surely drawn from her experience at Leeds Gymnastics Club.

“Year 13 will see Aimee having to manage the demands of her A level courses with her gymnastics commitments, but she is sure to take this in her stride!”

Principal of Leeds Sixth Form College, Rachael Booth, added: “At the college we work with our students not only to achieve the best possible qualifications, but also to enable them to enjoy a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities.

“Supporting Aimee to pursue her gymnastic endeavours means that she can develop valuable transferable skills, and I look forward to watching these develop further in her final year of A levels.”

Click here to find out more about courses at Leeds Sixth Form College.

Leeds Sixth Form College and Leeds City College students have been celebrating their GCSE and BTEC results.

This was the first time exams have taken place since 2019, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021 students received results based on teacher-assessed grades.

Grades, nationally, were as expected, lower on average this year with the government being keen to reverse ‘grade inflation’.

But at Leeds City College and Leeds Sixth Form College (LSFC) many students were happy to have secured the results they needed to move on to A levels, apprenticeships or T Levels.

Travis Daly was delighted with his results after achieving a 7 grade in English language, 5s in maths and English literature, and 4s in business and an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification).

And he was full of praise for LSFC, where he did his exams through the Step-up Pathway, which helps students aged 16 to 18 gain GCSEs.

‘An amazing college full of camaraderie’

He said: “These results have exceeded what I was hoping for.

“I’ve found it amazing here. I really preferred the camaraderie of the college, it was significantly better than my secondary school where everyone was just in little factions fighting against each other.

“Here, everyone just gets along. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or who you are, everyone’s just together – we’re all friends. I owe the college so much – my teachers were contacting me almost every day to ask me how I was getting on. I’m so happy to know I’m now going to be doing A levels, it’s the best feeling.”

Travis is planning to do A levels in history, law and politics with Leeds Sixth Form College, and then aims to study law at the University of Toronto, in Canada.

A route back into education

Ro Elliott was also celebrating some great results despite having had to sit her five GCSEs, through LSFC’s Step-up programme, while suffering from the flu.

She achieved a grade 7 in biology and chemistry, a 6 in physics and 5s in English and maths. She is now planning to study A levels in biology, chemistry and psychology – with a goal of progressing into medicine.

She said: “My time here has been really enjoyable. I wasn’t really in full time education for a lot of secondary school which is why I didn’t get the opportunity to do my GCSEs properly, so the fact the college introduced this course was really beneficial to me.

“And the fact it was only three days a week as well felt like a really good introductory step to getting back into education.”

A great alternative to school

Libby Watkins is looking forward to studying science-focused A levels at LSFC after getting the GCSE grades she needed in maths, English and science.

Reflecting on her time at Leeds City College’s 14+ Academies, which provides an alternative learning environment to school for young adults, she said: “It’s been really good, I’ve enjoyed the atmosphere which is so friendly.

“The teachers here are good too, they’re nice people – human! Going back to high school wasn’t an option for me and home schooling wasn’t getting me quite as far as I needed to be. So I joined here not realising how good it actually was at first.”

Balancing studying with parenting

Many adult learners have also been celebrating their results. Kertu Babik, whose first language is Estonian, was celebrating getting all 9s and 8s in her five GCSEs (maths, English, combined science and citizenship).

She said: “It was interesting at Leeds Sixth Form College. At first I was a bit worried because it was my first time studying in the English language. It took a few weeks but then it felt good, and the teachers were inspiring and motivating, and made me feel really welcome.

“I’ve got two kids, one aged two and one four, so one of the hardest things was to be on time for classes, and to study after they had gone to sleep!”

Kertu is now heading to the University of Leeds to study an Interdisciplinary Science with Foundation Year course, with a view to progressing into medicine.

Reflecting on this year’s results, Niki McKenna, Interim Headteacher of the 14+ Academies, said: “GCSE results day is always full of all sorts of emotions but the key thing we feel today is pride, because of how our young people have dealt with a really tough year.

“Our learners have probably been most affected by Covid-19 in terms of the amount of teaching they’ve missed, but we’re really proud of the resilience, determination and character they’ve shown to push through that. And we’re really happy with the level of progress that they’ve made.

“We’ve worked really hard to make them happy and confident individuals and spent a lot of time working on holistic skills to help them be resilient, while also focusing on their academic progress.”

More details on the 14+ Academies can be found here.

Earlier this year, Leeds Sixth Form College took part in a project with Camp America which offered up to 90 students a once-in-a-lifetime work experience opportunity in the United States over the summer. The trip, which was organised through Keighley College (a fellow member of Luminate Education Group), included travel, accommodation and living costs.

Erikas Gotovskij, an A level student studying biology, maths and chemistry, is currently on placement at Camp Herrlich on the border of New York state and Connecticut. Nestled amongst stunning rural surroundings, the camp has a beautiful lake for students to swim and kayak in. There’s a converted school bus which is an art room and, rather than residential stays, they do more day visit activities with children. Erikas has finished his first year of A levels and hopes to study medicine, with the eventual goal of becoming a heart surgeon. He believes this experience will give him the confidence to volunteer for placements in hospitals. After the camp he is travelling for a month to Chicago, Ohio, Michigan and Rhode Island.

You can get a further idea of what life on a Camp America placement is like here.

Our law students have been getting some top tips directly from a High Court judge.

The students held a question and answer session with Mrs Justice Jefford during a trip to London in June.

Their visit was part of a wider two-day residential trip that saw 61 A level students from Leeds Sixth Form College – studying politics, law and history – head to the capital.

The law students joined a workshop that was funded by the Rolls Building Art and Education Trust and organised by the National Justice Museum. Led by Mrs Justice Jefford, the session included a role-play court case during which the visitors were supported by two Bar students.

An amazing experience for law students

Sixth Form lecturer, Frans Schrijver, said: “These free workshops, for students who are aspiring to have a legal career, are an amazing opportunity.

“There aren’t many of them, due to the availability of the judges. And they are only open to schools and colleges that can prove that their student populations face challenges, in terms of deprivation, that are above the national average.

“We are delighted to have secured this experience for our students based here in Leeds, and it’s one they really appreciated.”

The trip was planned to begin with some fun activities. Those included a treasure hunt that took in famous legal, political and historical sights, including the Old Bailey and Tower of London, and a Jack the Ripper tour.

After spending the night in the city, the students then split into different groups to enjoy carefully designed, subject-specific events on day two. These were arranged to help them understand the context of what they had already learnt, and set the scene for the next stage of their studies.

An inspirational visit to the capital’s democratic, historic and legal nerve centres

Frans said: “The history students travelled to Hampton Court Palace for a tour and an A level-focused workshop on the English Reformation.

“Another group, a mix of politics and law students, visited the Supreme Court for a tour and workshop, and as part of that were able to listen in on an ongoing Supreme Court case.

“Then in the afternoon we all visited Parliament and enjoyed a guided tour, a debate in the Houses of Commons and Lords, and a question-and-answer session with Leeds Central MP, Hilary Benn.

“This whole trip was an inspiring experience for our students and one they will never forget. It gave them a firm understanding of the expectations, behaviours and demands of a professional career in a real working environment, both in the past and now.”

Law student, Eesa, said: “The trip was a superb way to visit London and enjoy the opportunity to visit Parliament, the courts and the capital’s atmosphere.

“My favourite moment was during the mock trials when I was acting as a judge, and had to come to a decision in the case.”

History student, Mila, said: “I really enjoyed the trip. I learnt a lot at Hampton Court that has helped me with my Henry VIII work, and at Parliament too, which taught me a lot about how the place functions.”

The highlight of the academic year

History and politics student, Efe, was really impressed: “This was a really eye-opening experience. It was my first time in London so I was really looking forward to it, and I was not disappointed.

“I got to go to Hampton Court Palace, which was the highlight of the trip. It made me like Tudor history even more, because I got to learn more about Henry VIII.

“The tour of Parliament was awesome as well – I got to witness, in person, everything discussed in a debate and a Lord said hi and bye to me!

“I think it was the best part of the entire academic year, and I’m sure a lot of others who went on the trip would agree.”

Helping our students aim for the top

Leeds Sixth Form College Principal, Rachael Booth, added: “I am so pleased that our politics, law and history students have been able to enjoy this opportunity.

“As a sixth form college committed to helping our students reach their full potential and strive for the very top, we are always looking at experiences that can enrich their studies and boost their confidence.

“This trip, where students met a High Court Judge and an MP while touring some of London’s most important political, legal and historical sites, is a great example of that. It is important to us that our students see more than just the classroom, and are encouraged to aspire to careers and opportunities they would not have thought of otherwise.”

One of our student-athletes has achieved a lifelong dream by signing for Leeds Rhinos.

Kyden Frater is the latest success story to emerge from Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Development Academy programme, which is run in partnership with Leeds Sixth Form College and Leeds City College.

He has become the second player from the Development Academy team, following the signing of Mekhi Bridgeman-Reaney earlier this year, to sign a professional contract with the Rhinos.

Fulfilling a childhood dream

Kyden is one of seven members of the Academy squad to have just signed with the rugby league club. A lifelong Rhinos fan, he declared himself ‘over the moon’ – and credited the role of his community club, Milford, and the Development Academy in helping him reach this stage.

He said: “It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. Wearing that jersey which I’ve always wanted to wear, for the club I’ve supported since I was a little boy, is something I’ve wanted to do since I started playing rugby.”

Although usually a full-back, Kyden, who helped the Development Academy team reach the College Cup final this year, has already scored a couple of tries on the wing for the Rhinos Under-18s.

The Development Academy’s professional set-up has improved my game

He said: “It’s a good feeling scoring for the Rhinos and hearing the crowd there cheering you on and getting behind you really drives you on.

“I played for Milford from a young age up until last year, when I moved into the Rhinos Academy and also played for the Development Academy team, which was great.

“I got to my first ever final and, although we didn’t get the result we needed, to play in my first final at Headingley was a special experience. Everything about the Development Academy is so professional and it’s good because you’re playing in a different environment from your club team, with a different set of mates.

“Some of those lads have never played competitively before so it’s a really good grounding and you definitely learn a lot from the coaches, which helps improve your game.”

Kyden, who is studying a level 2 Fitness Instructing (gym) course, is determined to now push on and reach the very top level of his sport.

He added: “Hopefully if I keep working hard then eventually I’ll reach the first team, because that’s the next goal I want to achieve with the club.”

The Development Academy is part of Leeds Sports Connect, which offers quality education and training through a link between Leeds City College and Leeds Sixth Form College and a number of local, professional sports clubs.

Deputy Principal of Leeds Sixth Form College, Ryan Grant, said: “The Development Academy team has had a fantastic year and to see another of their players sign up with the Rhinos is testament to that.

“Kyden has thoroughly earned this opportunity and we’re confident he will achieve great things as he pushes on to the next level.

“Making amazing opportunities like this achievable is the driving force behind the development academy, and Leeds Sports Connect – so it is really rewarding to see student-athletes like Kyden take their chance.

“We’re really proud of him!”

To learn more about the Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Development Academy click here.