Shrewsbury Six Form College

A-level program. Public schools of England.

Shrewsbury Six Form College is a state high school in the eponymous town of Shrewsbury, located in Central England.

The nearest airports are Birmingham and Liverpool, both a half hour's drive from the city, London – 2.5 hours drive away. This is a daily high school, where 1600 students aged 16-19 study BTEC and A-level programs. Shrewsbury Six Form College is the only public high school in the city, where live about 100 thousand people. Two school campus located along the banks of the river. One campus is designed to study mathematics and sciences, there are 12 research laboratories. The second campus is for humanities, sports, arts, health, social sciences, photography, media and cinematography.

For 20 years of work with secondary schools in England, I have never had to send a student to a public school. That is why, having met the representative of the school Claire at the conference on secondary education in Frankfurt, I decided to interview her about how British and international students study in public high schools in England (Six Form College).

L: This is my first time meeting with a representative of public schools. What is the difference between teaching at a private school in England and a public one?

C: Well, there are about 90 public high schools (six form colleges) in the UK, all have very highly qualified teachers. Since the goal of high schools is of preparation of pupils for admission to universities. For example, in our school, 90% of teachers are graduates of Oxford and Cambridge.

L: Well, for example, how many pupils are there in class?

S: It depends on the subject. The maximum, I would say, is 18-20. The more popular the subject, the more groups. For example, mathematics is very popular for A-level, and we have 15 groups on this subject. As the school has only 1600 British students, no matter how many foreign students from one country, they will always be the only ones in the group. We are very selective in our admission of students. British students who want to continue their education at A-level, should have the results in 5 GCSE A-C, but those who want to study science should have A on these subjects. International students must have equivalent results and 5.5 points in the IELTS exam.

L: What is the percentage of international students in the school?

S: At the moment, it is only 15 students in the whole school. Therefore, it is below 1 %. We do not engage in international marketing, as a goal of public schools is to prepare the best British students for university entrance.

L: Tell us about your results. I'd like to understand the difference between graduating from public and private schools for our students.

S: You have to understand that as a public school, we must teach British students at two levels: intermediate (graduation with a BTEC) and advanced (finishing school with an A-level diploma). 60-65% of our students study on the last program, and only they can enter universities. 37% of our graduates go on to Russell Group universities and each year 7-10 graduates go to Oxford and Cambridge. 72 % of graduates finish the program with the results of A-C. More than 400 graduates entered the first choice university last year.

L: You're a day school, so where do your students live?

S: All British students live at home and come to school from Monday to Friday. All international students live with host families. We try to satisfy all requests for the selection of the host family and accommodate everyone within walking distance to the school. Each student lives in a separate room and feels like a member of the host family. If a student who for any reason are not happy in the family, we change his accommodation, but it happens very rarely. And the family acts as a guardian, parents don't need to pay separately for custody. And the cost of tuition, accommodation and guardianship is only 16,100 pounds for the year. You do not need to pay for accommodation during short vacations in the middle of each semester, the family meets at the beginning of the year at the airport, this is included, all textbooks are included, and, also, no need to pay for the uniform, as students of high school do not wear uniforms. That is, this price practically covers all costs for the year. Students have more independence than in private boarding schools that brings their stay at school closer to being at the university: students move around the city, they visit the studios and clubs of their choice, they have a lot of self-study, they learn independent life even at this age.

L: What opportunity do your students have to choose sports activities?

S: We are very lucky in that sense. Directly opposite our campus, there is a large recreation center and park with tennis courts, swimming pool and playing fields and our students use it for free. At the same time, the school does not need to support it, which reduces the price. The school is located on the banks of the river, we offer canoeing and many students participate. We have rugby, volleyball, basketball and football sections, and students only have to enroll, what they want to do and then visit section.

L: Does the school have a department for working with international students and help them apply to universities?

S: Of course. We are very good at helping both local and international students. Every spring, the school arranges a university fair, which attracts about 50 British universities. Students can visit the fair every year and learn more about the universities and their requirements.

L: Do your students enroll at medical faculties and is there a special program for this.

S: We do not have a special program, but we know that for admission to medical student is required to study science and to practice in the hospital. We help our students to get the practice if they want to enter medicine. And of course, their portfolio then looks better than just an excellent student. So we are very good at preparing students for admission to the chosen specialities.

L: Do you have preparation programme for A-level?

S: For students who have IELTS lower than 5,5, we offer a preparatory program for the summer semester. This is an intensive program of English and A-level preparation from April to July, for applicants with an English level of at least IELTS 4.5.

Our first three graduates of the international program were enrolled in the universities of Oxford, Leeds and University College London. We have just started to advertise on the international market and look forward to fast international growth.