Decision details

To approve the proposal to close the Sixth Form at Earl Mortimer College by September 2023

Decision Maker: Officer Decisions - Children and Young People

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: No

Purpose:

Sixth form provision at the school has been limited since the decision in 2016 to cease offering A Levels/Level 3 qualifications.
The Sixth Form currently consists of 0 students. With a large number of students seeking 16-19 provision outside of Leominster, in recent years the school has been able to offer only a limited number of subjects.
With reduced Sixth Form numbers, the proportion of the budget required from the 11-16 funding to maintain the sixth form is increasing to an unsustainable level.
An average sixth form college has around 1000 students, while an average school sixth form has approximately 200. As a result, economies of scale apply which means it is more expensive per student for schools to provide sixth form provision than a sixth form or further education college.
The Department for Education (DfE) recognises that sixth forms with less than 200 students are at risk of not being financially viable.
The total number of students in the 6th Form over the last five years is shown in the table below:

2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
18 20 18 14 0

As a result, the school is currently subsidising the sixth form from other funding streams, such as that for 11 to 16 year olds, which is not sustainable.
The school’s focus will be on continuing to improve the quality of education in Years 7 to 11.



Contact: Quentin Mee, Head of Educational Development Email: Quentin.Mee@herefordshire.gov.uk.

Publication date: 21/08/2023

Date of decision: 15/08/2023

Accompanying Documents: