Further Education Opportunities for Hedge End Students – How did You Choose your College?

Eastleigh College, Peter Symonds, Itchen College, Southampton City College, Taunton’s College, and Barton Peveril, – these are some of the colleges in the area that Hedge End’s students can attend for further education.

In the past pupils went to the local school or sixth form according to their catchment area, but today establishments specialise in areas of education and the choice of where to study is wide open for students.

Eastleigh College is known particularly for its vocational courses and apprenticeships, offering BTEC and NVQ qualifications, and Winchester’s Peter Symonds has a reputation for its academic bias – and is also the sixth form venue for many of the UK’s students based overseas, such as those living in the Falkland Islands.

Taunton’s in Southampton is proud of its sports academy and also offers study for the International Baccalaureate. This year their A level pass rate was 97 percent, with 77 percent of A level students in the Sixth Form Academy achieving top grades of A to C.

Barton Peveril, Eastleigh, is reporting a 99 percent pass rate at A level this year (equalling last year’s achievement) with, it says, the marked increase in the number of high grade A level passes ‘the jewel in the crown of an outstanding year’.

Southampton City College is also known for its vocational courses and its business learning and Itchen College  in Southampton, states it is ‘one of the fastest growing colleges in the South East’ and in 2008 received ‘an exemplary Ofsted report and was awarded ‘Outstanding in Equality of Opportunity’’.

Southampton’s Bitterne Park Secondary School is intending to create a sixth form within the next few years with pupils able to continue on to further education at the same site, a form of learning provision even more traditional than the sixth form catchment area system and will create even greater choice for Hedge End further education students in the future.

With GCSE results out today it really does mark the end of an education era for 16-year-olds and with Hedge End so well served for further education opportunities it would be great to hear from you if you’re a student – or a parent of a student – about how you made your choice on where to study.

Are you about to embark on sixth form/college life? Or are you mid-way through your further education study – or have you finished and are about to go to University or into the world of work?

If you have views as a prospective, existing or past student on the further education opportunities open to young people in Hedge End do please share them and your experiences with Hedgeendpeople!