Sixth Form Colleges - How They Operate in the UK Education System

In England, Sixth Form Colleges are secondary education facilities that generally prepare students for Advanced Level (A Level) examinations. They originated in the 1960s to offer a different route to university after the earliest school leaving age of 16.

Nowadays many students continue beyond the compulsory study age of 16 to complete AS Level and A Level examinations, or even vocational studies. In today's system, sixth form begins at year 12, and finishes at the end of year 13, and is primarily for students aged 16-19 (pre-university or other higher education).

Sixth form refers to the old numbering system of secondary schools where students began secondary education at age 11/12 in the first form (current year 7), moving up to lower sixth (the current year 12) and upper sixth (the current year 13) to complete their A Levels.

Sixth form colleges were introduced to have a separate environment away from the schools teaching system. There are less than 100 state sixth form colleges in England, but they can serve up to 3,000 students in one college (although in general much fewer).

The sixth form system works differently in England, Wales and Scotland. The sixth form system also operates in countries which followed the English education system, such as India and Hong Kong.

Many students go to sixth form colleges hoping to achieve a place at university. Sixth form colleges were intended to prepare students better for university studies than the school system.

Many schools also have sixth forms, integrated within the school. This allows students to study in a more informal college-type environment while being part of the main school setting.

There are a range of private sixth form colleges, predominantly in London due to the population demands and potential for international A Level students. These independent sixth forms in London follow the same syllabuses as for state-run sixth forms, but charge fees and may be able to offer better facilities and smaller classes than the extremely large state sixth form colleges.