Hartlepool Sixth Form College
Encyclopedia
Hartlepool Sixth Form College, otherwise known as 'Brinkburn Sixth Form College', '6fc' & 'HSFC', is one of fewer than 100 specialist sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...

s (for ages 16–19) in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

It was originally known as West Hartlepool Grammar School (also known as Brinkburn Grammar School) from 1902. The Girls' High School opened on Eldon Grove in 1912, and the school became a boys' school. It then became the Upper School of Brinkburn Comprehensive School in 1973. Created as the federal sixth form for the town's schools, it has established strong links with Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...

's four 11-16 secondary schools and is the college of choice for post-16 academic study for youngsters from Hartlepool and beyond. The College's extensive campus is based around a fully restored Merchant's House which dates from the 19th century. The ground floor of the House contains administrative offices and the main staff room whilst the upper floor has been turned into a learning resource centre.

First phase

The College completed the first phase of a £24.5 million million new build which will be attached to the Merchant's House by means of an atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...

. The atrium leads off to a new theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 and performing arts facility; media studies and film studies rooms including a TV studio and radio station; new art studios and photography suite; new student common room; bistro cafeteria; music studio and practice rooms; music technology and recording studio and purpose-built teaching rooms for the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....

 and social science subjects.

Second phase

The second phase of the build was completed in the summer of 2010 and includes science and maths classrooms; childcare and health and social care classrooms; ICT classrooms; PE and Sports Science facilities including a county class Sports Hall and fitness suite.

Courses

Hartlepool Sixth Form College has the widest choice of academic courses at level 3 (A level, AS level, Applied A level and BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....

) in the area and in the last five years has the highest pass rate at A level in the Tees Valley
Tees Valley
The Tees Valley is an area in the North East of England. It can be described as "greater Teesside" and consists of the four unitary authorities created by the breakup of the County of Cleveland in 1996: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees along with the borough of...

. In 2008 the College recorded a CVA (Contextual Value Added
Contextual value added
Contextual value added is a statistic used by the government of the United Kingdom to assess the performance of schools.The statistic is intended to show the progress children have made whilst attending a particular school...

) score of 1033, which placed it in the top 5% of institutions in the country. For the last four years the College has also recruited students from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, attracted to the College because of its students success in A level results and university applications. It got outstanding A level results in 2008 - well above the England average. The average A Level pass rate for the College over the last 5 years is 99.4% which is unsurpassed by any other local institution (though other local institutes may have lower pass rates but higher average grades per student). Furthermore, the Religious Studies and ICT course are Number 1 in the country 2009 (Value Added).

Partnership

The College has a strong partnership with the University of Sunderland
University of Sunderland
The University of Sunderland is located in Sunderland, north east England. The university has more than 17,500 students, including 7,000-plus international students from some 70 countries....

 and offers the first year of a fully qualifying law degree (unique among sixth form colleges), a fact that demonstrates the strength of the College's Law department. Starting in September 2008, the Law Department also offers a Foundation Degree in Law.

Performing arts

The College's reputation for Performing Arts is strong and is demonstrated through popular annual College performances including appearances at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...

 and in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 during the City's celebration as European Capital for Culture.

Sports

Hartlepool Sixth Form College also has an excellent reputation for PE and Sports Science and its RFU-affiliated Rugby Academy has enjoyed remarkable success against professional clubs youth academies and teams from specialist sports colleges.
The College's Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 team plays in the National Super League and academy players benefit from a close partnership with Oaksway Netball Club.
The College achieved FA Focus status for its Football Academy earlier this year. During the last 3 years, 75 students have gone on to play in British Colleges' finals.

West Hartlepool Grammar School

  • Prof Peter Evans, Professor of Music at the University of Southampton
    University of Southampton
    The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...

     from 1961–90
  • Rear-Adm
    Rear Admiral
    Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

     Derek O'Hara CB
  • David Reed
    David Reed (politician)
    David Reed is a Labour politician in the United Kingdom.In 1970, he was elected at the age of just 25 as Member of Parliament for Sedgefield in County Durham...

    , Labour MP for Sedgefield
    Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency)
    Sedgefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

     from 1970-4
  • Parry Rogers CBE, President of the Institute of Personnel Management
    Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
    The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is Europe's largest professional institute for people management and development. It is located in Wimbledon, London, England. The organisation has over 135,000 members across 120 countries, and achieved chartered status in 2000...

     from 1975–77
  • Jack Rowell
    Jack Rowell
    Jack Rowell OBE is a former coach of rugby union sides including Bath and England.-Coaching:Between 1978 and 1994 Rowell coached Bath during their golden era, winning eight John Player/Pilkington Cups and five League Championships....

     OBE, Chief Executive of Golden Wonder
    Golden Wonder
    Golden Wonder is a British company that manufactures snack foods, most notably crisps.-History:Founded in Stoneyburn in 1947 by the Scottish bakery owner William Alexander, the company was named after the Golden Wonder potato. The company was acquired by UK-based Dalgety plc in 1987...

     from 1988–92 and coach of the England rugby team
    England national rugby union team
    The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

     from 1995-7
  • Air Vice-Marshal
    Air Vice-Marshal
    Air vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...

     James Spottiswood CB CVO AFC, Chairman of the British Gliding Association
    British Gliding Association
    The British Gliding Association is the governing body for gliding in the United Kingdom. Gliding in the United Kingdom operates through 85 gliding clubs which have 2,310 gliders and 9,462 full flying members , though a further 17,000 people have gliding air-experience flights each year.-History:A...

     from 1989–97
  • Jeff Stelling
    Jeff Stelling
    Robert Jeffrey "Jeff" Stelling is an English sports journalist and sport television presenter, of Gillette Soccer Saturday for Sky Sports and other programming for the satellite broadcaster. In January 2009 he took over as host of the Channel 4 quiz show Countdown...

    , Sky Sports Soccer Saturday
    Soccer Saturday
    Gillette Soccer Saturday is a weekly television programme broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the football season. The programme updates viewers on the progress of association football games in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Saturday afternoons. The current host is...

     presenter
  • Prof Thomas Westoll
    Thomas Stanley Westoll
    Thomas Stanley Westoll, FRS FRSE, FGS was the long-time head of the Department of Geology at Newcastle University.-Education and career:He was born in West Hartlepool and educated at the local grammar school...

    , Professor of Geology at Newcastle University from 1948–77 and President of the Palaeontological Association
    Palaeontological Association
    The Palaeontological Association is a charitable organisation based in the UK founded in 1957 for the promotion of the study of palaeontology.-Functions:...

     from 1966-8
  • George Willman, Chief Executive of United Synagogue
    United Synagogue
    United Synagogue is an organisation of London Jews that was founded with the sanction of an Act of Parliament, in 1870. , it remains the largest religious grouping within the British Jewish community and indeed in Europe, covering 62 Orthodox Jewish communities...

     since 1999
  • Eric Wood, Director of Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
    Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
    The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy is a professional institute for accountants working in the public services.CIPFA has 14,000 members who work throughout the public services, in national audit agencies, in major accountancy firms, and in other bodies where public money...

     (CIPFA) from 1973-9

Hartlepool Sixth Form College

  • Lindsay Johnson
    Lindsay Johnson
    Lindsay Johnson is an English footballer, currently playing for Everton Ladies. She has represented England at full international level. Johnson is a versatile defender, with the ability to play in any of the defensive positions.-Early life:...

    , footballer who plays for the England women's national football team
    England women's national football team
    The England women's national football team represents England in international women's football. The side has been quite successful of late, qualifying for three World Cups, 1995, 2007 and 2011...

    .

See also

  • Hartlepool College of Further Education
    Hartlepool College of Further Education
    Hartlepool College of Further Education is a non-denominational mixed further education college based in Hartlepool, United Kingdom, providing courses to students aged 18 and over.- External links :* * *...

    , on Stockton Street in the town centre
  • West Hartlepool R.F.C.
    West Hartlepool R.F.C.
    West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club who play in the National League 3 North league after gaining promotion by winning the 2010 / 2011 North 1 East league.-History:...


External links

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