West Herts College has scrapped its A-Level courses (From Watford Observer)

West Herts College has scrapped its A-Level courses

2:35pm Thursday 2nd July 2009

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Hundreds of students and teachers face an uncertain summer after West Herts College confirmed it was scrapping its A-Level programme.

Teenagers halfway through their two-year course will complete their studies, but none of the 140 applicants hoping to enrol in September will be accepted.

Staff, meanwhile, were informed of the decision last Thursday.

Those affected by the restructuring will have individual consultations with the college to determine their future.

To read the letter sent to West Herts College Staff, click here

One teacher told the Watford Observer today (Thursday): “A-Levels were always a significant part of what we did. Gradually it's been whittled down. For young people with the choice reduced, they wouldn't want to come and study with us.

“They would go somewhere else so it's not surprising demand has fallen as the number of subjects has gone down. But our students have always done very well.”

The decision to cancel A-Levels comes as the college moves into the final stages of the redevelopment of its flagship Hempstead Road campus.

The A-Level school was to relocate across Watford in 2010 from the Cassio campus, in Langley Road, which has been sold for housing.

The teacher added: “The college offers people who don't want to be in a school environment a place where it's more relaxed. Whatever has happened to them at school in the past, that's all behind them. There's no sense of previous. A lot of people do really well like that.

“There's a lot of very unhappy people. For most of them, if they teach a particular subject, that's what they teach. The chances are most people will go.

“Staff want them to change their mind. Everybody's absolutely gobsmacked. Young people with social issues have found themselves at West Herts and got really good results and gone to university and it's a very happy environment.

Juliette Eve, the mother of two teenagers who have both studied A-Levels at West Herts, said she was “disappointed” at the news.

Her daughter Philippa Walker, 19, left the college last summer and intends to study law at university in September after a gap year spent working for a solicitors firm. Son Toby Walker, 18, will collect his exam results from the college next month.

Juliette, an artist from Hemel Hempstead, said: “I just think it's disappointing. There seems to be nowhere else in Watford that does A-Levels. It's essential - if you want to go to university, that's what you have to have.

“They loved it because it's not school. They were mature enough to make new friends and travel and be much more independent. At school you're chased and they make you do homework but there, they were treated in a much more mature way, so I was pleased they were able to go there.

“What I'm most concerned about is the way the teachers have been treated. You cannot just get another post.”

West Herts College said today (Thursday) that the decision to “phase out” A-Level provision was due to a “steady fall in demand”, which has seen the number of subjects available drop from 23 to eight.

It has received 140 applications from prospective A-Level students hoping to enrol in September, compared with 181 this time last year.

The college said it would now focus on providing vocational courses, including BTEC National Diplomas, which are equivalent to three A-Levels.

Elizabeth Rushton, West Herts College Principal and Chief Executive, said: “We have seen a steady decline in demand for our A-Levels in recent years, partly due to the excellent A-Level provision already provided by the secondary schools in the area.

“At the same time we have seen a significant rise in demand for our vocational courses, so much so that we have successfully bid for additional funding from the Learning and Skills Council to allow us to provide a further 200 spaces to 16-19 year old learners in the next academic year.

“West Herts College has an excellent reputation for providing vocational and applied learning, with students on these courses achieving good success rates year on year and this strength is what we will be focussing on as we prepare to move into our new building and make it into a true vocational centre for learning, which we hope will have many benefits for the whole community.”

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