Education: Staff at Mercia are all proud of high ambitions and high expectations

Nothing about Sixth Form had prepared me for the culture shock of higher education.Being from a working class background, I stood out in a sea of so-called ‘rahs’ or private school students at Newcastle University and it took time to fit in. Perhaps initially I felt I might never fit in.

Today, as Director of Sixth Form at Mercia School in Millhouses, preparing students for the vast differences between A-Level and degree courses is a critical aim for me. That applies to both the rigorous solo study expected from them and all of the new life experiences they will have. I want our pupils to fit in.

Next September 2023, Mercia Collegiate Sixth Form will open to its first 100 pupils,we are calling it an Elite Sixth Form. Staff at Mercia are proud and unashamed of our high ambitions and high expectations. The students who come to our sixth form will be too.

Mercia Collegiate Sixth Form will aim to demystify the elitism surrounding university and make the unknown and invisible highly visible for all. There are many hidden advantages which some students undertaking post 16 A Level studies have experienced, often without realising it. If you have graduate parents, come from a desirable postcode, have benefited from private education or attended schools that are outstanding - those will all be in your favour at university. If you do not have any of the above, it is likely you will be disadvantaged.

That means a university applicant is more likely to take up a course below their grade expectation. To be disadvantaged means that Oxbridge or Russell Group universities are often too ambitious to aim for.

To be disadvantaged means that a university fresher is more likely to drop out by the end of the year. To be disadvantaged means that an applicant is less likely to have work experience or relevant connections in their field of study. Being disadvantaged is a stark reminder that equality and equity are two very different things.

We want to level the playing field so that anyone who is academic, no matter their background, can aim for and succeed at the world’s best universities, indeed fitting right in! The aim at Mercia Collegiate Sixth Form will be to expose the whole process and expectations of university education. It will be open to talented students from right across the city and north Derbyshire. We are offering more than just the grade.

We will unashamedly work hard to ensure pupils are university ready from the onset. Recruiting teachers from top universities has been a priority and is a huge advantage in itself.

Our scholars will be supported in gaining work experience and network connections.This type of support allows for an expectation of interaction, maybe even an entitlement to socialise at this level, developing confidence and stature.All this will of course be of huge advantage when interviewed or questioned for competitive courses. All of this is elitism.

Confidence will be developed through enrichment opportunities that foster performance, public speaking and debate. Scholars will be immersed in contexts unfamiliar to them. That is what university is after all. Professional schools will be developed, so scholars are immersed in their subjects, led by specialist teachers, in the fields of medicine, economics and law. Mimicking university in this way will ensure scholars have a seamless transition and dropouts are less likely. It is all advantaging.

Offering elite experiences can be seen contentious because even the word ‘elite’ is typically the preserve of the wealthy. We want to redefine the word to focus on quality, not entitlement.

Inequality emerges when parents want this level of education but cannot afford to pay for it. Families want their children educated, but in some cases, they fundamentally don’t want them to change. But of course, education does change the individual. Working with families, we want to cultivate this change and ensure it is fulfilling. That’s the point. That’s what Mercia Collegiate Sixth Form will aim to do: change lives.

Our Sixth Form will be attractive to those who want a first-class education, who have high ambition and aspirations, but don’t have the money for private school fees.Academia is a value we hold dear at Mercia, for academia is powerful in itself. But combined with excellence and commitment; it flourishes.Our school motto is ‘Scientia Unescamus’, which means ‘let us be united by knowledge.’ We seek to unite not just scholars, but also the families and wider community we serve. Together we can be the best - we can be elite in the best sense of the word. We want to make sure all our scholars will indeed fit in.

The first Mercia Collegiate Sixth Form open day is on Saturday October 15, from 10am until 2pm. If you are academic and aspirational, or have a child who is, we’d love to see you there.