Originally published in 1973, the nature of the sixth form and the objectives of sixth-form schooling were important issues in the field of education at the time. The author here provides a searching analysis of the changing structure and composition of the sixth form. He surveys the continued expansion in sixth-form numbers and suggests ways in which the curriculum could be improved. He examines critically a number of myths about the actual practice of sixth-form education, and considers the case for sixth-form ‘blocks’ or colleges. In a final chapter the author discusses the mechanism of change in this crucial area of education.
First published in 1974, The English sixth form presents a comprehensive overview of the explicit characteristics and implications of sixth-form courses in an institutional context and in relationship to other organizations. The sixth form is an institution devoted mainly to providing an academic education for students who wish to remain in school beyond leaving age. Sixth forms are not self-contained institutions; they consist of the top class or classes in secondary schools receiving pupils from age of 11 or 12, or less frequently, 13 or 14. The book discusses crucial themes like the curriculum of the sixth form; the attitudes of sixth form teachers to the curriculum; the structure of the aims and objectives; influences and constraints; and the role of the universities. This book is an essential read for scholars and researchers of secondary education, school education, and education in general.
When seventeen-year-old Ethan Whitley leaves his home in California for Berkley Academy, a prestigious Massachusetts prep school, he's a blank slate, a shy follower of rules in search of himself. Ethan is given the chance to start over when he is hand-picked by his wealthy, disaffected classmate, Todd Eldon, and a seductive, enigmatic teacher, Hannah McClellan, a free spirit for whom rules were meant to be broken. Life with Todd and Hannah is a revelation, an invitation to a world of privilege and desire. But looming over these heady evenings is the disturbing mystery of Hannah's fragmented past, one that Ethan longs desperately to understand. As secrets are revealed, Ethan is pulled deep into the undertow of Hannah's history and Todd's longings. Soon, he learns that every deceit has a price, every lie is an ugly truth, and that those he has come to trust are people he doesn't know at all. "In the tradition of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, with just the right hint of Tom Brown's Schooldays, Dolby gives us a glimpse into the rarefied world of elite New England boarding schools and manages at the same time to say something new about adolescence, sexuality, and the way art can give us what we need to survive. --Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits "Dolby puts his own prep school experience to fine use in his second novel. . .beautifully observed." --Publishers Weekly "A tender and funny novel." --David Ebershoff
Developments in educational systems are inextricably linked with the social and political evolution of nations. Nowhere is this more clearly to be seen than in the history of the English sixth form. Originally published in 1982, this book, whose authors had been associated with a number of research projects into 16-19 education, traces the tradition of the sixth form from its origins in the public schools of the nineteenth century through to controversies at the time, over sixth form and tertiary colleges and the extension of 16-19 education to embrace youth opportunities programmes and other semi-vocational courses. It shows that ‘the sixth’ has not only been a significant element in its own right in the adjustment of English society to the challenge of democratic ideals, but has also played a key role in the evolution of secondary education from the endowed school of the nineteenth century, through the municipal grammar schools set up after the 1902 Education Act, to the comprehensive secondary schools of today. In fact, the fate and future of comprehensive schooling becomes fully understandable only through a study of the sixth form tradition which has shaped the activities of educationists and policy-makers over the last hundred years. The authors conclude that educational policy-making is both facilitated and constrained by the existence of enduring traditions stemming from the past: in fact, the work of policy-making lies precisely in the constructive reinterpretation of that inheritance. This book describes and clarifies the nature of the tradition of sixth form education which has been handed down to us, and its relation to democratic values and institutions.
We all have black thoughts. It's just some of us act on them. A van driver with abduction and murder on his mind. An eleven-year-old girl snatched on her way home from ballet. A tortured reporter, happy to use her death and the terrifying reign of a child killer to help make his name... "Don't let the rather bland title put you off - this second novel by Dave Franklin is an impressive pacey read, spiced with ethical dilemmas as well as his earthy dialogue and humour." - Sunday Times "Franklin's first novel, Looking for Sarah Jane Smith, introduced his unique brand of bitter humour as he journeyed out of Wales into Aussie territory. In this new book, Franklin chooses to return to familiar territory, setting the novel in Portsmouth, on England's south coast. His raw-edged honesty and earthy humour combine to make a compelling portrayal of one man's undoing against a backdrop of murder, brutality and desperate love. It is a gritty and vicious novel with an unredeemable hero." - Post Newspapers This novel includes a FREE 3,500-word crime story, Camaraderie.
Children's Lives, Children's Futures focuses on how children in their first year of high school feel about school, its place in their lives and its role in their futures. The study is grounded in educational studies, drawing on pupil voice and children's active role in education, and on the sociology of childhood where children are viewed as active constructors of their lives. In many Western societies there is concern that children from less advantaged social backgrounds have limited aspirations, and are disproportionately unlikely to go to university. Croll, Attwood and Fuller consider the nature of children's engagement with education, the choices and constraints they experience and the reasons some young people fail to take advantage of educational opportunities.
