Alton College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 What is Alton College?
2 Advanced Levels and BTEC National Courses at Alton College
3 The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at Alton College
4 Alton College's Goals and Achievements
5 Notable Alumni
6 External links

[edit] What is Alton College?

Alton College is a sixth form college located in Alton, Hampshire, UK. It has Beacon College status, recognising it as one of the best colleges in the country. The College offers a wide range of A-level and vocational qualifications and caters for students with disabilities from nearby Treloar College, a specialist college. ,900 part-time adult learners. The College offers a wide Level 3 curriculum, growing Level 1 and 2 provision.

It has been compared favourably with local leading Public Schools such as Winchester College, Churcher's College and Bedales, often out-performing them and other leading schools in national A-Level league tables.

Alton College is a Sixth Form College offering a broad curriculum for some 1,680 16-18 students and provision for 16-19 and a range of targeted provision for adult learners and employers. The College works in partnership with Portsmouth University and Southampton University to deliver Foundation Degree and teacher training courses.

As Lead College of the East Hampshire 14-16 Increased Flexibility Partnership and 14-19 Pathfinders, the College manages a growing range of vocational provision. There are currently 285 14-16 year old learners studying a variety of vocational and ‘gifted and talented’ courses through the College.

The College is situated in a rural area serving the needs of learners from a wide geographical area in approximately a 20-mile radius. The College runs a comprehensive and subsidised transport service for 16-18 year old students within this rural area. Adult learners study on the main College campus and in a variety of outreach locations throughout East Hampshire.

The College works effectively with various partners. These include all Hampshire Colleges, the Hampshire Sixth Form Colleges Partnership, the North East Hampshire Group of 5 Colleges (Alton College, Basingstoke College of Technology, Farnborough College of Technology, The Sixth Form College, Farnborough and Queen Mary’s College); the East Hampshire Consortium / 14-19 Pathfinder (Alton College and seven 14-16 schools in East Hampshire); East Hampshire Community Strategic Partnership; Alton Town Partnership. The College is leading an Increased Flexibility (14-16) Partnership with schools in East Hampshire. There is a very effective and long-standing partnership with Treloar College, a specialist college for students with severe learning difficulties and disabilities – 18% of Treloar College students study at Alton College.

[edit] Advanced Levels and BTEC National Courses at Alton College

The College has a wide range of Advanced Levels from which students may choose. Dependent on success at GCSE, prospective students will be advised by the College on how many to take, with the majority taking 4 Advanced Subsidiary Levels in the first year, continuing three of these on to the full Advanced Level (A2) in the second year. In some cases students will take either three or even five Advanced Subsidiary Levels in their first year.

As of 2006, there was A-level provision for the following subjects:

AS & A2 Archaeology
AS & A2 Art & Design
BTEC Art & Design
AS, A2 & AEA Biology
AS, A2 & AEA Business Studies
BTEC Business
AS, A2 & AEA Chemistry
BTEC Child Care & Education
AS & A2 Classical Civilisation
AS & A2 Communication Studies
AS & A2 Computing
AS, A2 & AEA Critical Thinking
AS & A2 Dance
AS & A2 Design and Technology
AS & A2 Drama & Theatre Studies
AS, A2 & AEA Economics
AS & A2 Electronics
BTEC Engineering
AS, A2 & AEA English Language
As, A2 & AEA English Literature
AS & A2 Environmental Science
AS & A2 Film Studies
AS, A2 & AEA French
AS & A2 General Studies
AS, A2 & AEA Geography
AS, A2 & AEA German
AS & A2 Government & Politics
AS & A2 Health & Social Care (applied GCE, single or double)
AS, A2 & AEA History
AS & A2 Information & Communication Technology
BTEC Information & Communication Technology
AS & A2 Law
AS, A2 & AEA Mathematics
AS, A2 & AEA Mathematics, Further
AS & A2 Media Studies
AS & A2 Music
AS & A2 Music Technology
AS & A2 Philosophy
AS & A2 Photography
AS & A2 Physical Education
AS, A2 & AEA Physics
AS, A2 & AEA Psychology
AS & A2 Religious Studies
AS & A2 Sociology
AS, A2 & AEA Spanish
BTEC Sport - Development in Fitness
AS & A2 Textiles
BTEC Travel & Tourism

[edit] The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at Alton College

The College has been an IB World School since October 2004. This status is granted to an educational establishment once it has been authorised by an organisation called the IBO to deliver a programme of study designed and administered by this organisation. Alton College offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, which, by its students, is referred to simply as 'the IB', is a prestigious and rigorous pre-university course of study which is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to Advanced Levels and is held in high regard by universities around the world. The course of studies is a Level 3 qualification, making it at least equivalent in academic rigour to Advanced Levels and suitable for university entrance requirements in the UK and abroad.

The College has offered the course to students from September 2005 and its second class, that of 2006, has attracted almost twice as many students, with around 40 student due to start in early September 2006. The College has an ongoing target to increase its IB provision through attracting more students to the IB Diploma each year. It will be some time until it is seen if the 100% increase in students is to become a trend.

[edit] Alton College's Goals and Achievements

The College’s Mission

"To provide high quality sixth form and adult education in an inclusive, supportive and challenging environment, enabling people within our community to achieve their potential."

The College’s Vision

"We will be the sixth form and adult education college of choice in our area."

Latest Ofsted Inspection

Alton College was inspected by Ofsted in May 2006.

The Inspectors awarded the College the top grades in all the 5 main categories.

Overall Effectiveness: Grade 1, “Outstanding”

Achievement and Standards: Grade 1, “Outstanding”

Quality of Provision: Grade 1, “Outstanding”

Capacity to Improve: Grade 1, “Outstanding”

Leadership and Management: Grade 1, “Outstanding”

In September 2005, Ofsted changed their Inspection criteria and raised standards and expectations even higher than before. Alton is the first Sixth Form College in the country to get these top grades.

The full inspection report is available on the Ofsted website. Alton College Ofsted Report