2010 Yorkshire Ambassador (alumni), Laura White, and two other ambassadors have written an application to the Department of Education to open a 16 -19 small academic sixth form to be based in the North of Sheffield.

How I think Chapeltown Academy could change the statistics.

Written by Laura White, 2010 Yorkshire Ambassador

Where ever you are in the country, I bet you have your favourite statistic… Mine is that only 9% of the young people in Barnsley study three Russell Group Facilitating A-Levels as compared to the highest (Reading) at 40% of pupils.  I am an active TF ambassador (alumi of the two year Leadership Development Programme) because I don’t believe that the town you live in should dictate your future in this way.

So how do we change the statistics?  Back in May 2012, Ali Jaffer (2010 Ambassador) after having spoken to parents and teachers in the area, asked me to help set up a small academic sixth form in the North of Sheffield in a small railway market town called Chapeltown, located in the middle of Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley.  For those of you who don’t recognise the geography, it is an ex. mining area which typifies so many places with high deprivation and low social mobility.

Of the feeder area we are considering for our sixth form, 58% of secondary schools are Teach First eligible, yet 92% have no attached sixth form.  There are some very large colleges for these students offering a very wide range of subjects, and some fantastic, inspirational teaching across the region and across the key stages.  The tragedy is that for academic students who need a small, focused environment and a cohort of learners where achievement and aspirations are not unattractive characteristics, they must travel across the city to the South West where there are highly successful state schools with attached sixth forms.  This can take two buses a day and in many cases, involve up to 2.5 hours of daily travel.

And so, three Teach First Yorkshire Ambassadors, an MFL head of department/consultant, two PWC project managers have banded together to write an application to the Department for Education to open Chapeltown Academy, a 16 – 19 highly focussed, small academic sixth form to be based in the North of Sheffield.  Our team has grown substantially – we have an active parents and students committee and some educational heavyweights on board. We aim to provide a local option, rooted in the community where focused subjects and engaging extra-curricular activity will give our pupils the qualifications, skills and access to the best universities and leading careers.  If you want to know more about our vision have a look at our website.

Whilst we wait (and hope!) for an invitation to interview with the DfE, our next step is to run a semi open day on the 2 March 2013 at The Source (Meadowhall).  We will be inviting all the young people who supported our petition, and their parents to a day of subject taster sessions, exhibition spaces where employers, teachers and local organisations can inspire and answer questions, and information sessions about college applications, interviews, university and difficult to access professions.  If you want to be a part, get in touch: we need A-level subject specialists, role models to champion their professions, and extra-curricular enthusiasts to inspire our guests.  Whether Chapeltown Academy gets approved or not, we will have a positive impact in the area through this event.

And so back to our own favourite statistics and what it takes to change them.  We all know that there is no one answer to this Hydra of a challenge, however Chapeltown Academy is one thing that we’re so passionate about doing in our local area.   If you want to help Chapeltown Academy or the open day…get in touch.  Otherwise, think about sharing what you are doing to meet the challenge.  It might inspire someone else, or maybe give them the courage to just shout about what they already do every day.

This proposal was written independently of Teach First by a group of Ambassadors.