Our applications are up on last year as the popularity of a specialist sixth form institution continues to appeal to 16 to 19 year olds in the area surrounding the College.
People are increasingly willing to travel over greater distances to access the range of A levels and mature atmosphere the College offers. We have a small but increasing number of students who travel from Birmingham and from Coventry, Rugby and Hinckley as well as our traditional areas of Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire. We offer a personal interview to every applicant, essential to gaining the offer of a place to study at our College. We guarantee a September place to all of the students who apply before 31st May. Anyone who applies after this date are interviewed and are placed on a waiting list. Their places are determined by their examination results and the availability of their chosen courses. Today was exciting as prospective students gathered nervously outside of the College entrance. Some of our current students, our Ambassadors, gave up a day’s holiday and volunteered to stay and help the new students find their way to their tutor rooms and classrooms.
It was great to see everyone happily enjoying their lessons and experiencing what it would be like to be a King Edward VI College student. The new students settled in well and appeared to quickly adapt to their new surroundings, finding their way around the College easily by the end of the morning sessions. We have a beautiful college site and our King Edward VI College students appreciate this so that we have rarely suffered any form of graffiti or other damage on site. Though so many of the prospective students were very welcome some of the students will lose their places as we are under no obligation to keep students who deface college property and we have no room for them in our College. The enjoyment of the day was marred by some students who chose to deface some of the tables in the refectory, not only will they have lost a valuable place in a great institution but their parents will also receive a bill for the damage, caught on CCTV. The reputation of the many can be so damaged by the few.
Almost all of the young people we met today behaved impeccably and they deserve to be able to study in a College with other like-minded individuals who want to work hard and do well in life. It is up to us to create and maintain a respectful environment in which young people can thrive. The others will have to access provision elsewhere.