Our Sixth Form

Thursday’s post on the Ysgol Brynhyfryd sixth form has stirred a few people into commenting. And views were somewhat polarised.

I felt it was time to go behind the invective and try to come to a balanced view. To do so, I’ve had to ask around a bit but principally I’ve looked again at the Estyn Inspectors’ recent report on the school and its neighbours. I’m conscious that I’ve used the Estyn reports somewhat selectively and that this brings with it dangers.

A year ago, I’ posted on the most recent Brynhyfryd inspection. Brynhyfryd was on par with all the best of the local schools. The Alun High School in Yr Wyddgrug/Mold came out slightly better. At that time, I noted that parents of sixth formers would be particularly happy.

Here, then, are some points relevant to the sixth form and to the comments made since Thursday. They're not comprehensive and not perfect.

• Estyn graded Ysgol Brynhyfryd as “Grade 2: good features and no important shortcomings”. The sixth is generally scored higher: with one exception, Estyn scored Brynhyfryd’s sixth form key skills at the highest level, grade 1. Yale was very close. Llandrillo scored 1 across the board. Llysfasi was lower, overall.

• Someone commented that Brynhyfryd is in the top 50 UK schools. This, apparently, was in the Times newspaper, though I can find no online corroboratory evidence in support.

• Academically, results are said to be better than at Ruthin School. Does Brynhyfryd offer private education on the state?

• The sixth form is not the biggest ever, as one commenter stated. The 2009 published Estyn inspection shows that there were 203 in the sixth, compared to 238 in 2002.

• Was Brynhyfryd the worst school in the former Clwyd county, 30 years ago, as a commenter suggested? I don’t recall it being at the bottom but back then it certainly was nearer the bottom. Whereas today it’s nearer the top. Things move in circles, perhaps.

• On Thursday’s post, there was talk in the comments of the catchment area being good. Estyn states, “The economic, community and linguistic background of the pupils varies significantly. Some sections of the town and countryside are socially deprived...” Note the words “varies significantly”.

• It would seem that though sixth form academic choices are strong, vocational courses are indeed limited, as a couple of commenters pointed out. The Estyn 2009 Estyn report states, “Nearly all sixth-form courses are academic and insufficient vocational subjects are on offer. The number that can be studied through the medium of Welsh is very limited.”

• This would not be such a problem except that alternative courses at Llandrillo, Glannau Dyfrdwy/Deeside and Iâl/Yale are some distance away.

• Commenters were concerned about the limited course base at the Brynhyfryd sixth. The same is true of colleges, except Yale. Coleg Llysfasi has as a more limited base of courses than Brynhyfryd. Even Llandrillo would appear to have its limitations, especially regarding what might be termed academic disciplines.

• Coleg Iâl/Yale College and the Alun High in Yr Wyddgrug/Mold offer a superior number of academic courses. On the down side, students, of course, need to travel. Anecdotally, Yale appears not to offer the same level student pastoral support but this doesn’t appear to be backed up by Estyn findings.

• The ability from September 2010 for sixth formers to move between six further education providers, from Llysfasi to Ysgol Glan Clwyd, is in response to a national initiative to widen student choice. It supports similarly academic institutions such as St Brigid’s & Ysgol Glan Clwyd. There is a similar scheme linking Dinas Brân Llangollen with Wrexham schools and Coleg Iâl.

• Anecdotally, the drop out rate at Colegau Llandrillo ac Iâl/Yale seems higher than at Brynhyfryd.

• Estyn stated in 2009, “In the sixth form, results have been outstanding for a number of years and compare very well with those in similar schools. The school’s results in WBQ (Welsh Baccalaureate) in the sixth form are outstanding.”

• Students successfully follow the Welsh baccalaureate. There is no evidence of a significant drop out, as a commenter suggests, with 96 per cent of students completing it.

• Estyn stated that over 90% of the students succeed in entering their first or reserve university choice.

• “Students gain much from their sixth-form experiences, in their academic, personal, social moral and wider development.”

• The quality of teaching is good and there are no important shortcomings in the sixth form. Results in external examinations were outstanding.

• At A Level, 82% of students achieved two or more grades A-C at A Level (compared to 65% in Denbighshire and 69% Wales).

• For reference, 77% of GCSE pupils gained at least 5 A*-C or equivalents (51% in Denbighshire and 56% in Wales). 59% gained A*-C the core subjects of Welsh, maths, science & English (40% in Denbighshire and 46% in Wales).