Participation rates in further education have more than doubled within London since the 1980s and there are fears over whether education services are able to keep up with the trend.
This year in the capital, 91% of 16 years old’s opted to continue in education after the conclusion of their GCSEs.
This has put an increasing strain on schools and sixth form colleges with funding towards further education being cut by 21% over the past decade according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
This potential clash of supply and demand was discussed at an Education Panel Meeting of the London Assembly yesterday afternoon, where assembly members asked education experts to give their views on how to deal with the current situation.
The panel of experts providing advice to the London Assembly yesterday.
Following the meeting, James Kewin, Deputy Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said, “It is quite shocking that when people from overseas come to visit us we are telling them that our teenagers are getting 15 hours a week of contact time.
“It is just not enough to give them the kind of rounded education and stimulated education that the next generation needs.
“The reason why they are only getting 15 hours is because overall units of funding is just not enough.”
However, hope could soon be on the horizon.
As part of a pledge to overturn the Government’s previous austerity policy, last month the Conservative government unveiled plans to boost spending on education by £7 billion over the next three years.
A portion of this figure will go towards further education and Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager at the Association of Colleges, believes that it could make an important impact.
He told City News: “I think we have to give credit where credit is due.
“Since Gavin Williamson got the job of Secretary of State, he has done more in three months than any of his predecessors have done in almost ten years.
“We have seen the first small but significant increase in the funding rate,
“The cuts since 2010 have been very harsh, there is a lot of ground to be made up but we have to be encouraged by these recent developments.”
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Standfirst
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HeadlineCan London meet increasing further education demand?
Short HeadlineWill London colleges cope with high demand?
StandfirstMore and more Londoners are opting to continue in education after GCSEs
Participation rates in further education have more than doubled within London since the 1980s and there are fears over whether education services are able to keep up with the trend.
This year in the capital, 91% of 16 years old’s opted to continue in education after the conclusion of their GCSEs.
This has put an increasing strain on schools and sixth form colleges with funding towards further education being cut by 21% over the past decade according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
This potential clash of supply and demand was discussed at an Education Panel Meeting of the London Assembly yesterday afternoon, where assembly members asked education experts to give their views on how to deal with the current situation.
The panel of experts providing advice to the London Assembly yesterday.
Following the meeting, James Kewin, Deputy Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said, “It is quite shocking that when people from overseas come to visit us we are telling them that our teenagers are getting 15 hours a week of contact time.
“It is just not enough to give them the kind of rounded education and stimulated education that the next generation needs.
“The reason why they are only getting 15 hours is because overall units of funding is just not enough.”
However, hope could soon be on the horizon.
As part of a pledge to overturn the Government’s previous austerity policy, last month the Conservative government unveiled plans to boost spending on education by £7 billion over the next three years.
A portion of this figure will go towards further education and Eddie Playfair, Senior Policy Manager at the Association of Colleges, believes that it could make an important impact.
He told City News: “I think we have to give credit where credit is due.
“Since Gavin Williamson got the job of Secretary of State, he has done more in three months than any of his predecessors have done in almost ten years.
“We have seen the first small but significant increase in the funding rate,
“The cuts since 2010 have been very harsh, there is a lot of ground to be made up but we have to be encouraged by these recent developments.”
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