Long Road Sixth Form College

Infobox School
name = Long Road Sixth Form College
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streetaddress = Long Road
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city = Cambridge
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postcode = CB2 8PX
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country = United Kingdom
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chairperson = Michael Womack
principal = Sandra Hamilton-Fox
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teaching_staff = 150
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LEA = Cambridgeshire LA
ofsted = 130616
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gender = Mixed
lower_age = 16
upper_age = 18
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schooltype = further education college
fundingtype = State
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language = English
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rival = Hills Road Sixth Form College
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established = 1974
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status = Open
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enrollment = 1,695
enrollment_as_of = October 10, 2004
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feeders = Bassingbourn Village College, Bottisham Village College, Chesterton Community College, City of Ely Community College, Coleridge Community College, Comberton Village College, Cottenham Village College, Impington Village College, Linton Village College, Manor Community College, Melbourn Village College, Netherhall School, Parkside Community College, Sawston Village College, Soham Village College, St Bedes Inter-Church School, Swavesey Village College, Witchford Village College
free_label =Telephone number
free_text =[phone]
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free_label2 = Notable alumni
free_text2 = P. D. James (Cambridgeshire High School for Girls)
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homepage = http://www.longroad.ac.uk/

Long Road Sixth Form College (LRSFC) is a sixth form college in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is situated on Long Road, from which it draws its name, and is situated next to the Bio-Medical Campus and Addenbrooke's Hospital.

History

The college was established in 1974 and occupies a 23 acre site. Prior to this it was the Cambridgeshire High School for Girls. A significant portion of the college's current buildings date from this period, although there has been extensive renovation and the construction of three entirely new blocks, as well as a new sports centre that opened in 2005 (the college's first new sports building since 1939). Other recent renovation projects included the expansion of the Learning Resource Centre and the creation of two new classrooms.

The college today

The college has approximately 2,000 full-time students enrolled, the majority of whom are between the ages of 16 and 19. Most of these students study on A- and AS-Level courses, although an increasing number are taking National Diploma courses or Vocational A-Levels) and many also study on one-year GCSE courses (typically 7%). Those who make applications but do not achieve the 5 A*-C grades required to study A levels at the college are given the option of retaking and re-applying next year. Around 75% of students go onto Higher Education from Long Road each year and students tend to apply for a broad range of different universities, from redbricks to former polytechnics. A significant proportion of students each year also go into full-time work, often in management traineeships, or take a gap year before further study or work.

Added value

The college is considered very successful in terms of "Value Added" results, that is to say that post-16 students at the college tend to achieve A-Level grades above what their GCSE results would suggest they would obtain. In terms of added value, Long Road certainly outperforms Hills Road Sixth Form College nearby.

Atmosphere

The college has a reputation for taking a fairly relaxed approach to education. Traditionally this has suited many students, whose performance would be affected by high levels of pressure to perform. Nonetheless, in recent years there has been an increasing focus on raising standards. This has included several new initiatives to tackle punctuality, attendance, homework and smoking. Students who are considering choosing the college over Hills Road due to its reputation are likely to find the atmosphere significantly less informal, libertarian and progressive than the reputation suggests. For the time being, all members of staff, regardless of their seniority, are referred to by their first names. There is no uniform policy or dress code placed on students. The college believes in working in partnership with students to achieve the best and this does seem to work.Or|date=May 2008

ubjects

A wide range of A level subjects are offered, in addition to GCSE subjects for students wishing to retake. The table below lists the subjects currently on offer, and their locations within the college.

A level

Hills Road-Long Road debate

Long Road is one of the two main state funded-sixth form colleges in Cambridge, the other being Hills Road, which is located nearby. There is often a large amount of debate, particularly among secondary school students considering which sixth form to apply for, over which of the two colleges is better. While Hills Road students achieve higher grades, Long Road appears to 'add more value' - that is, Long Road students develop more over their period at the college. Various interpretations could be put on this data: it could be that Long Road mops up less able students and tackles the inadequacies of 11-16 schools, or caters well for a range of students with different GCSE experiences and qualifications. However Hills Road have a higher entry level and therefore their exam results are perhaps unfairly compared with long road which has the normal 5 c grades at gcse to enter, Hills road only taking in 5 Bs