Young people from Sandwell will be given the opportunity to attend a new sixth form college in Dudley planned by Eton College and Star Academies.
This follows an announcement from the Department for Education that the new sixth form is planned to open during the academic year of 2025/26. Places will be available for young people from around the Black Country, including Sandwell, to continue their studies from age 16 to 18.
Councillor Simon Hackett, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “We look forward to the creation of a new sixth form college here in the Black Country. Young people from Sandwell will benefit from a wider choice of education providers once they complete their GCSEs and other Key Stage 4 studies.
“We want all children and young people in Sandwell to get the best start in life and to have great aspirations. Starting with underlining the importance of attending school we are working to boost results across all stages of education so that our young people can go on to achieve their potential.
“We want children and young people in Sandwell to be ambitious about their futures and with the addition of educators to the region such as Eton and Star, the sky’s the limit for what can be achieved.”
Q3 Academy Langley has already adopted some of the outreach offer provided by Eton College with students completing online learning courses. Representatives from Eton College visited the academy in Oldbury this week.
Peter Lee, Headteacher at Q3 Academy Langley provided a warm welcome to visitors from Eton College. He said: “Since opening in 2016 we at Q3 Langley have always valued working with external partners such as Sandwell Council, SHAPE and Sips Education.
“As a designated School of Character and one that has achieved nationally recognised GCSE results in recent years we are thrilled to be developing our connection with Eton College and Star Academies providing opportunities for our students once the new Sixth Form opens its doors.”
The college in Dudley is one of three proposed new sixth form centres by Eton College and Star Academies. The two other colleges are planned for Oldham in Greater Manchester and Middlesbrough in Teesside.
Eton’s Head Master Simon Henderson said: “We believe these new colleges have the potential to be transformative both for the young people who attend but also for the wider communities they will serve. Now the hard work really starts as we turn our vision into reality.”
Star Academies' Chief Executive Sir Hamid Patel CBE said: “With a growing demand for sixth form places in these areas, we aim to enable more young people to benefit from a high quality academic education and to broaden the opportunities available to them both during and after their sixth form studies.”