There will be a few less students around at Ashton’s Community Science College Pic: Google

A Preston school looks set to lose its Sixth Form provision from September 2017.

Ashton Community Science College in Aldwych Drive is failing to attract enough pupils to make it viable.

Advertisements

Figures released by Lancashire County Council outline how just 66 pupils were admitted in the 2015-2016 school year.

The average number of students at Sixth Forms and Academies in Lancashire is 2017 – leaving Ashton significantly below the average.

Cabinet member for children, young people and schools county councillor Matthew Tomlinson has approved the proposal to put Ashton back to an 11-years to 16-years school, after the school requested it be reviewed due to the lack of student numbers.

Cabinet member for children and schools county councillor Matthew Tomlinson said: “Ashton Community Science College approached the county council in December last year to tell us that they wished to consult on the future of their sixth form due to concerns about its financial and educational viability.

“The sixth form had very low student numbers and consequently was only able to offer a very limited educational curriculum, in just two subject areas. At the school’s request, we carried out a four week consultation into proposals to close the sixth form. No responses were received during that period. I have now taken the decision to stop providing sixth form provision with effect from August 2017.”

Alternative schools and colleges near Ashton are Moor Park High School and Sixth Form (2.7miles), Preston’s College (2.9 miles), Cardinal Newman College (3.2 miles).

The Sixth Form has been operating since September 2010, and the school is rated as good by Ofsted (last inspected in October 2013).

The county council says there was no response from parents to the consultation they ran for 30 days in September and October this year.

No students are currently in the first year of their studies, so no pupils will be directly affected.

What do you think of the decision? Let us know in the comments below