14 to 16-year-olds
About Us
At Bradford College we work in partnership with secondary schools and local authorities to offer young people aged 14-16 (Year 10 & 11) the opportunity to access an alternative education programme.
The provision is offered predominantly in its own dedicated building and focusses on a nurtured approach to engaging learners in their education.
There is an onsite team of staff who specialise in the pastoral, intervention, safeguarding and well-being support of all learners who access the provision to support their personal development and well-being alongside their studies.
The hours learners complete depends on the individual learning programme that is built based on individual interests and needs. The provision does not accommodate education in excess of 21 hours per week due to not being a registered independent school. We welcome visitors to the provision by prior appointment or at the wider College Open Days.
Finding Us
Victoria Building, 88 Thornton Road, Bradford, BD1 2DX
Please note there is limited parking available on the main road/Soho Street.
Contact Us
For queries or general information regarding our 14 to 16 provision, please get in touch.
Our Curriculum & Enrichment Offer
GCSE Pathway Programme
We offer GCSE pathways for years 10 and 11.
Our Year 10 pathway includes:
- GCSE English Language
- GCSE English Literature (Home educated learners only – delivered over 2 academic years)
- GCSE Maths
- GCSE Biology
- Life Skills
- PSCHE Tutorial
Our Year 11 pathway includes:
- GCSE English Language
- GCSE Maths
- GCSE Biology
- GCSE Chemistry (Home educated learners only subject to completion of GCSE Biology early entry in Year 10)
- GCSE Religious Education (Short GCSE)
- PSCHE Tutorial
- Childcare and Early Years
- Construction
- Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy
- Motor vehicle Studies
- Cooking and Eating
- Boxing
- Food Hygiene
- Football/Sport
We also have the opportunity to offer an additional GCSE in Psychology at Year 11, there are limited numbers available to complete this due to the number of hours required to complete the course. Learners in Year 10 will have the opportunity to try Psychology during the final half term to help determine if they wish to choose this as an additional GCSE in Year 11.
Our GCSE curriculum is complemented by our online resources ‘Century Tech’ for GCSE English, Maths and Biology and ‘Wakelet’ which has been developed by the teaching team (across all GCSE subjects, plus some vocational and extra-curricular activities). Information on how to access these resources will be given to learners at their induction.
Our programme for 2023/24 starts w/c 4th September 2023 with induction sessions, vocational teaching will start w/c 11th September 2023. We offer a flexible start for learners in Year 11 up to October half-term, and Year 10 up to January (any referral after September is dependent on capacity)
Please note: We are working with colleagues across the College as well as external providers to enhance the vocational subject offer for 2023/24, further information will be available once the curriculum has been agreed.
Careers & Work Experience/Experiences of Work (being developed for 2023/24)
To enhance our learner experience we will be introducing the following for 2023/24 academic year:
- Work Experience*
- Insight into Industry Days
- Visits to FE/HE Institutions (including faculty taster days)
In addition, all learners will have a personal guidance (careers interview) with a qualified careers advisor.
All year 11 learners will receive intensive support to explore their post-16 options including visits to providers, completing the application process and support in advance of their interview.
*Work experience will be arranged where it is deemed suitable for the learner. Where work experience may not be suitable, alternative employer engagement visits and insight into industry days will be offered.
hese courses are ideal for learners who attend school for their main curriculum but wish to access a vocational programme alongside this.
Study:
- Childcare and Education
- Construction
- Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy
- Motor Vehicle Studies
Learners will be in a small group and get lots of help from their tutor. They’ll build up a portfolio showing their work.
These courses are great stepping stones to help learners move on to further study or work post-16. Most courses are delivered over 1-2 half days per week.
The College also has courses specifically for young people who have English as a second language.
Our English for Speakers of Other Languages course combines English with maths, visual arts and local culture.
The courses are Further Education full-time (16-18 hours per week) and learners will need to be assessed before they start the course to make sure we offer them the right level.
Eligibility & how to apply
School-Registered Learners
If you are the parent or carer of a child currently registered at a secondary school you would need to seek the support of the school as there is a fee implication, you cannot unfortunately apply directly to the College. If agreed, the school would need to make a referral to us in the first instance, once received a pre-visit would be arranged for you and your child to attend the provision.
Please note it is at the schools discretion whether or not they support a referral to us as it is based on their own financial resources.
Electively home-educated learners
If you are the parent or carer of an electively home-educated learner aged 14 to 16 (school years 10 and 11), you can arrange for your child to learn part-time in College and are able to apply directly to the College.
We would expect to see evidence of engagement with the Local Authority EHE team before application, to show commitment to suitable home education. We require that at least 1 academic year of suitable home education has taken place.
You need to consider carefully their education provision for the remainder of the time.
The College will not be held responsible for the education of the learner, as any arrangement would be for part-time study only to supplement suitable home provision, which is entirely the responsibility of the parent/carer.
If you are unsure of the eligibility to apply you can contact us via email at [email protected] or call 01274 088474.
How to apply
An application form will need to be completed for every child who accesses the provision. School-registered applications will be processed once the referral for their current school is received. EHE registered applications will be processed once the eligibility has been confirmed by the relevant local authority.
Click below to complete the application form.
Please note we no longer accept paper/scanned application forms.
Schools & Providers
If you wish to find out further information about the provision, the fees or referring a young person, please use the contact section for a list of contact numbers, alternatively, you can email [email protected].
Referring your student to the provision is a requirement before a young person can start on a programme of learning with us. This ensures that we are fully informed on the students educational background, their needs and interests and any issues that we may need to explore further before offering a place.
We trust our partner schools to share all information relating to the young person to ensure we are both satisfied that our provision is the most suitable for the young person.
We invite all our referred young people to attend a pre-placement visit with their parent/carers and/or school contact. This allows a smoother transition for their first day and allows us to complete all the final registration details. We have transferred our referral process to an online referral form to help speed up the referral process, this is available on the following link:
Each half term the academic team complete a progress review for individual learners, copies of these are sent to the school and the parent/carer of the learner during the first two weeks of the next half term.
To ensure we can deliver an outstanding experience for your students, we invest a significant amount of resource in the wrap around support alongside the academic teaching team, our fees have been set to factor in the cost of general classroom support and teaching staff, onsite Safeguarding and Well-Being, Pastoral & Intervention Support, Campus Liaison and bought in external services for Careers & IAG along with work experience/experiences of work which have been incorporated into our curriculum during 2022/23 and will be further expanded in 2023/24.
Tuition Fees
| Date | Fee |
|---|---|
| Half Term 1 Start (Sept – Oct) | £10,000 (this will increase to £12,000 for new learners joining in 2023/24) |
| Half Term 2 Start (Oct – Dec) | £8600 (this will increase to £9,650 for 23/24) |
| Half Term 3 Start (Jan – Feb) | £6,100 (this will increase to £7,350 for 23/24) |
Free School Meals
In addition, where a learner is in receipt of free school meals, these are charged at £3.50 per day, this provides learners with breakfast prior to the morning lessons starting, again during morning break, a hot lunch and a snack in the afternoon break. As learners usually attend 4 days per week, the weekly fee is £14, this will be charged annually on your invoice (and will be pro rata for learners who start late/reduced for part-time learners).
Pupil Premium Grant
Pupil Premium Grant for learners accessing all their education through our provision is claimed at the existing rate of £955 per learner/£2350 for CiC. The Pupil Premium during 2022/23 has been used to buy in some additional maths and English specialists to support learners 1:1/in small groups to enhance their GCSE capabilities, enrichment activities to support SEMH and behaviour, access to an educational psychologist, resources to enhance and support learning, and technology (although this list is not exhaustive).
EHCP
If a learner has an EHCP and is accessing all their provision through the College, the College will invoice for the top up element of the plan, these funds are designated to ensure that the education provider can offer the right level of support to fulfil the requirements of the plan. A learner with an EHCP will not be able to commence on the programme until the information pertaining to the top up element, along with a copy of the EHCP to ensure needs can be met has been received and agreed.
PPE
The final additional cost is for PPE (personal protective equipment) in subjects such as Construction & Engineering – the College will continue to subsidise this with the contribution remaining at £50 per learner. As we re-vamp our Hair & Beauty Salon we will no longer have the requirement to purchase individual kits for learners, therefore the current fee in 22/23 of £75 will no longer be applicable in the new academic year.
Related Documents
There are a number of common documents that are shared with schools and local authorities as part of their quality checks and general information gathering, these are located on this page.
Parents & Carers
We have developed the website to try and ensure all the important information parents and carers need is available to you, if what you are looking for cannot be easily located, please get in touch and we will be happy to answer any questions you have.
It is recommended you refer to the ‘Eligibility and How to Apply’ section in the first instance to confirm if you are able to apply to us for a place, and if not, what you should do in the first instance.
College Term Dates
A copy of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 Academic Calendar is available to download in the documents section of this page. This outlines when training days and half term holidays take place as well as other key dates such as Parent Review Days and planned GCSE Exam weeks.
Reporting Absence
It has been proven that positive attendance to College increases your child’s chances of making good progress on their programme and successfully achieving qualifications at the end, however, we accept that there are occasions where your child may not be able to attend due to illness, if your child is unable to attend College for any reason it is important you notify us at the earliest opportunity (should preferably be done prior to the start of their first lesson). Attendance can be text through on the number above or via email to the address above.
Monitoring your child’s progress
Each half term the teaching team complete a progress check, this is sent to you in the first 2 weeks of the following half term, this allows you to keep updated on how your child is progressing. However, if you want to know at any point how your child is doing feel free to contact us at any time.
In addition to the progress review, we hold termly parent review days, these usually occur on the last Thursday of Term 1 (December), 2 (March/April) and 3 (June – Year 10 only).
Online Resources
Alongside the academic teaching on the programme the teaching team have worked to develop ‘Wakelet’, an online learning platform which includes all the teaching content for the academic year, this should be used to reinforce what has been learned, support with preparation for assessment and exams and in cases where your child may be absent from College.
We also use ‘Century Tech’ across the College, this offers your child the option to take diagnostic assessments for GCSE English Language, Maths and Science which are used to develop an online programme of learning working through the content relevant to the awarding organisation and qualification they are undertaking, tailored specifically to their current subject knowledge. This should be used to compliment and enhance your child’s subject knowledge and does not replace face-to-face teaching, your child should continue to attend taught lessons in College.
Your child will be introduced to these as part of their induction.
If your child needs any support in accessing these resources, please contact us (using the contact details above).
GCSE Exam Preparation Information
As part of your child’s teaching and learning we will regularly complete in-class assessments and during Year 11 (and Year 10 for early entry candidates) mock examinations. The mock exams are delivered as the summer exam series would be, giving your child the opportunity to experience and adapt to the requirements of exam days. It is important that parents/carers also understand what is expected of their child when it comes to sitting exams. To support with this, we have put together some ‘Exam Day’ information which you and your child should read.
In the document section you can find a copy of the 2022/23 mock exam dates.
Department Contacts
| Attendance & Student Information | 07879 772809 |
| Pastoral & Intervention | 07884 751627 |
| Safeguarding & Wellbeing | 07595 569152 |
| Any other queries | 07825 641737 or [email protected]. |
