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Is college at 14 a step too soon?

Source: The Guardian

Nov 03, 2009

Summary

Colleges would like to admit 14-year-olds on to full-time courses, but not everyone agrees that it's a good idea

St Helens College, Merseyside, has a new cohort of students. In September, for the first time, it allowed a handful of 16-year-olds to enrol on the college's courses full-time.

For Pat Bacon, principal of the college, FE colleges provide a different learning experience to school that can help to tackle problem behaviour and boost confidence.

"They provide expertise, impartial advice and guidance, and the opportunity to experience a different environment and curriculum," she says. The teenagers "were lacking motivation and we thought the college environment would be the answer". Although it's early days, she says the teenagers seem to be settling into the college well.

But Bacon, who is also president of the Association of Colleges (AoC), wants to go further. She wants to be able to admit 14- and 15-year-olds full-time, too.

Ambitious plan

It's an ambitious plan and one endorsed by the AoC. In its recent manifesto, the AoC called on the government and cou

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