Knowsley must do better than lack of A-levels on offer, council chief says

Halewood Academy stopped offering A-levels in 2017

Young people in a Merseyside borough deserve better than having to travel out of the area to do their A-levels, a council chief has said.

The last school in Knowsley to teach A-levels, Halewood Academy, stopped offering the qualifications in 2017.

The lack of A-levels on offer has left most young people with "no choice" but to leave the borough to continue their studies, Mike Harden said.

He said it was an "obvious gap in the offer" and "we need to do better".

Halewood Academy closed its sixth form provision in 2017 saying it could not afford to offer A-levels amid record results.

Students then had to travel outside of Knowsley to do the exams with many making the trip to St Helen's College or to sixth forms in Liverpool, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

By 2020, there were some limited A-level courses on offer in the borough at All Saints College and Knowsley Community College - although insufficient pupil numbers meant students would often be transferred to St Helen's College campus.

'Chink of light'

Speaking at a Knowsley Council meeting, youth cabinet member Isabel Cosgrove said there were "huge issues" with A-level provision.

"To bring that in borough would help more people to get there being closer to home and inspire more people to get on to A-levels and university afterwards."

Cabinet member for children's services, councillor Margaret Harvey, said the issue was not just about A-level provision but also vocational offers and apprenticeships.

The council's chief executive Mr Harden said there was "a chink of light" after the government identified Knowsley as one of 26 educational improvement places in the country under its levelling up strategy.

"Schools pulled out of the A-level market as they needed to focus on their core business with secondary schools struggling across Knowsley," he said.

"If it was down to Knowsley Council we would have that A-level provision in the borough.

"It is an absolutely a priority for us. We've got to come up with a solution for that in the borough, it's an obvious gap in the offer."

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