DERBY'S newest academy – only a week old – has begun the process of creating its own sixth form.
The City of Derby Academy, formerly Sinfin Community School, was launched officially on June 1 by Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust, based in Nottingham.
As part of discussions over becoming an academy earlier this year, the trust said it would create a 300-place sixth form at the Arleston Lane institution.
Now parents, staff, unions and relevant organisations have been sent documents about the plan and a consultation will run until August 5. If the sixth form is given the go-ahead by the Department for Education, it would start in September 2014.
Currently, there are sixth forms at nine out of the 14 secondary schools in the city, and post-16 education provided by Derby College, including through its Joseph Wright Centre.
Barry Day, trust chief executive, said: "There is no one provider which meets the needs of the majority of students from the City of Derby Academy and many of them have to travel large distances to access post-16 education."
It is proposed that the new sixth form would offer a wide range of A-levels and BTEC level-three courses. Opportunities are to be given to academy staff to retrain as sixth-form teachers.
Initially, the sixth form will occupy space in the academy building but the trust plans to apply for Government cash to create a new, purpose-built post-16 teaching centre.
A meeting about the sixth form will take place at the academy on Tuesday, June 25, starting at 7pm.
Sue Arguile, of the city branch of the National Union of Teachers, said: "We do not have a position on whether a sixth form would be a good or bad thing, although it could have a negative impact on Derby College if too many schools go down the 11 to 18 route. I will consult with members at the academy."
But Mandie Stravino, principal of Derby College, the biggest provider of post-16 education in the city, said she welcomed "any move that broadens the options and opportunities for young people to further their education".
She added: "I look forward to discussing these proposals with the academy in the near future."
The last school sixth-form centre to open was the Millennium Centre run jointly by Derby Moor Community Sports College and Littleover School in 2000 – but they are to run separate sixth forms from this September.
