The sixth-form college sector is often marginalised in policy and academic discourse, where the much larger school and further education sectors dominate. This paper sets out to describe the sector's key features, assess its position within the wider education system and consider its future in an increasingly competitive education market. The…

The term "applied track" in UK further education has been used to refer to the applied A level, the vocational, coursework-based version of the traditional academic A level. Vocational and coursework-based courses are often criticised for being easier than academic courses, for only attracting students who do not satisfy the requirements to take…

The article examines the role of career counsellors in secondary education in Cyprus, with emphasis on their effect on students' career decisions. Survey research was used to collect information from 611 students and 36 career counsellors in Cyprus. Students were asked to rate the importance of several factors as influences on their career…

The Sutton Trust Summer School offers to S5/Year 12 pupils the opportunity to sample student life for a week at one of five selecting universities in the UK. Most of the participants on the Sutton Trust Summer School will be the first generation in their family to attend university and have come from schools which traditionally send low numbers to…

Independent learning and independent learning strategies are at present significant topics in educational research. The bulk of this research deals with independent learning in junior and higher education with little based upon the further education sector. The focus of this article is the interpretation of independent learning by 16- to…