NEW sixth form provision is opening in Yate and Chipping Sodbury next week.

Cotswold Edge is a collaboration between Brimsham Green School, Chipping Sodbury School and Yate International Academy.

Students will be able to study A-levels, BTEC and vocational courses at the sixth form which will operate from all three campuses.

In a joint statement, head teachers at all three schools Kim Garland (Brimsham Green), Gareth Millington (Chipping Sodbury) and Paul Skipp (Yate) said the new linked sixth form would ensure students have access to some of the best facilities in the area.

They said: “Cotswold Edge enables our young people to study locally, promoting a culture of educational achievement and aspiration throughout the Yate and Chipping Sodbury area.

“Collaboratively we offer a wider curriculum, leading to vibrant and relevant opportunities for our students. Together we offer a superb mix of academic and vocational qualifications, enabling students to select the courses which meet their needs and interests.

“In addition, students benefit from first-rate teaching and learning and from close working relationships with teachers and tutors who know them very well.”

They said the sixth form would ensure a truly personalised programme of support ‘so that all young people can achieve their very best, in an environment where aspirations are high, levels of care, support and guidance are second to none and where excellence thrives’.

We ensure our sixth formers have access to some of the best facilities in the area.

The sixth form’s first enrolment day was held on Friday (August 21) and so far 215 students have signed up to start their studies there in September. Courses will include A-level English Literature, French, law and physics as well as Level 3 BTEC sport, Level 3 BTEC hair and media make-up, and Level 3 BTEC music technology.

As well as academic courses, students at Cotswold Edge will be encouraged to engage with the wider community through fundraising and volunteering and expand their global awareness with trips to Uganda, Goa, New York and Morocco among those on offer.

Cotswold Edge launches next Wednesday (September 2) and replaces a former link sixth form between Chipping Sodbury and Brimsham Green schools. Both schools pulled out of a linked sixth form with Yate International Academy in 2009, when it was still known as King Edmund Community School, before it gained academy status in federation with Winterbourne International Academy (then The Ridings High School).

Some courses are now closed to future applicants as they are already full but students still wishing to apply for a place at Cotswold Edge can download an application form from any of the school’s websites and email it directly to THill@brimsham.com