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School aims to open sixth form for struggling pupils

BBC A lady in a blue dress standing in front of a buildingBBC
Kerrie Henton is the executive principal of Stone Soup Academy in Nottingham, a school for children who find mainstream education challenging

A school is aiming to open a sixth form to help better support students in education.

Kerrie Henton is the executive principal of Stone Soup Academy in Nottingham, which provides places for pupils between 11 and 16 who have struggled in mainstream education.

But Ms Henton said some students did not adapt as easily when they left Stone Soup and moved on to further education or work.

As a result, Ms Henton hopes to establish the sixth form.

A Victorian school building in Nottingham
Stone Soup Academy's site on Pilcher Gate in Nottingham city centre

She said: "Our students are not here because they can't achieve great things, but because they might not have had the best start in life and we want to make sure they have a future.

"Mainstream education may not have been right for them, but when they come to us, we're able to meet their needs more effectively and we get fantastic outcomes.

"It does nothing but fill you with pride to know you've played a part in the success they're making of their lives."

Stone Soup currently has 110 students who have a range of issues including ADHD and autism, which means they can often find large class sizes challenging.

'Buck the trend'

Ms Henton added one in two students in alternative school provision could "fail" to adapt to work or education and they needed more support.

"What post-16 alternative provision we have in Nottingham is not enough," she said.

The sixth form would have space for eight pupils who would study GCSEs alongside a one-day-a-week work experience placement and vocational qualification chosen to best fit their career goals.

Ms Henton is now aiming to enlist the help of local companies to provide work placement students in the hope it will help secure funding for the new sixth form.

She added: "We want to buck the trend to ensure [our students] become a success.

"We're looking for companies to work with a student one day a week so they can see how good they are and employ them, then the don't fall off the edge.

"We need them to give our young people an opportunity where they can grow."

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