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# Lichfield school confirms plan to close sixth form
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/lichfield-school-confirms-plan-to-close-sixth-form/
- Published: 2025-04-30T13:58:59.000Z
- Updated: 2025-04-30T13:59:16.000Z
- Description: A Lichfield school has confirmed it intends to close its sixth form.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Education, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:49, News

A LICHFIELD school has confirmed it intends to close its sixth form.

Nether Stowe School had been consulting on the future of its post-16 provision amid concerns over the viability based on student numbers.

In a letter to parents, headteacher Kirsty Jones and Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP) CEO Richard Gill have confirmed a “phased closure” will go ahead.

It will mean current Year 12 students can complete their studies at the school, but would mean no provision at all would exist from September 2026.

The letter said:

> “After thoughtful consideration, ATLP’s board has decided to proceed with the application for a phased closure of the sixth form at Nether Stowe School.  
>  
> “This will mean that current Year 12 students will be able to continue attending the school where we will continue to support them in the completion of their studies.  
>  
> “We understand how strongly some members of our community feel about this decision, and we deeply appreciate the respectful way these views were shared. We value the thoughtful feedback shared during the consultation, which the trust board carefully considered when making their decision.  
>  
> “Ultimately the board concluded that to ensure the long-term success and stability of the school, the difficult decision to close the sixth form should proceed.”

The school’s leaders said the final decision would now rest with the Department for Education.

But they explained that since it joined the trust, the sixth form at the school had suffered from “unsustainably low” pupil numbers.

The letter added:

> “The current size of the sixth form means that we are unable to provide students with the broad, enriching post-16 education they deserve.  
>  
> “We want every student to have access to the best possible opportunities, and that is not something we can sustainably offer with such low numbers.  
>  
> “We had hoped to grow the sixth form. However, recent Year 11 expressions of interest, confirmed that this trend is unlikely to change.  
>  
> “This means that the overall size of the sixth form, as well the projected class sizes, would continue to be well below the Department for Education’s recommended levels.  
>  
> “Such unsustainably low numbers in sixth form would further limit our ability to offer a diverse range of subjects to our students.  
>  
> “In recent years, the school has had to redirect a significant amount of funding from students in Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 to keep the sixth form running. We do not believe it is fair to continue to compromise the education of younger students in this way.”