Demand for courses reason behind subject expansion at city academy.
Just one year after offering A Level courses, Milton Keynes College is doubling the number of students it will take next September because of huge demand.
Last year, around 70 students signed up for A Levels, but this autumn that number will rise to 150 – with already over 600 having applied.
The curriculum is also being massively expanded: biology, chemistry, applied science (a new qualification), history, politics, economics, further maths and criminology have all been added to the available courses.
There’ll also be the option to take core maths; equivalent to half an A Level, it will be especially helpful for students aiming to study science at university but who don’t want to enrol for the full maths course.
As a result, the college is looking to recruit new teachers and want to hear from recent graduates keen to enter the profession, who could save themselves thousands of pounds in training. The right candidate would be given full teacher training as part of their contract, with no tuition fees.
“We’ve been so pleased with how popular our A Level courses are, and we’re delighted with the work the students are putting in,” said Marc Hulbert, Executive Head of Sixth Form.
“We’re definitely expanding teacher numbers for sociology, psychology, law, criminology, maths and computer science and, while experienced staff would be brilliant, we also think recent graduates will have a great deal to offer as their knowledge of their subjects will be bang up-to-date.”
The College also wants to hear from people can deliver other academic subjects, such as geography, philosophy or film studies.
“We’re already looking ahead at growing our portfolio of subjects and those are all disciplines that we hope to add in 18 months’ time,” said Marc Hulbert. “Next year, we’ll offer 17 subjects, and that will increase to about 27 from September 2026.”
Anyone interested in becoming a teacher at the College is invited to the next A Level Recruitment Event on Saturday 26th April, 10am-12pm, at the South Central Institute of Technology in Bletchley. Or get in touch here: recruitment@mkcollege.ac.uk.
