Maple Group

The Maple Group is a partnership of many of the country's leading sixth form colleges, united by a common interest in maintaining and promoting outstanding teaching and learning for young people. Maple Group colleges approach education holistically, ensuring that educational provision is complemented by outstanding support and opportunities to enrich the learning experience outside of the classroom. 

Maple Group colleges individually and collectively make a significant contribution to the nation's economy: together, almost 30,000 youngsters are enrolled at a Maple Group college.  In excess of 80% of students from these colleges will progress in to higher education, around a third of whom will accept places in the UK's leading Russell Group universities. 

The Maple Group launched in 2013 with the rationale for member colleges to  maintain and further develop all that is excellent about post-16 education. Working together in partnership enables like-minded colleges to share expertise and ideas; to disseminate superb practice more widely and to provide a commentary on educational developments, informed by years of high performance.

The Maple Group partnership reflects and reinforces a shared commitment to providing the highest quality educational opportunities to thousands of youngsters. Members of The Maple Group continue to be respected advisers to the country on all matters relating to post-16 education; playing a leading role in supporting the future success of Government initiatives such as the academies programme and reforms of the examined curriculum.  

The member colleges are a trusted group, widely acknowledged by students, parents, teachers, universities and ministers as being amongst the very best, indeed as world class providers. Maple Group colleges have an unrivalled lengthy track record of high performance, respected for innovation, creativity and leading the development of post-16 pedagogy.

The Group consists of 13 member colleges:

• Cardinal Newman College
• Holy Cross College Carmel College
• King Edward VI College
• Cirencester College
• Peter Symonds College
• Farnborough Sixth Form College
• St Dominic's College
• Greenhead College
• Winstanley College
• Hereford College
• Woodhouse College
• Hills Road College

The Group share the following objectives:

• to share and disseminate good practice within the group for the benefit of students
• to improve still further the quality of our provision
• to influence policy, at national and local level, is it impinges on our colleges and our students
• to develop cost-sharing and quality improvement partnerships between our colleges
• to work with sister organisations (e.g. SFCA, AoC) to celebrate and promote the good reputation of sixth form colleges.

In addition to the Principals' meetings which take place four times per year, Finance Directors from the Colleges regularly meet to discuss key issues for them.