“Stakes are high in this dispute. Its outcome could play a significant role in determining the character of the FE sector for years to come.”
By George Binette
The Futher Education (FE) sector has long been a poor relation in Britain’s educational system. According to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in a 2021 report on education spending in England, FE colleges including Sixth Forms have suffered the biggest cuts in per-pupil funding of any sector since the dawn of the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010. For those aged 16-18 funding per pupil had fallen by 14% in real terms by fiscal year 2019-20. The comparable figure for school-based Sixth Form was 28%.
Total funding has increased modestly since 2020-21 but has still failed to keep pace with growing demand from the 16-18 age group and remains substantially lower than 15 years ago. By the middle of the previous decade central Government had pushed for a drastic restructuring of the FE sector with mergers leading to the emergence of college chains akin to Multi-Academy Trusts across primary and secondary schools.
In London one of the new FE giants is New City College, which now has nine campuses spread across four London boroughs and Epping Forest in Essex. In addition, New City owns two large ESOL providers in Bournemouth and Oxford.
Hackney’s BSix Sixth Form had remained one of England’s few stand-alone Sixth Form colleges until 2024. The college had gained an enviable reputation for providing meaningful opportunities for a remarkably diverse study body, many of whom had struggled in school. BSix could boast of students from poorer working class, minority ethnic backgrounds going on to Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Group universities.
Speaking to the Guardian, veteran campaigner Stafford Scott, who leads the Tottenham Rights community group, said “BSix has built a powerful legacy of working with students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been written off elsewhere and helps them reach top universities across the UK.”
New City College absorbed BSix’s Clapton site into its “corporate empire” last August. It has rebranded the college as Hackney’s Sixth Form Campus. From last autumn tensions between New City’s management and staff had simmered, leading to industrial action in November and an uneasy truce at the start of 2025. One BSix lecturer told me that “the culture that anchors our institution has been shut down.”
Now management has threatened to eliminate 14 posts, placed 43 staff with redundancy and indicated its intention to axe A-level courses despite an impressive pass rate exceeding 98% for those who complete the second year. (In recent media statements, management has denied taking a definite decision to scrap A-levels).
BSix has long had a comparatively strong union group, which is now part of the National Education Union (NEU). After a well-attended, emotionally charged branch meeting, the NEU membership voted overwhelmingly for strikes in an official ballot. On Thursday 12 June they launched their campaign of industrial action with a lively picket outside the college’s main entrance in Kenninghall, London E5. Speakers included former NEU general secretary Kevin Courtney and award-winning author and journalist Gary Younge, along with officers from two UNISON branches. Hackney Green and Independent Socialist councillors also attended along with several members of Hackney North & Stoke Newington CLP.
There was, however, no picket line presence from Labour politicians, though MP Diane Abbott has pledged her support and intends to join strikers later in the month. The current strike action at BSix runs through Friday 4 July with pickets planned from 8.00 AM each morning except for Monday 16 June.
Stakes are high in this dispute. Its outcome could play a significant role in determining the character of the FE sector for years to come. BSix staff and former students have launched a Change.org petition to explain and garner support for their campaign.
- George Binette is former Branch Secretary for Camden UNISON, a longtime Hackney resident and Trade Union Liaison Officer for Hackney North & Stoke Newington CLP from 2017-2024.
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