Luton Sixth Form apologises over 'confusing' statement after increasing its entry requirements

The college announced its decision on Friday following this year's national rise in GCSE pass rates.

But it quickly received a backlash online - with some accusing the sixth form of “shifting the goalposts” after pupils’ success .

One man wrote online: “This is disappointing for kids who have already been through enough.”

However, the college has been quick to clarify its position, and insists that children already offered places will not be affected.

A LSF spokesman said: “As an inclusive college, we are committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes and progression opportunities for our students, by ensuring that they are enrolled on courses where they have the best opportunity to succeed.

“The new entry requirements we published on Friday only apply to a relatively small number of students wanting to change onto courses that they had not previously applied for and for new students making an application after our deadline.

“We had to do this as we do not have the capacity to enrol significantly higher numbers of students onto our BTEC and A-level programmes.

“Students who were offered a place in March based on their predicted grades and who have CAGs that meet or exceed those predicted grades will be offered their place on that course as we originally promised.”

The college has not increased its entry requirements at Level 2. Interviews have been arranged with a “significant number” of students who were told previously there was no suitable course for them.

Principal Altaf Hussain said: “I am so sorry for any confusion or worry our announcement may have caused to our students and their parents – that was most definitely not our intention.

“As the oldest and one of the largest sixth form colleges in the country, we pride ourselves on being an integral part of the Luton community.

“That community gave us their feedback, we listened and within 24 hours we had clarified our position on our social media platforms.

“However, I fully accept that our communication and timings could have been handled better.”