ABOUTFAQ
HOW IT WORKS
TIMETABLE
TERM DATES
FEES
SOFTWARE
HOW TO BOOK
CONTACT US
How to assess an online school
What you say about us
Social Skills and discipline
ABOUT OUR STUDENTS
Who uses an online school?
PARENTS as Education Partners
ABOUT OUR TEACHERS
Our Education Philosophy
HOW TO BOOKCONTACT US
It is always an anxious business choosing a school. Parents may feel they do not know how to examine an online school to see if it suits them. Actually the approach is not so different to looking at any school, but we thought some sample questions would help you.
Feel free to use our questions on another school and compare the answers with ours.
 TEACHERS, Expertise.. NEW FAMILIES, trials. SOCIAL ISSUES SOFTWARE CONTRACT /FEES |
TEACHERSWhen did First College UK start?
We began planning First College UK 10 years ago in 1999 when Shan Morgain, one of its Heads, qualified as a professional online educator (Cert OET, Institute of Education, University of London). The main preparations were done in 2004 and 2005 while gaining experience with academic seminars and private tutoring. We finally opened to our first students January 2006.
Does the Head/ or the main teachers, work elsewhere during school hours?
During school hours, NO! - we are ALWAYS in school or in the office to receive calls during school hours, normally until 7pm on weekdays.
Shan Morgain is completely full time. John Davies does some part time lecturing for the Open University but this is not during school hours.
How many teachers are there?
We are seven teachers all together: the two Heads, two Senior teachers, and three other teachers.
What standard teaching qualifications do the teachers hold?
PGSCE/ Cert OET/ Cert TEFL/ Open University in-house training, and lots more. (See the ABOUT OUR TEACHERS page.
How many years has the Head or senior teachers been teaching?
37 years, 35 years, 35 years.
How many years has the Head or comparable person been teaching - specifically ONLINE teaching?
Since 2002. At time of writing that is 9 years.
Which qualifications in Online Education/ CML are held by key teachers?
Cert OET, Institute of Education, University of London 2000. We train all our teachers ourselves.
What length of experience do the key teachers bring to the school?
37 years; 27 years, 12 years teaching experience.
What experience did the Heads of school have previous to First College, in running a school or organisation?
Both Heads have been running organisations and communities, commercial, public service and nonprofit, since 1980, that is, over 30 years.
How would you compare First College UK with other broadly similar online schools?
There are two other UK online schools besides First College, which provide live interactive online classes, as we do. Each school tends to suit different kinds of families so it is good for you as a family to have some choice.
We originally worked with Interhigh helping them get going in 2005. We then decided to return to our original plan of our own school because we wanted a lot more community emphasis, and it does not suit us to work or teach in a larger organisation. Interhigh is growing all the time and currently handles over 150 students. The young couple who run Interhigh are full time secondary school teachers themselves and their day jobs bring them useful connections and resources. Interhigh does valuable and socially useful work with young people excluded from schools, referred by Education Authorities.
The Head of Briteschool worked with us in our first year, then set up his own project. He has great flair as a teacher and his approach is flexible and impressively individualistic. He is very popular with students. Techie students especially like Briteschool which uses a lot of the latest technology.
First College UK has a strong emphasis on working as a small scale community, with high focus on practical social skills to support efficient learning. We are a family concern where both Heads and their adult son all teach in the school personally, alongside the other teachers. We know our students directly, in depth. We also know our teachers' day to day needs because we teach online with them. Both Heads have decades of teaching experience (35, 25 years respectively). We train our teachers ourselves, originating from professional training in online learning with the University of London and the Open University. Our families are all personal and private bookings, not sponsored by third parties. We work with families from 9.30am until 7pm in the evening on weekdays including most 'holidays.'
Hope this helps you see what suits you.
NEW FAMILIESDo you offer new enquirers a "trial lesson"?
No - don't worry we certainly don't allow anything like that! You are entitled to privacy and safety in all school services, and you have it.
You can rest assured that your student's lessons are not going to be disrupted by complete strangers wandering in not knowing how to do things, needing a lot of extra attention from the teacher on how to cope, so your student doesn't get enough. Our registered new students receive careful training before going to class for the first time so they feel confident, and their arrival is not disruptive.
Nor would we ever use your student's lesson as a live demonstration for anyone from outside to observe. Your student is not there for someone else's benefit but for their own needs.
Apart from respecting a class as serious (but fun) work time for your student we would not allow outsiders in the school because it raises a high security risk. The wrong kind of person would only need to ask for trial access to see what software is in use. It would then be fairly easy to hack into it. Some internet risks are exaggerated by the media but in the area we are very careful of the children's safety.
How can a new family get an idea of how the school works, what it is like?
We encourage enquirers to have comprehensive conversations with us as much as they like to interrogate us very thoroughly and fully before booking a place. There is a LOT of detailed information on this website. We can provide examples of lesson records, and samples of homework set. We can also ask one of our families to talk with you direct.
With all this we have never been told by a family who joined the school that they were taken aback, surprised, or felt misled or unprepared in any way.
Can a family have a "trial period"?
Yes. You register with us, going through our careful foundation discussions with you so we understand each other. Your student takes our careful induction training so they know what to do right from their first day.
You pay the standard deposit £100 and one month's fees instalment. You then need to give your trial a reasonable length of time for settling in. We will keep checking with you and observing your child to see how they are doing. But you need to TELL us if there is any difficulty during those important first weeks. If by the end of the trial month, after discussing the matter with us, it is your decision not to continue, we will not ask you to pay the normal one month's notice so you can leave with goodwill, without extra payment.
COMMUNITY & PERSONAL ISSUESWhat do you do to ensure student discipline and courtesy?
A student who is significantly late, or absent, who has difficulties responding in class, or fails to complete homework, gets our attention fast! If direct contact with the student does not seem to solve the problem, we will approach parents to discuss what we all see together as the best plan of support.
Students are not allowed to behave discourteously to each other, or to teachers. But neither are staff allowed to behave discourteously to students as students learn first and foremost from the model of adult behaviour. We present ourselves as living human models, offering a clear set of rules with specific explanation of what they mean.
One great advantage we have which is much appreciated by students and families, is automatic records of all situations. We can look up what happened, and use the record to create a report for those involved, with our notes giving guidance on how to handle matters better.
If a student is careless, or has acquired unacceptable habits elsewhere, it is firmly and kindly explained precisely and exactly what is not allowed, and why. This is done privately, not in front of others, which the software supports.
A student who refuses to accept guidance on classroom courtesy can simply be closed out of school, in seconds, pending more individual support. A lesser protective sanction is where the student to stays, but cannot speak so other students are protected. We have rarely ever had to use these sanctions.
The teachers are all in instant communication with each other while their classes are actually running, via either the software, or telephone, and we can support each other very quickly.
Through all this strong net of support and guidance we have created a culture among the students of good behaviour. This means that new, incoming students discover what is expected of them, very quickly, by picking up on how others behave. It is the force of group pressure like this which is the real backbone of good behaviour.
How do you ensure a student is not just another name on a list?
There are no administrators or managers here. We all teach the students direct, while the family Heads run the project with some assistance from the other teachers.
We keep classes very small, normally 10-12 sometimes temporarily up to 15.
We set long break periods to give time for contact outside classes. Students have an Instant Messenger so they can easily talk with us (and each other) outside classes.
We welcome students or families contacting us 10am - 7pm weekdays, plus messaging and emailing frequently. All teachers are supplied a short description profile of the student with the key facts they need to know. This is based on the questionnaire sent to all parents when they join the school.
How do you ensure that online study is not impersonal?
First of all as long as the groups are kept small, which ours are, online study is not impersonal. Students and teachers alike find that personality and needs come across very clearly indeed. The school hums with friendships and other relationships especially as we promote cooperation as well as (some) competition.
As well as small group study there is the option always there to open a private chat with a teacher or another student. In addition we contact families frequently by phone and our telephone office hours are 10am - 7pm weekdays.
How do you support sensitised students?
Students with troubled experiences are carefully identified through several conversations with the family, and our introductory questionnaire. Then a short description is given to all teachers.
We work on establishing a 'bridge of trust' in the first weeks or months. We check on a minimum weekly how the sensitised student is managing. We can provide special adapted packages e.g. limited homework requirements by agreement with the family. We also provide some personal support and counselling.
What about socialisation? physical exercise?
Socialisation in the main is not a problem as we are very much a social learning community where friendships are made, and people work together getting to know each other.
However our online community does not provide communication via body language. This is vital to the age group so we advise parents to ensure a student attends a local club, or organised activity so they experience body language in groups as well as at home or with individual friends.
Families do not generally have a problem providing physical exercise which is usually far more varied than what ordinary schools can do. Students go swimming, walking, dancing, riding, sailing or play sports they like. The advantage here is the student is not limited to what one organisation can provide, but can do the kind of exercise they like, which means they are much more likely to keep it up in the holidays.
SOFTWARE & THE INTERNET ISSUESWhat kind of software is required?
We deliberately keep it simple so the software (tthe computer) is the servant, not the master! A student needs 4 kinds of computer service: an internet connection;
a browser (Internet Explorer, or Firefox etc);
a word processor like MSWord; and an email account. If a student doesn't have an email account we can help them set up a good one.
We do not favour sophisticated software like webcams (camera) or powerpoint. These create a barrier to pass before the student can get to work, and a great many families or young people are not that much interested in software. The more sophisticated software is the more likely it is to break down.
Webcam in addition acts as a major distraction. We want the student focused on the lesson not someone else's TShirt and hairdo! Also, this age group is typically very self conscious physically so many students find exposing themselves to judgement on their appearance is excruciatingly painful. Students who are happy to use webcam can do so in breaks or outside school hours but we never require it during lessons.
What help do you offer families in learning the software and procedures?
A student has a one hour, one-to-one introduction session in the school to teach them how to use the classrooms.
After that they use our very clearly written, friendly, very step by step instruction sheets, with pictures, that mean using our services is straightforward. We are constantly told how clear and helpful our guides are.
If there is a problem we are only a phone call or a click on the Messenger away.
What support do you offer for computer software problems as software is so vital to the school?
Telephone support 09.30am 7pm weekdays plus fast response IM (Instant Messenger), or email within a few hours.
Our classrooms are a duplicate set of two different systems. If the first fails, we can switch everyone to the other within a maximum of 5 minutes, then just continue the lessons.
What do you do to address internet security issues?
We do not allow ANYONE except students are teachers to access the school software. Some parents have their own access but only to look at their child's Report, not to speak or message other students.
Outsiders are NOT allowed to "have a look."
Classes and homework are operated on other websites which have no connection with this one.
Teachers and students are not provided with each other's emails. Communication is by various school contact systems, including classes, messenger, and messages. Parent or student emails are never given out to even another student, by us.
Teachers do not converse directly with family members as it would be impossible to ensure all teachers kept up with the authorised persons oin each family who are in communication with the school. Teachers leave feedback on the student's private work area. Other communication with the teachers is put through the Heads.
Any student who brings inappropriate links or data from the internet into school is instantly barried pending investigation.
We provide a guide to all families on how to ensure their computers are reasonably protected from internet risks. All our software has been thoroughly checked.
Do you have backup services so classes etc are not disrupted?
Yes of course. We can transfer a class in 5 minutes or less, to a second set of classrooms so as to cause the minimum disruption to lessons.
How frequently have you had to cancel a lesson for software or other issues?
We do not keep exact records because it is so rare. It is a matter of one or two lessons a term, if that.
FEES & CONTRACT ISSUESWhat are your fees?
Average £165 per month over the year. £198pm with no payments July, August, ALSO discount schemes e.g. second child, or full year fees. The exam programme is a little more expensive: £228 a month.
Do you require a deposit?
Yes. £100.
Do you require a compulsory contract of one term paid in advance?
Of course not. You can pay monthly and you can give one month's notice. If you have paid more than the notice month we will refund the difference.
. What can we do if unhappy about an aspect of your service?
Please email or phone us straight away! PLEASE do not only discuss in the family. Education can only be successful if everyone involved shares concerns and tries to put them right, together.
On our side we have had a few problems over the years when a family tells us nothing, but they are, unknown to us, discontented about something. It is a great shock to us to suddenly find that the family is very upset after a long time but we did not know anything about it. In these cases if we had been told the problem it could have been remedied. But if it runs on too long it can grow past the point of remedy, or at least become a very tough bundle to unravel.
We find this very worrying as it is the student who suffers from disrupted education if a parent explodes without warning and withdraws a student having not tried to find a solution.
We will do everything reasonable that we can to satisfy you, but if we cannot, you are free to withdraw the student without fuss. Please do give us a chance to sort the problem out though before withdrawing.
Do you require a penalty period of lost fees if we withdraw?
No. We ask only one month's notice, except in the special case of the first month. Where a family feels that the online school does not suit their child's needs, after giving First College UK a genuine trial period of one month including discussion of any difficulties, we do not even insist on the normal one month's notice.
Are you perfect? Definitely not. We very much welcome parents' and students' ideas on how we can improve.The site is being newly designed (May 2011).
This side menu will soon have links to lots of updated pages with details on each subject we teach.
LIST OF SUBJECTS
* IGCSE subjects
* ENGLISH
* MATHS
* Geography
* History
* Literature
Storytelling
Philosophy
Sciences
* Biology
* Physics
* Chemistry
* French
* Spanish
EXTRAS
About Religion
Private Tutorials
This side menu will soon have links to lots of updated pages with details on each subject we teach.
LIST OF SUBJECTS* IGCSE subjects
* ENGLISH
* MATHS
* Geography
* History
* Literature
Storytelling
Philosophy
Sciences
* Biology
* Physics
* Chemistry
* French
* Spanish
EXTRAS
About Religion
Private Tutorials
HOW TO BOOK
CONTACT US