The English education sector is undergoing major restructuring with the coalition government placing great emphasis on two key principles of policy: deregulation and marketisation. This development follows on two decades in which the British state has sought to raise performance levels and reduce costs through a variety of policies that are drawn…

The sixth-form college sector is often marginalised in policy and academic discourse, where the much larger school and further education sectors dominate. This paper sets out to describe the sector's key features, assess its position within the wider education system and consider its future in an increasingly competitive education market. The…