ABSTRACT
The sixth forms of the nineteenth century public schools were, socially and educationally, relatively homogeneous. Children from middle class families have always been over-represented in the sixth forms of maintained secondary schools. Two contradictory images of young people are commonly described by adult commentators on the educational scene. On the one hand they are seen to be seduced and exploited by the ephemera of a hedonistic, media-created, youth culture. This is Frances Stevens’s ‘candy floss world’, or more literary, ‘Vanity Fair’. On the other hand they are seen as becoming more mature and more responsible. The increasing proportion of working class pupils and the entry of pupils from immigrant homes mav both be regarded as part of the opening up of the sixth form. This opening up process may also be seen in the changing conditions of entry into the sixth form and the changing curricula followed by sixth formers.
