A-LEVEL education is to return to the heart of the Forest of Dean after Dene Magna School was given the Department of Education’s go ahead to open a new sixth form.

The sixth form will be based, not at the school’s Mitcheldean site, but on the new Cinderford campus of Gloucestershire College following the college’s decision to axe its A-Level courses two years ago.

This left pupils in the Coleford and Cinderford areas, seeking the traditional A-Level route to university with the prospect of commuting to Gloucester, Sedbury, Newent, Monmouth or Ross-on-Wye to study.

This week’s announcement follows a lengthy process by both Dene Magna and Gloucestershire College.

Both bodies will now work in partnership to deliver a range of A-Level and vocational courses.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER