About the Sixth Form

 The Sixth Form Team:

Mr Gary Cook, Head of Sixth Form

Miss Kate Smith-Crallan – Head of Year 13

Mrs Fox – Student Mentor

Mrs Murray – Sixth Form Office Manager

 

Courses

The courses that are on offer  provide access routes for all students. Our courses include a range of traditional A Level courses, BTEC courses at Levels 3 and 2 and some GCSE courses.

Enrichment Activities

Throughout the year we emphasise the importance of working hard and being committed to your studies. However our Sixth Form is more than just gaining excellent qualifications. Our aim to provide our students with a `Sixth Form Experience’ that creates the highest calibre of well-rounded young people that will have the best opportunities for their future career and life.

Our enrichment activities include social activities, study skills days, team building, reviewing and building on personal progress, Sixth Form conference day and our unique Skills for Life Day.

Ethos

Our ethos within the Sixth Form is built of determination, commitment and enthusiasm. Staff and students alike share this ethos where all students are expected to work to always try their best and be outstanding role models for our younger students.

Pastoral Provision

In the Sixth Form every student is part of a small tutor group of a dozen or so students under the care of their Sixth Form Tutor. The tutor will meet the their tutor group twice daily and has responsibility for supporting each student in academic and welfare matters through their time in the Sixth Form. Tutors provide guidance on balancing the demands of a busy Sixth Form life and lead their tutees through the process of university applications.

Every tutor group also belongs to one of the four School Houses .

The Sixth Form Team provides itself on the quality of Pastoral care that it provides. A student would at first speak to their form tutor however Mr Cook and Mrs Fox always have their doors open and will make every effort to support students; whether this is an academic or personal issue. If students need to see any of these members of staff they will be able to see them immediately however if this is not possible students make appointments with Miss Murray and a meeting will be held at the earliest possible time.

Skills for Life Day

Within the Sixth Form we understand the importance of giving our students skills that will last a lifetime so we introduced the annual Skills for Life Day. The day is purely for our Year 12 students and it takes place at the beginning of July. The day is split into four sessions where students are within their form group and will participate within each session. The sessions include:

ü  Driving Lessons (A free lesson for every student)

ü  Preparing for jobs (preparing CV’s, Supporting letters and interview skills)

ü  Health Advice and Information

ü  Team Building and communication skills

Sixth Form Gym and Staying Healthy

We promote to all our students the need to stay healthy and active not only whilst in the Sixth Form but to stay healthy throughout their lives. Getting into the habit of staying healthy and fit is one of the hardest parts of having a healthy lifestyle. To support our students with staying fit and healthy we introduced the Sixth Form Gym.

The Sixth Form Gym is only for our sixth formers and they are able to use the gym anytime during the school when they do not have lessons. The gym is equipped with running machines, rowing machines a wide range of weight machines along with other cardio-vascular equipment.

The membership for the gym is only £15 per year. The cost of membership provides each student with a unique Adidas workout T shirt and any remaining money goes towards the maintenance costs of the equipment.

Social Committee

The social side of things is as much a part of Sixth Form life as A levels and sports fixtures and a number of activities throughout the year are organised by and for the students.

The social committee is run by students who are always willing to hear new ideas and are very welcoming to new members of the team to support and run social events.

Student Leadership

Members of the Sixth Form are encouraged to take on positions of responsibility during their time in the Sixth Form and we provide many opportunities for this. There is a Sixth Form Council with representatives from each tutor group that meets to discuss sixth form matters and sends representatives to the whole School Council.

Tutorial Timetable

Each student in the Sixth Form is placed into a small tutor group with students that study similar courses. We feel that this supports students in getting to know their classmates quickly and moreover if students have questions regarding their courses, our students will work together to support each other within their daily tutorials. Within the week students will have three 20 minute tutorials, a session with the Head or Assistant Head of Sixth Form and finally the Friday tutorial is spent supporting younger students with mentoring them.

Year 12 and Year 13 students follow different tutorial calendars to support students at different stages within their Sixth Form Career. Whether students are in Year 12 or Year 13 they are taught a wide portfolio of skills within their tutorials that come under the themes of PSHEE, Careers.

 Work Experience

We understand that learning does not only happen within the classroom and that some of our students may require Work Experience to support completing assignments and to sample future careers. We promote to our students the need to be active when investigating their career paths and encourage students to seek out work experience opportunities.

We therefore support students with attending any work experience opportunities throughout the year (except during main examination series). Our students have gained work experience in a whole range of potential career paths including hospitals, businesses in London, building sites, childcare and many more.

To support students we have our own on site careers advisor, a work experience coordinator and the Sixth Form Student mentor.

The careers library is open throughout the school day, and is available for use by all pupils, regardless of age. The library is well resourced, with a wide range of current publications and prospectuses, which pupils can borrow on short-term loan. The Department has some excellent, up-to-date computer software, and this can be accessed by all pupils from any of the school's networked computers.