Carres Grammar School Welcome to the Sixth Form Information Evening Mrs Diane Hickmore Head of Sixth Form Mr Ben Pickard Sixth Form Progress Manager

Carre’s Grammar School

Welcome to the Sixth Form Information Evening

Mrs Diane HickmoreHead of Sixth Form

Mr Ben PickardSixth Form Progress Manager


Words of Wisdom from Carre’s Year 13 Students

• GCSEs were easy. THIS is hard!

• AS Levels were actually really hard. I found out too late

• Do not think that getting good grades will be as easy as it was getting them at GCSE


Learn from the Mistakes of Others

One very honest student wrote the following thought provoking but very simple piece of advice:

‘The simple answer is that studying, studying and studying some more is the key to success. You will find that without doing so you will be rather disappointed with your results. In my case it was only by being truly shell- shocked by my AS results that I have got out of the mindset of coasting along.

Unfortunately I need higher grades now to apply for the universities of my choice.’


Attendance is a Key Factor for Success

• The importance of regular attendance• Morning registration with tutors at 8 45 am• Monitoring of attendance• Attendance is expected at all lessons,

General Studies or Extended Project and Wednesday afternoon enrichment sessions.


How Can Parents / Carers Help?

• To help us to monitor attendance accurately we need to know if your son or daughter is absent for a genuine reason

• We ask you to phone Carre’s office before 10 am to let us know if your son or daughter will not be in school. (Please phone on each day of absence, not just the first day)

• Your message will be passed to Ms Brook who will adjust the register.

• Ms Brook checks the Sixth Form registers after 10am and she will telephone parents of all students who have now registered or given a reason for absence.


The Role of the Tutor• If you have concerns regarding your son or

daughter please contact the tutor in the first instance.

• The role of the tutor as a personal and academic tutor

• The reference


Supervised Study

• 4 hours of supervised study each week in the conservatory

• Students can sign out with the duty staff to study in LRC, Art Room or Tech rooms

• Tracking grades in January will be used to determine those students who can move on to the ‘Privilege List’ which means they can choose where in the school they can study.


Home Study• Home study is a privilege to be used for study

• A student will need to make a formal application for Home Study. Applications cannot be made until after the results of the mock examinations which are taken in March

• A parent/guardian must agree to home study before it can be granted

• A student’s attendance, progress record and attitude will be used to make a decision to grant home study

• The privilege of Home Study can be removed at any time if the students does not continue to meet our expectations


The Sixth Form Dress Code

• What do we expect? –Smart business wear

• The reason for the dress code

• Sixth Form Students are very important role models for our younger students


Discipline Procedure

• Stage 1. A verbal warning will be given by Mrs Hickmore. A letter will be sent home to explain that a verbal warning has been issued

• Stage 2. A written warning will be given by Mrs Hickmore. A copy of the written warning will be sent home

• Stage 3. A written warning will be given by the Headmaster. A copy of the warning will be sent home

• Stage 4. Headmaster’s review. A review of the student’s place within the Sixth Form will be conducted. Parents / carers and student will attend review meeting


Monitoring Academic Performance

• Academic performance is tracked against ALPS predictions

• The ALPS system uses GCSE results to make AS predictions, taking into account level of challenge of different subjects.


What is ALPS?

At the start of Year 12 students are given an ALPS predicted grade for each subject. The grade is calculated from their average GCSE performance across all subjects.

Words of wisdom from present Year students:• ‘ALPS is realistic. Don’t try to fool yourself.’• ‘AS modules are harder than they seem. Do not

be fooled.’• ‘Yes, it really is true that some subjects are more

challenging than others.’


Tracking grade information

Subject ALPS Negotiated target Term 1 Additional information

Biology B A C I

Chemistry B A B T

Maths B A C T

English Language A A C H


Key Stage 5 Interim Codes•

• A – Attendance Concerns• • C – Coursework Concerns• • I – Independent Study Concerns• • P – Participation and Engagement Concerns• • H – Homework Concerns• • O – Organization Concerns


The Independent Learner

• In the Sixth Form it is essential that you move away from the idea that ‘homework’, set by the teacher, is the only work to be done out of lessons

• ‘Independent learning’ means so much more than simply doing your homework


Words of Advice from Carre’s Year 13 Students

• ‘Keep folders organised. A small thing that makes a real difference’

• ‘Do not just make notes, make sure that you understand them and try to learn the work as you go along’

• ‘Do as many past papers as possible and compare your responses with the mark schemes/model answers’

• ‘Make clear notes throughout the course so that they are ready to be used for revision’

• Work in small groups to learn from others and to teach others.



• ‘Having a syllabus for all my subjects really helped to me to become an independent learner’

• ‘Working outside of school time is the key. You cannot rely on just what is covered in class’


Sixth Form: Worst Case Scenario

By Joe Slack


What I Took

Subjects:– Geography– English Language / Literature– Maths – History


What Was Expected of Me

• Predicted Grades:– BBCC

• To work hard to achieve at least my predictions

• To get involved

• To contribute in class

• To take responsibility for my own learning

• To use private study time effectively


What I Actually Did!

• Spent frees messing around in the common room instead of working

• Hiding from teachers and tutors• Missed lessons if I had work to give in

Consequently I got even further behind• Avoided the truth and reality of work• Denied the amount of work commitments• Doing anything else but studying• Took on part time work at Tesco• Convinced myself that I could pull out all the

stops in June


What happened because of it

• Feelings:– Disappointment– Anger– Shell – shocked. Realisation of serious mistake

• Having to repeat Year 12 and study with students one year younger. (If a student achieves garde U at AS they cannot continue the subject to A2)

• Unable to apply this year for Higher Education courses

• Restrictions of freedoms in school


Who to go to for help

• Tutors

• Mrs Hickmore and Mr Pickard

• Teachers

• Mrs Clapham – Learning Mentor

• Parents



• Have a good idea early in Year 12 about what you want to do after Sixth Form. Plan and research. It helps to keep you motivated and you have something real to work towards.

• Don’t turn your nose up at any opportunity to take part in extra-curricular events, because you will regret it when the time comes to write your personal statement.


How did Carre’s Year 12 Students use their time out of school last year?

Academic

independent

computer

paid work

sport

voluntary


Looking Forward to Life After School

• Students should aim to have a good idea early in Year 12 about what they want to do in the future. It help to keep motivation high and gives them something real to work towards.

• University choices will be dependent upon the AS grades a student achieves.


It is never to early to start research

• The Sixth Form Planner/Diary has a list of Websites and books that student’s should use to help them prepare for Higher Education or employment

• The Connexions career advisor is in school every Friday. For an appointment students see Mr Scholefield, Carre’s Work Related Learning Co-ordinator

• Consider relevant Work Experience


Sixth Form Bursary

• Information on the website

Documents

Carres Grammar School Welcome to the Sixth Form Information Evening Mrs Diane Hickmore Head of Sixth Form Mr Ben Pickard Sixth Form Progress Manager