Year 12 Parents’ Information Evening 2014
Mrs Boardman Assistant Headteacher Director of Sixth Form at St
Gregory’s
Ms Colin Head of Sixth at St Mark’s.
Working together to maximise your
child’s success
The good news is they have all chosen to come here!
They have all already tasted success and we want them to
have plenty more success in the next 2 years with us.
We want them to enjoy their sixth form experience and have
fun along the way.
They will be presented with numerous opportunities; help us
to make sure they take as many of them as they possibly can.
When they leave us, they will go into work, take up an
apprenticeship or go to University. Our role is to make them as
prepared as possible for those environments
Attendance and Punctuality
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Central to everything that goes on in the College.
Monitored by all of their teachers and by Mrs Parr in the LRC
If the students are not in school, they cannot learn anything.
Students must telephone the sick line or bring in a note for every absence
Punctuality is equally as important.
Reference requests always ask us to comment on the attendance of
the individual.
Students are only allowed to leave the site at lunchtime and they must sign
in and out
Subjects
• The students have taken subjects they are good at and that
they enjoy.
• Attendance to all lessons is not optional!
• Homework will be a regular feature in all of their subjects.
• If your child has any issues, no matter how small they might
appear, please encourage them to talk to their subject teachers,
their tutor or to me.
• Communication is extremely important and will allow us to
address problems early
The Challenge- the Step up
GCSE
Academic Enquiry
Increased depth of knowledge and
understanding
More abstract concepts
Sophisticated analysis and
evaluation
Longer answers!
A Level / BTEC
Organisational Ability
Research and reading
Extended tasks, longer deadlines
Paper overload
Study periods
Teaching and Learning…
• Transition to independent learning
• Importance of Homework (at least 2 hours per night and 4-6 hours at
weekends)
• Self motivation in class / no spoon-feeding
• Being proactive (student focus, not teacher)
• Assessment for Learning
Student Referrals
We would expect all teaching staff to report to tutors issues
such as lack of attendance in lessons, significant underachievement in a subject, deadlines not being met, etc. This
will form an important part of our progress monitoring
procedures and will be the basis for any intervention in
terms of guidance and support.
If there are causes for concern that cannot be quickly and
easily resolved, students may be asked to sign a Student
Action Plan or for serious concerns a Behaviour contract.
Parents will be kept informed.
Examinations
Teachers are assessing now in October and this allows us to identify early if any
students are struggling to make the jump up to AS level study.
Mock examinations will take place in January. They will provide a very realistic
experience of the AS exams.
Preparation is key and will help the students in terms of their confidence when
they sit the summer exams in May/June
AS exams happen in May and June. These dates are not moveable or negotiable
in any way.
AS results will be used to make A2 predictions for University applications. It is
vitally important that students do their best and take the exams seriously.
Any special considerations regarding exams will need to be applied for in
advance so if you could make us aware of anything as soon as possible
The Core Programme
• Dedicated programme of PSHE and General RE on Mondays period 1
• Programme intended to support school ethos
• Timed to coincide with important transition points
• Focused on personal development, future university / job
applications
Celebrating Success
The sixth form student council will be helping us to decide how to
celebrate success:
• Students will receive credits for good work, progress etc. These can
be given out by teachers for all manner of reasons.
• Students will receive termly rewards. Letters will go home. Termly
prizes and an end of year celebration.
• Roll of honour displayed.
• Records of these awards will be kept in the students’ personal files
and used when writing references.
• Students of the Month. These will be nominated by teachers/tutors
each month and displayed on the plasma screens in the LRC
General Points
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This year is very intense and there will be trials and traumas along the way.
Please support your son or daughter by encouraging them to
communicate with us as much as possible.
There will be plenty of distractions for the students! Please support us by
reinforcing our expectations about responsible approaches to study.
If they have a part time job, please could you ensure that they
keep their hours to a minimum.
Negative correlation between employment and academic attainment
If you have any concerns, please ring Mrs Parr, your child’s tutor or teacher.
We will ring you if we are concerned .Our doors are always open and issues
that are dealt with early can avoid a lot more problems in the future.
How can you help?
Show an interest
Ask them to explain what and how they are doing
Try to provide the right environment at home for study
Discuss future career / university goals
Revision guides can be useful
Stay in touch
Be sympathetic
Encourage them to aim high –We will!
Finally...
The next 2 years will fly by!
Please do stay behind if you have any specific
questions.
Thank you for coming