Choosing Your 'A' levels

The three rules for choosing your 'A' level subjects are: Ability, Interest and Utility. 
1) You need to have the ablity to study the subject and achieve in it at the level you require for university or employment;
2) You need to have an interest in what you're studying to sustain your effort over two years;
3) If you have a particular course or career in mind, you'll need the necessary 'A' level subjects to meet the entry criteria.  If you're not sure what these are, you can get additional guidance from The Russell Group's Informed Choices booklet and from the UCAS Course Finder website.

The "do"s and "don't"s of UCAS Clearing

The Guardian has published a useful list of advice of what to say and what not so say when you are calling the UCAS Clearing help-line.  You can find it here.

Need a 'Plan C'?

If your GCSE or 'A' level results are not what you expected, here are some options to consider:

• Talk to staff on Results Day:  Mr DeKort and Miss McCrorie are experts in everything to do with the Sixth Form and the UCAS process.  Mr DeKort will also be in school between 10.00am and 1.00pm on Friday 17th  to give advice and help with problems.
• Jackie Duffy, our Youth Connexions PA, will also be available in school on Results Days.  Either speak to her there or contact her directly  ( details posted elsewhere in this blog )
• Talk to Mrs Colls ( the Exams Officer ) if you want to request a re-mark or a paper to be returned.  There is a form to fill in for this, available in school on Results Days.
• Phone the university or college you have applied to.  Try to speak to Admissions but remember, they will  be very busy!
• Go on-line to ChannelMogo for advice and information.  There's a special 1:1 web-chat service from 10.00am to midday on Friday 17th for 'A' levels and Friday 24th for GCSE related queries.
• Look through the posts on this blog for a full range of sources of advice and information about your next steps in education, training or employment.

Most of all, don't panic!  Take advice, think through your options and act decisively.

Top marks for Year 10 Work Experience!

After their week’s Work Experience last term, Year 10 students were asked to complete a self-review evaluation sheet where they rated eleven statements on a 1 – 5 scale between ‘Completely agree’ and ‘Completely disagree’.  Looking at their responses, 86% of students either strongly or completely agreed that they had enjoyed their placements.  In reviewing how their work-related skills had developed as a result of their Work Experience, students rated even more highly how they had learned to work with adults they did not previously know and their ability to cope with new situations.  Furthermore, 80% of students either strongly or completely agreed that they had learned about what it is like to be employed and that they had increased in confidence, become more independent and learned new skills.