SIXTH FORM Prospectus 2023
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Do you want to have a lot of fun whilst building your skills and experience?
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Katie Banks Head of Sixth Form
Are you academically ambitious with a desire to explore new areas of knowledge?
Sixth Form
If your answer to these questions is yes, then you will feel at home in our Sixth Form. Whether you are a newcomer or moving on from the Senior School, the Sixth Form represents a fresh start. It is a new beginning that will bring different challenges and opportunities, alternative ways of working and a range of exciting experiences. You will certainly be challenged academically for it is important that you gain the best A Level grades possible. We also want you to discover your potential in other areas and to fulfil your ambitions outside the classroom. We would like you to be much more than the sum of your grades; we want you to develop skills and interests that serve you, academically and personally, for university, in the workplace and throughout life.
WELCOME TO BISHOP’S STORTFORD COLLEGE
We, the Sixth Form Team, your Tutors, teachers and Houseparents, will support you every step of the way, and guide you if the way is unclear. Whether you are staying on or a newcomer, we will notice and value your contributions to the Sixth Form community, but we will also have high expectations: we want you to have a sense of your own capabilities and dynamism. We will encourage you to take on leadership roles so that you grow in independence, confidence and resilience and become an active member of the College and the wider community. Our hope for you is that your time here is one that you look back on with pride and appreciation: pride in your individual and collective achievements and appreciation of the friendships that last for life.
Are you ready to embrace new opportunities and push your limits?
We have a brand new Sixth Form Learning Centre which is designed to model a university and modern workplace environment. With different spaces for quiet or collaborative work, this will be a space for you to get your head down to study on your own or with peers across the Sixth Form. The Sixth Form Team are also based in the building, so you’ll quickly be able to access support or just touch base with us during the daytime. In addition to this the Library is staffed by qualified Librarians from 8.30am–5pm and is open again from 7– 9pm and at specific times over the weekend. There are subject clinics to support your learning which will consolidate your knowledge and stretch you further. We also have dedicated time for exam practice throughout your time in the Sixth Form to build your confidence in your knowledge and examination technique.
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Flexi-boarder, Lower Sixth (Year 12)
“I love the house and tutor systems; they allow new students to integrate easily and form strong friendships very quickly. I’ve already made friends for life in my first year here at the College”
If you want to really stretch yourself further, there is every opportunity to sate your intellectual curiosity and refine your critical thinking. We want you to leave us with a mind that has been stretched by new experiences and different ways of thinking. That is why we offer numerous options for broadening your academic diet. What will you choose? Model United Nations, the Sartre Club, Biology dissection group, Spanish Film, Chemistry Olympiad, Student Investor, Ancient Greek amongst a myriad of other choices.
Tutorial Structure:
You will not be alone. You will have a robust and tested support network behind you, dedicated to ensuring that your Sixth Form experience is as positive and successful as it can be, academically and in terms of your well-being. The Sixth Form Team and your Tutors will monitor your academic progress very closely and will be on-hand with mechanisms to reinforce success and offer extra support. We will support you in adapting to this new way of working with study skills training which is provided through our tutorial system and Pathways programme. Your teachers will help you master the intricacies of independent study and will work hard with you to ensure you achieve the highest possible standards. Experts in their fields, your teachers’ commitment to and passion for their subjects will be contagious and inspirational.
You will be part of a Tutor group, a group of around ten students from across different Houses and both the Upper and Lower Sixth. Your Tutor will get to know you well and offer guidance and support that is completely tailored to your academic needs and future aspirations. You will also find guidance and advice from the peers in your Tutor group with whom you will inevitably form strong bonds.
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SUPPORT AND PASTORAL MATTERS
There are ten Houses and yours will be a major part of your life, as it is for all year groups and also your House staff. It is your pastoral base, your home from home; it is where you will have space to relax. Lifelong friendships are formed here and strong allegiances too. Just as your Tutor knows you best academically, so your Houseparent will be the person who knows you best pastorally. Together they will help you settle in on your first day and be cheering loudly when you are presented as an Upper Sixth College Leaver on Speech Day.
House System:
Sixth Form student
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“The Higher Education and Careers Department are absolutely fantastic in supporting your chosen path if you know what you want to do and help you fill the criteria universities are looking for.”
Our university entrance programme is very successful. Tutorials and UCAS events ensure you select the university that is right for you and make the strongest application you can. If you are hoping to apply to highly competitive universities (such as Oxford and Cambridge) or courses, such as Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Dentistry, you will receive specialist advice and assistance. The same is true if you are considering an international university application. If you choose to apply for a Degree Apprenticeship, enter employment or take a Gap Year, you will be supported just as extensively with individual guidance on CV and interview preparation, work experience and job applications.
“Even if you don’t know what you want to do in the future, [the Higher Education and Careers Department] are there to help you find your element and what field you will thrive and enjoy working in!”
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Sixth Form pupil
UNIVERSITY AND CAREERS GUIDANCE
The Sixth Form is a stepping-stone to the rest of your life. We spend two years ensuring that you are brilliantly prepared to realise your ambitions, whatever they may be. The advice and guidance you will receive from the three dedicated members of staff in our Higher Education and Careers Department, together with support from the Sixth Form Management Team, your Tutor and Houseparent, is unique and unrivalled. You will receive outstanding support, information and guidance from them as you develop a clearer understanding of your future. You’ll have several one-to-one interviews with qualified careers professionals during the course of your Sixth Form. A regular bulletin will alert you to the latest competitions, courses and open days. You can access interview practice both online and in-person, network with people from a variety of professions and gain advice on how to develop your career in the early years after leaving the College.
A DIFFERENT WAY OF LEARNING
THE SIXTH FORM DAY
“There’s a lot more independence, and I have the chance to find things I enjoy doing and exploring subjects I want to pursue in the future.”
The Sixth Form is, inevitably, an intense period of your life. Increasingly, universities and employers are looking for skills and interests gained from within and beyond your academic studies, which is one of the reasons we will encourage you to pack so much into the Sixth Form. We will give you the time, space, facilities and opportunities to achieve as much as you can outside of your academic studies.
As a Sixth Former you will attend registration at 8.20am. Lessons finish at 3.30pm and you will usually finish between 5–6pm, depending on which activities you are involved in. If you have an afternoon without lessons or activities then you are free to leave early. You will be expected to spend half of your study periods in private study in the Sixth Form Learning Centre – the remainder you can chose whether you wish to make use of the gym, relax in House or continue working in the library or study centre. The week is designed to enable you to balance study, extra-curricular and recreational activities and relaxation. If you find that you are struggling to strike a healthy and enjoyable balance, your Tutor is on hand to help you re-balance your time.
Upper Sixth (Year 13) pupil
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THE SIXTH FORM AWARD
New in September 2022, the Sixth Form Award is a programme which allows each student to create a bespoke supra-curricular programme, allowing them to channel their energies into areas that will best aid them for their future. All students are expected to pick one of an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), Mini Master of Business Administration (MBA) (we are one of only four schools in the country offering the MBA), an English Qualification or a Sports Leadership qualification. Other than this, students choose activities which will help them build a strong profile for future university and job applications. This could be by carving out time for essay competitions, the Ivy House Award, the EPQ, building a creative arts portfolio, Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) or mini-internships in marketing, events or fundraising. In consultation with your Tutor and Sixth Form Team you will be given guidance and support as to which externally accredited, as well as internally recognised activities will best suit you and your aspirations. Please see the Sixth Form Award booklet for further details.
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Old Stortfordian
“The College has so many strengths but I believe it is the breadth, rather than the success of any one part, that is its true strength. You get so much more than simply passing exams. There is no other school in the area where you are able to succeed at any combination of academic, sport, music and many other interest areas all at the same time, giving you the widest education possible and fulfilling your potential”
With access to excellent facilities, the College will encourage you to develop your creative and sporting skills to a high level. There are numerous plays and musical events within campus as well as trips to the theatre, concerts and galleries – when it comes to the arts we take full advantage of our two local cultural centres – Cambridge and London. The enjoyment of sport is also taken very seriously! You will have the opportunity to play sport regularly – whether on a competitive basis or purely for pleasure whilst our Elite Sports Programme supports players representing the College at county, regional and national level.
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SPORT, MUSIC, ART AND DRAMA
During the course of the Lower Sixth you will have a series of lectures, seminars and activities in our Leadership course to help you develop vital life skills in communication, presentation and teamwork. In the Upper Sixth you will have the opportunity to motivate, persuade and lead others as a School Prefect, House Monitor or Head of House, by organising and running Sixth Form social events or by leading an activity or mentoring younger pupils. Indeed your House, as well as being your home, will offer many additional opportunities for responsibility, be that organising teams for inter-house competitions or events for Charity Week.
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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we offer you because an allround education is the hallmark of Bishop’s Stortford College. We believe that involving yourself in the many opportunities available is essential if you are to develop your talents, skills and self-confidence. What appeals to you? Formula 1 in schools, scuba diving, film nights, photography, chess, water polo, judo, cookalong, debating, power kiting, robotics, coding, dancing or Police Cadets. The list goes on and changes year on year and we encourage Sixth Formers to get involved and indeed to initiate and take a lead in these activities.
PERSONAL
TheCLUBS ANDDEVELOPMENT,SOCIETIESactivityprogrammeisanintegralpartofwhat
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In the past five years, students have gained places at either Oxford or Cambridge to read subjects as diverse as Anglo-Saxon and Nordic, Archaeology, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Economics, Engineering, History, Law, Natural Sciences and Philosophy. We have a highly successful Medical Applicant programme. We also routinely have students who gain places at their chosen Art, Drama or Music College and an increasing number of students who have gained places on extremely competitive degree apprenticeship programmes in areas such as Law, Finance and Cyber Security.
Academic Results
SUCCESS FOR THE FUTURE
Rightly, you will want some reassurance about our track record.
We hope you will be pleased to hear that Bishop’s Stortford College has become established as one of the country’s top academic co-educational schools. Results at A Level are typically between 50–60% A* and A grades, above 80% A*–B grades and 100% pass rate. Each year around 97% of our Upper Sixth students proceed to university to study the degree of their choice.
INSTAGRAM @BSCSixthForm
Email: general.enquiry@bishopsstortfordcollege.org
Bishop’s Stortford College, School House, Maze Green Road, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 2PQ
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