Sixth Form

MESSAGE FROM THE SIXTH FORM TEAM

With interviews completed, and the vast majority of university offers already made, the ‘Spring Term’ has been full of highs and lows for our students.

The carrot is now firmly dangling and it is no surprise that the usage of the library and Learning Curve increased in the lead up to the recent Mock exams.

All the departments are thoroughly entrenched in completing courses, making the final touches to coursework and initiating the revision cycle for the second assessment period in May. Our Senior Prefect application process is in full swing, with the teambuilding element and interviews to come after the holidays.

Whilst they will not be concurrent this year, we hope that the Year 12 group will become swept up in the wave of academic focus demonstrated by the ‘Class of 2021’ throughout March and April. I cannot stress enough the significance of the ‘University Grade Prediction Exams’ at the end of May for the future aspirations of our Year 12 students. The results of these assessments will form the basis of the UCAS predictions after the summer holidays and each Year 12 student should approach these exams as if they were preparing for external exams.

Although the covid restrictions have limited the co-curricular and annual events on the social calendar in the Sixth Form, the pace during the school day still seems to be unrelenting.

It is therefore important that all students now manage their time over the holidays to begin or continue their revision for the May exams whilst re-charging their batteries before the final push when they return.

Have a very well deserved holiday.

UNIVERSITY AND CAREERS UPDATE

Nearly all of our students have at least one university offer. Students have a range of offers f rom the UK, Europe, Canada and the US, including Cambridge and Stanford.

Additionally, our BTEC students have fantastic course offers, a lot of which are from Russell Group Universities. This has also been the most successful year for our NYUAD applicants. Offers are still rolling in and students are now left to decide where to choose from.

We are extremely proud of each and every

one of our students.

Year 12 students had the opportunity to spend a day focusing on their university choices.

UNIVERSITY AND CAREERS DAY

While there are weekly opportunities for students to engage with universities, we felt that allowing students the opportunity to spend a full school day would be beneficial.

Students completed tasks in the morning to focus on location, travel and factors when choosing courses. They also had the opportunity to discuss their career projects with peers and discuss different concerns and opinions. At the end of the day, Warwick University gave a presentation to our students to discuss choices and personal statements. The majority of the feedback from students was positive. In term 3, students will commence focusing on their personal statements to ensure that they are prepared for Year 13.

All our Year 12 students will sit internal University Grade Prediction Exams at the end of Year 12.

UNIVERSITY GRADE PREDICTION EXAMS

These exams are scheduled to take place f rom the 23rd May to the 3rd June.

It is important to recognise that this series of exams will determine the entry of your son/daughter into Year 13 and form the basis of their UCAS predicted grades or AS Centre assessed grade (for students that may be leaving). The focus must therefore be on attaining the most accurate representation of your son/daughter’s attainment in each of their A level subjects.

YEAR 13

MAY 2021 EXAMS

To allow for further confirmation of CEG grades reported in the full report and to provide an opportunity for further improvement, there will be a May exam series for all Year 13 students.

Last day of lessons - 29th April, which will be followed by a one week of study leave.

May Exams - 9th May to the 20th May.

YEAR 13

GRADUATION EVENT

We are hopeful that as we move closer to the summer, and if the regulations in Abu Dhabi permit, we will be able to arrange commemorative events for our Lifers and all of the Class of 2021. Please be rest assured that we will do as much as we possibly can within whatever restrictions we are faced with, to give the Year 13 the send-off they deserve.

Having overseen Year 13 last year, our leaving events were overshadowed by lockdown, we shared their disappointment that we couldn’t give them the famous walk down the stairs, and we hope this will be able to return in some form this year. When we feel we can cautiously pencil-in dates, we will let you know.

YEAR 13

MOCK EXAMS

Exams are back. With schools in Abu Dhabi closing around us, never have we ever gone through an exam period in the Sixth Form on such tenterhooks. Due to the false start of the UGPE earlier in the year, coupled with the announcement of teacher assessed grades recently, these exams took on more significance this year than previously and it was brilliant to witness the return of the pre-and post-exam buzz.

As we write this, the exams are being marked and moderated, which will be followed by a period of performance analysis to support students’ preparation for the next assessment series in May.

YEAR 11

TASTER DAY

On March 11th we invited all of our current Year 11 students to select five of our post-16 A Level and BTEC options to trial, with a view to making more informed choices for their Sixth Form subjects. For many students, they took advantage of the opportunity to try new subjects such as Psychology (Miss Mell with a sterling effort of four packed lessons on the bounce!), Further Mathematics and our double and single BTEC subjects. Unfortunately we were unable to invite external students this year due to the ongoing regulations, but we are hosting an interview and tour evening with them as a separate event. In total there were 600 individual taster experiences on the day, and as usual we thank staff for investing so much time and thought in the sessions, and the students about whom feedback from staff has been overwhelmingly positive. It is now essential that they think carefully about the experience, their aspirations and their areas of strength as they select their Sixth Form options.