Clevedon School Sixth Form Student Focused Achievement
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Our school is based upon traditional values with a forward-thinking vision.
Welcome Welcome to Clevedon School Sixth Form, an ‘Outstanding’ academy within the Clevedon Learning Trust.
Engaging Minds
Inspiring Futures
Clevedon School’s Sixth Form provides students with a wealth of opportunities to continue and extend their educational pathway, wider learning and social development. Through an encouraging support network of tutors, Sixth Form Team and subject staff students will be challenged to raise their aspirations and future prospects.
Clevedon School Sixth Formers are identified by their drive, confidence and sense of aspiration. During their two years with us, we concentrate on building opportunities for students to develop this identity so they leave us prepared for the wider world, be it employment, apprenticeships or Higher Education.
The extensive offer of post 16 academic courses coupled with additional timetabled activities and extra-curricular experiences instil crucial skills and attributes which will benefit our students as they continue their ambitions to higher education, training or employment.
Excellent teaching and learning is at the heart of all that we do. Courses are delivered by teachers who want to share their passion for their subject and recognise that students want to extend their knowledge and be challenged.
We are rightly proud of our Sixth Form family community – their positivity, resilience, passion and approach to learning. Clevedon’s Sixth Form offers a caring and thriving atmosphere which encapsulates these qualities, ensuring young adults are equipped for a successful future.
Mark Davies Head of Sixth Form For further information about the school, please visit our website www.clevedonschool.org.uk
Our students, their academic results, skills and experiences, along with our facilities, speak for themselves. We extend an invitation to visit and experience this for yourself.
John Wells Executive Headteacher “Clevedon is an outstanding school which provides excellent opportunities for students to thrive and develop highly effective skills and aptitudes.”
Sixth Form Life Our Sixth Form is both separate from the whole school and integrated with it. Through a suite of varied learning and social environments, students have access to the benefits of an integrated Sixth Form and also the separate principles and privileges of Post 16 education. Our school’s thriving House System continues through the Sixth Form. Students remain in their House throughout their time in the school and are invited to attend House assemblies and events. The Sixth Form Centre is designed with students in mind, for flexibility and multiple-use. In the open plan common room our students enjoy use of the Sixth Form Cafe and informal seating facilities to relax and socialise, whilst also collaborating on assignments in a more relaxed environment. Equipped with plasma screens, lighting and sound system it is easily adapted for seminars, conferences, assemblies or social events. Where a quieter learning environment is required for independent study, we also have a dedicated work room equipped with computers and the additional Study Centre where staff are on hand to offer advice and guidance. The formal conference room hosts Sixth Form Committee and our many societies. Visitors to our Sixth Form consistently comment on the engagement of our students in the school community as a whole. This involvement is diverse and ranges from positions of responsibility
on the Sixth Form Committee and subgroups, to leading student panels for staff interviews, organising social events, running the Peer Listening Team and managing Hector - our Barista mobile coffee van. Students are elected onto the Committee after a nomination and interview process. Year 13 students attend weekly, minuted meetings to organise teaching and learning initiatives, student finance, charity fundraising, student theme days, trips, social events and ultimately the Sixth Form Leavers’ Ball. Each Committee member has their own job description and area of responsibility, including Head Boy and Head Girl.
Inspiring Futures We have a dedicated team of Sixth Form tutors who work as mentors with their tutees and encourage students to find their voice in terms of the whole school, Sixth Form and the community. Tutors form a link between student, teacher and home to ensure that successes are celebrated, problems addressed and opportunities are highlighted. We actively encourage communication between home and tutor to assist students through Sixth Form life. Tutors get to know students as individuals and are able to offer invaluable assistance in terms of letters of application and student statements, with references being personalised and informed – to the benefit of the student. Students are guided through UCAS, apprenticeship and employment application processes from Year 12, through Foundation Lectures, the ‘Inspiring Futures’ week, assemblies, visiting speakers, the Careers Service and focused tutor times. During our ‘Inspiring Futures’ week in July each year, all Year 12 students complete a Higher Education Day, a World of Work Day, a visit to a South West university campus, and a Community Day, learning about careers. This week enables us to give students access to workshops run by leaders from a wide range of universities and employers, to allow them to experience mock job interviews and to advise them on their UCAS applications.
For those intending to apply for Oxbridge entrance or applying for Veterinary, Dentistry or Medicine courses, our dedicated Sixth Form Team run separate sessions advising on the earlier application process, arranging university visits, work experience, mock interviews and entrance exams as appropriate. Clevedon School’s alumni regularly return to share their own experiences and successes, to inform and inspire, with the unique insight that they have once been where our students now stand.
Expanding Horizons Our students stand out for their willingness to participate and to take risks. We encourage this ethos by creating opportunities with which our students can engage. We believe it is important to offer all our young people a full programme of enrichment opportunities to supplement their academic studies. Employers want students to develop broad and sophisticated skills for learning as well as academic knowledge and understanding. By the end of their time with us, our aim is for our students to have a full and varied Personal Statement or Curriculum Vitae, giving them an important advantage in the increasingly competitive university and jobs market. The enrichment programme in the Sixth Form aims to extend activities that students start earlier in their school lives, for example the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, or school productions and musical events. New opportunities are introduced through Sixth Form projects, Wednesday afternoon “Future Leaders’ Award” and social events, all offering a variety of individual and team work challenges, requiring students to become proficient in numeracy, communication, ICT and project management skills.
The Futures Leaders’ Award includes opportunities ranging from competitive team sport and Gig rowing in Bristol to volunteering with the National Trust, assisting in the classroom for all school year groups or in local primary schools, to learning essential cookery skills. These varied sessions not only build skill sets but also allow students to mix outside their study classes and year groups. To expand global awareness and encourage the formation of international relationships, we offer many opportunities to travel beyond the South West, and the United kingdom. The Sixth Form has links with schools in Kenya through the charity Mend the Gap and during the summer months between Year 12 and Year 13, students together with our staff are given the opportunity to spend time working in these schools, along with visiting Nairobi and the Masai Mara. We will also be launching an exciting cross curricular academic tour to Washington and New York
Curriculum Intelligent and critical interest in all subjects is essential if learning at Sixth Form level is to be successful. Classes are smaller, lessons are less formal and Sixth Formers are treated as adults. Courses are offered in a wide variety of subjects and at a number of different levels in order to cater for the needs of all those who wish to gain further qualifications after completing their studies at GCSE. As students move from Year 11 to Year 12, they will find that the expectations of them and the type of work they have to do will be different. Subject content will, of course, be more challenging and teachers will expect students to work more independently as well, as it is crucial for students to develop resilience in their learning. We know just how difficult this transition can be, so this process starts during Year 11. One to one interviews take place to ensure the subjects students are choosing are best suited to their ambitions, ability and strength. After the GCSE examinations are over there is a Sixth Form Induction Day for all students wishing to join us in September, including those who are joining us from other schools.
Students are given transition work for each of their subject choices. This is for students to begin to become familiar with subject matter and to embark upon independent study before they begin the course in full in September. Students are also invited to join the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) group. The AS Level scheme enables individuals to demonstrate a passion for an area of independent study outside their KS5 syllabus and rewards them for project management, problem solving and presentation skills as well as for the submission of either a 5,000 word essay or an artefact accompanied by a 1,000 word report. Students on the scheme have access to a mentor and skills sessions on referencing, ethics and research facilities. Universities and employers alike have welcomed the EPQ as a means of students demonstrating an in-depth understanding of a subject area largely under their own initiative.
Specific course details are available in the separate booklet entitled: Clevedon School Sixth Form - Course Guide
Clevedon School Valley Road, Clevedon, North Somerset, BS21 6AH Tel: 01275 876744 Email: office@clevedonschool.org.uk Twitter: @ClevedonSchool www.clevedonschool.org.uk