Sixth Form Expectations and Policies

27th September 2017

Dear Parents

I am delighted to welcome you and your child to The Bicester School Sixth Form this coming year. We have had a busy and successful first few weeks back; I am proud of how well all our students engaged with our induction programme and the commitment they are already showing in their lessons.

I would like to take this opportunity to go through some key policies and processes for the Sixth Form. This has been shared already with our students but we are committed to ensuring that you, as parents, are kept informed of their progress and what we are doing to support them.

Preparation for Learning In order to make lessons as fruitful as possible, we have several non-negotiable expectations for our students. The first of these is that all students demonstrate a great attitude to learning by working to the best of their ability, participating fully in lessons and ensuring they are always on time. The second is that all students are fully equipped for their lessons. To this end, all students must have a folder for every subject they are studying. Students studying Maths or the Sciences will also be expected to have a scientific calculator. Students should also always be appropriately dressed in modest clothes that have no offensive writing or images in accordance with the Sixth Form dress code.

Making Future Plans We are committed to ensuring that your son or daughter is ready for life after Sixth Form. As a result, all Year 12 students will be expected to organise and participate in a work experience placement at the end of this academic year. Students in both Year 12 and Year 13 will be encouraged to research different options open to them after they leave Sixth Form. For those Year 13 students thinking of university, there will be several sessions on the UCAS process, with plenty of support given by Ms Waddams. Students who are not considering university will also be supported in researching training and apprenticeships, as well as preparation for the workplace. Extra-Curricular and Enrichment Activities It is important for students to develop not just in the classroom but also outside it. Mr Bridge will be supporting students in finding and participating in enrichment activities that will help them develop a wide range of skills, as well as building up their CVs and Personal Statements. All Year 12 students are expected to do at least 20 hours of voluntary work before the Easter Holidays, and we encourage Year 13 students to do the same. This could be covered by helping out in the school at extra-curricular clubs or through programmes like Peer Mentoring or it could be outside school working in the community. Many of our students are already involved in coaching programmes or in helping lead the Scouts or Cadets. Students may also wish to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award or to work through the National Citizenship Service.

Attendance, Privilege Passes and Study Days As we know that students value their independence they have the opportunity to earn a Privilege Pass. Those students with the Pass will be able to leave the site at lunchtime. If they have a study period after lunch, they may remain off-site, though they must ensure that they do return if they have a lesson.

The criteria for the Privilege Pass are simple. Students must have excellent attendance (over 95% with no unauthorised absence) and they must be consistently demonstrating an excellent attitude to learning in both their lessons and in study periods. The list of students with Privilege Passes will then be reviewed every month and we reserve the right to revoke a Privilege Pass should students have transgressed any of our school rules.

Should a student need to leave the site for any reason during the day, such as a medical appointment, driving lesson or volunteering, they will need to get a Site Pass from the Sixth Form Office. It is important to note that driving lessons must only be booked during study periods or outside school time and we ask students to avoid making appointments that clash with their lessons.

Should a student have a day with no taught lessons whatsoever, we will be happy to discuss the possibility of a Study Day. The criteria for these is the same as for Privilege Passes and the student would need to collect and complete a Study Day Request from the Sixth Form Office.

If your son or daughter is ill and therefore cannot attend school, please ensure that you phone or email Mrs Rosier to let her know so that we can authorise their absence. We also encourage students to get in touch with their teachers to collect any missing work and find out what homework has been set for the following lesson. In the event that illness begins to have a serious impact on attendance and therefore performance, we will ask you to come in for a meeting with us and your son or daughter to discuss what we can do to support you all.

Tutorials This year we are not having form time for Sixth Formers. This means that if students have not been asked to come in at 8.30am for an assembly or a meeting, they do not need to be on site until 9am. Students have now been issued with ID cards that they must swipe in reception as they come on site to register. All students are expected to be on site before the start of Period 1, regardless of when their first lesson is, unless they have been issued with a Study Day. For safeguarding purposes, students must wear their ID card lanyards at all times in school.

In place of traditional form time, students will have a focused one-hour tutorial once a week with a member of the Sixth Form Team. We feel this will help us give more focused support to our students. Attendance to these tutorials is mandatory and students should expect to be set assignments and tasks to complete.

Holidays and Open Days As you may be aware, there is a direct link between low attendance (below 95%) and underachievement. As a result, we are not able to authorise any holidays taken during term-time. However, if a student would like to attend an Open Day at a university or other institution, they are able to obtain a day-release by completing the Open Day Request Form, which is available in the Sixth Form Office. Should there be any other reason that a student feels they should not be in school, they must come and discuss this with the Sixth Form Team and we will allow absences at our discretion for educational opportunities or on compassionate grounds. Please be aware that students may be asked to produce evidence to support their request.

Part-Time Work We fully appreciate that having a part-time job outside Sixth Form is a brilliant way for our students to not only earn some money but also to help them develop their independence, teamwork and responsibility. Many of our students have great opportunities given to them by their workplace. However, we do recommend that students are working no more than 10 hours per week outside school. In our experience, students who do more than this can struggle to keep up with the workload for Sixth Form and with their social life. Ideally, these hours should not fall on a school night as there may be times when students have work set that must be completed with twenty-four hours or when we have great opportunities for them during the evening, such as outside speakers or events.

Keeping in Touch Thank you for all the support that you are giving our students. Should you need to raise a concern, ask a question or pass on any information, please do get in touch with me or any member of the Sixth Form Team:

Mr Tridgell, Head of Sixth Form, [email protected] Ms Waddams, Head of Year 13, [email protected] Mr Ladd, Head of Year 12, [email protected] Mrs Rosier, Sixth Form Manager, [email protected]

We would also love to hear about anything positive taking place outside school so that we can celebrate it with the students. As ever, we are very proud of our students and the contributions that they make to The Bicester School and to the wider community.

Yours sincerely

Jonny Tridgell Head of Sixth Form