Sixth Form

Introduction:

The Park School Sixth Form Centre exists to serve students who are highly motivated, comfortable in an academic environment, and determined to realise their full potential.  We offer a wide range of subjects at 'A' Level (incorporating AS and A2) which is widely regarded as the Gold Standard of British education and the gateway to university education. We do not run vocational or NVQ courses.   

The two years after GCSE are of crucial importance. The choices that students make and the experiences they have are likely to have a profound effect the entire course of their lives.  The number of students who we take in to the Sixth Form Centre is limited, so we are able to give every single student individual advice, help and support within a friendly but disciplined learning environment.  This, and the school's Christian ethos, helps our students to grow and flourish as individuals while achieving the high grades necessary for entry into Higher Education. As a result, year on year, virtually 100% of our leavers go on to university.

The Curriculum:

We run 'A' level (GCE) courses in a wide range of subjects [link to list of subjects]. In the Lower Sixth (Year 12) most students study four or five subjects, including General Studies, at AS level (see below). This gives the student great flexibility and a wide range of choice over which educational and career path to pursue.  In the Upper Sixth (Year 13) most students concentrate on three or four subjects, including General Studies, at A2 level (see below).

We use the three main examination boards, [AQA], [Edexcel] and [OCR]. All 'A' level courses comprise two separate qualifications, 'AS' level and 'A2' level, which together make up a full 'A' level.

In September 2008 all of our AS students (apart from the Mathematicians) will be starting the new GCE 'A' level syllabuses introduced by the QCA, the Agency which supervises public examinations.  The intention is to protect the academic rigour of 'A' levels and to make them more useful to institutions of higher learning, employers, candidates and parents.

So far as our students are concerned the most noticeable changes are:

• In many subjects the number of Units (papers) is being reduced from six to four, two at AS level and two at A2 level.
• Coursework has been removed from many subjects but it remains an important element in Art, Design & Technology, English, History, ICT, Music and the Sciences.
• An A* grade has been introduced to reward exceptional performance.

There are many detailed changes in subject courses. All of our subject teachers have undergone training to equip them to teach the new courses and they would be very pleased to show the new syllabuses to students and their parents.

The overall status and structure of GCE 'A' level is unchanged:

• The first year of 'A' level study leads to an AS (Advanced Subsidiary level) award, the second to an A2 (Advanced level).
• The AS award is valuable in its own right; when combined with the A2 it makes up a full 'A' level.
• Both AS levels and full 'A' levels earn UCAS (the university admissions service) points in proportion to the grade achieved.
• Entry into university is determined by the number of UCAS points earned.

Our Sixth Form Staff would be delighted to discuss and review the demands, benefits and challenges of  the new 'A' levels with students and their parents, and to help them with any decisions which they need to make.

Courses:

We offer 'AS' and 'A2' courses in the following subjects. To find out more about these subjects, please click here.

Art
Biology
Business Studies
Chemistry
Drama
English Language
English Literature
French
General Studies
Geography
German
History
ICT (Information & Communications Technology)
Maths
Philosophy
Physics
Psychology
Religious Studies
Sports Studies

In addition we offer a number of different courses in ESOL
(English for Speakers of Other Languages).
 

University Entrance & Careers:

Throughout their time in the Sixth Form students receive information and individual advice on university entrance, including the complex business of application through UCAS, the University Central Admissions Service [UCAS website]. They also receive career advice from specialist advisers on the school staff, and from a number of outside agencies.

Most UK universities require at least three full 'A' levels, a 'B' grade (at least) in the student's main subject, and a certain number of UCAS 'points'. The number of  'points' gained depends on the grades achieved at both 'AS' and 'A2' levels in every subject taken. This encourages Year 13 students with the requisite interest and ability to take an additional subject up to 'AS' level in Year 13. The extra 'points' thus gained improve their UCAS 'scores' and can help them get into the university of their choice.

Classes and Studying:

Constant interaction between teacher and student is absolutely vital for 'A' level study, and since this is best achieved in the classroom we believe that small class sizes are the key to learning at this level. 

We are very proud that we are able to keep class sizes down to a dozen students, and we run many of our classes with half a dozen students or fewer.  As a result each class becomes a forum in which students have the opportunity to discuss and debate what they are learning with their teacher and with other students. The style is similar to that of a university tutorial or seminar:  teachers give what amounts to individual tuition to each student, and students are given every opportunity to engage intellectually with their peers.

This is particularly valuable to the quieter or less confident student who is apt to be overshadowed and, literally, out-talked by more outgoing classmates. Small classes give such students the confidence and the opportunity to speak out, and it is enormously heartening to see how they respond, maturing intellectually and socially with astonishing speed.

Small classes also give teachers great flexibility to tailor their styles of teaching so as to suit the aptitudes of each of their students. Some teachers are even able to vary the content of the courses that they teach according to the interests and enthusiasms of their students. This means that every student, whatever his or her ability, is given the stimulus and support they require for success at 'A' Level.

Students have a number of study periods during the day, and on weekday evenings they are expected to spend up to three hours studying at home. In the Sixth Form Centre there are a number of study rooms set aside for personal study, and also a dedicated IT suite.
 

Discipline and Dress:

The atmosphere at the Park School Sixth Form Centre is disciplined but relaxed, neither as casual as a college of Further Education nor as regimented as a Secondary school. Students are required to attend registration twice daily as well as all lessons, and they are expected to study during their study periods.  Apart from that they are free to come and go as they wish, provided only that they sign out and sign in.

There is no uniform, but students are expected to be well turned out: smart casual dress is the norm.

Relations between staff and students are far less formal than lower down the school. We treat our students as young adults and expect them to behave as such. Students and staff get to know each other really well thanks to the small class sizes, and this makes it easy for staff to monitor the progress and morale of students closely and with sensitivity. For their part students find it easy to approach staff and discuss any issues, academic or personal, which may be troubling them. As a result it is usually possible to deal with incipient problems before they become too serious.

Sporting, Social & Extra Curricular Activities:

We believe that for students as for anyone else, what goes on outside the workplace is at least as important as work.  Sixth Formers have many opportunities for sport. They share their games periods with Year 11 and have the chance (both in games periods and in their own time) to play football, netball, hockey, rounders, basketball, tennis, squash and badminton, and to take part in swimming, athletics and cross country.

The Centre occupies a large house next to the main campus of the Park School. The students have their own kitchen and common room, an IT suite with internet access, and rooms for quiet study. There are no more than forty students in the Sixth Form at any one time, and thanks to the warm and welcoming atmosphere most students quickly make friends with other students and staff.

The Centre is five minutes` walk from the middle of Yeovil, and students are able to take advantage of the many recreational, shopping and transport facilities of a large town. There are also many opportunities for part-time employment.

From time to time our students organise various activities, either on their own account or in conjunction with members of staff. Recent visits have included Parliament, the theatre and the Eden Project. Students have taken part in public speaking competitions organised by Rotary International and the English Speaking Union. They have also helped to run mock elections and have hosted visits by dignitaries including our local MP, Mr David Laws. More frivolously there have been film nights and paint-balling expeditions as well as visits to the local ski slope and bowling complex, the seaside, and various theme parks and adventure parks.