Year 12 Newsletter â July 2016
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 Dear Parents and Carers, With only a few days left of this academic year, it seems a good time to send some final information for Year 12 and look forward to next year. This will in fact be my final newsletter as I am sure most of you already know that I will be leaving AHS at the end of term. I am moving on to be Head of Careers at another school and I will also be teaching A level Food Technology. It has been my pleasure and privilege to be your daughter’s Head of Year and leaving will certainly not be without some sadness. Sixth Form staffing in 2016/17 We have been reviewing structures and arrangements in the Sixth Form this year and will be making the following changes from September. Mr Ian Ochiltree will take responsibility for your daughter’s year group and so will be Head of Year 13 as well as Head of Sixth Form. Miss Leanne Weir, teacher of Biology, will join the Sixth Form as Head of the incoming Year 12. Mrs Michelle Sutton is taking up the new post of Sixth Form Transitions Co-ordinator; an introduction to this role follows later. Mrs Vicci Powton will join the school as Sixth Form Pastoral Assistant. Head of Sixth Form and Head of Year 13 – message from Mr Ian Ochiltree I want to take this chance to thank Mrs. Bevan for her extraordinary efforts on behalf of her year group and your daughters. She has worked tirelessly on their behalf and has really got their Sixth Form careers off to a flying start. Their eventual success will owe much to her efforts, and I know how much she will be missed. For myself, I am really looking forward to working with your daughters next year, and helping guide them on a road that sees them researching their future destinations, making crucial applications and leads them up to exams and their last days of formal schooling. It will be a busy and demanding year, but promises to be the most exciting and satisfying of all their years at school. This is an exciting time in the Sixth Form at AHS, and we are determined to help your daughters achieve their goals and ambitions. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions or concerns over the coming months, and I look forward to meeting you in school next year. Next steps: university applications? The weeks since students returned from study leave have been very busy, and very exciting as they move towards decisions about what they would like to do after leaving school. We took over 120 students from Year 12 to the Open Day at Birmingham University on Friday 24 June where they had an informative and often inspiring day. Other students took the opportunity to attend open days at other universities. Five days later we introduced them to
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 Unifrog, a new resource to help them research their future pathways, and got them registered and able to use what looks set to be an invaluable tool (see below for more information). The process of applying to university started to become much more real at our Future Success Activity Day on Tuesday 5 July. Students registered on UCAS Apply and began to enter the factual information required to support their applications. They also attended two separate sessions on writing a personal statement: one delivered by an experienced AHS teacher and the other by an external speaker from either Durham University or Goldsmiths, University of London. The final session of the day offered a choice of workshops and students could select one from CV Writing and Assessment Centres, Apprenticeships and Work Experience or Choosing the Right Course at University. We are very grateful to our visitors from Durham University, Goldsmiths, UCFB and Leonardo-Finmeccanica for sharing their expertise with our students. Students have been asked to share an outline of their personal statement with their form tutor before the end of term. Students can then continue to develop this during the summer holiday which will put them in a good position to move forward with their application during the autumn term. Together with this newsletter we are sending out guidance on the respective roles of students, parents/carers and school staff in the process of applying to UCAS. Please contact Mrs Sutton in the first instance if you have any questions about this. What if my daughter doesn’t want to apply to university? The majority of students in each AHS cohort do opt to apply to university which is why much of our guidance does focus on this pathway. However, we do have substantial experience advising and supporting those who decide to follow a different route. There are more and more great schemes for those who prefer to follow vocational training programmes and part of Mrs Sutton’s role will be to work with students interested in these areas. In addition, there is a wealth of information on Unifrog. We can arrange appointments for students with the Connexions careers advisor – students should contact Mrs Sutton to book an appointment. Unifrog The school has recently signed up to use the Unifrog database (www.unifrog.org) and we are confident that this is going to a huge benefit to both students and staff. Your daughter should now be registered to use Unifrog and can give you a demonstration! Unifrog describes itself as “a one-stop shop for getting in”. It brings into one place every university course, apprenticeship, and college course in the UK, as well as other opportunities, such as school leaver programmes and every college at Oxford and Cambridge. Your daughter can use it to build up shortlists of university courses or apprenticeship opportunities. She will also draft her personal statement within Unifrog and school staff will be able to offer feedback on it. Subject teachers will write references in Unifrog and form tutors will use the system to pull together the overall academic
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 reference. We think Unifrog has enormous potential to support our students and staff, and encourage you to have a look at it with your daughter. Sixth Form Transitions Co-ordinator - message from Mrs Michelle Sutton From September I will be taking up the new role of Sixth Form Transitions Co-ordinator. The key elements of this role will be to support students in making choices and applications for higher education and pathways into employment, and to manage admissions into Year 12. I will also retain responsibility for managing the Community Involvement programme in Year 13. My initial career was as a university administrator and I’m looking forward to supporting our students in these ways. Examination results This is a reminder of the arrangements for issuing AS examination results on Thursday 18 August. This year we will be sending examination results home electronically to students via their school email account. The information sent will only show the final grade received for each examination and not a breakdown of points (UMS). The printed results for new (Phase 1) A Levels will only show grades and not UMS, but if students want their UMS scores for their other A Levels, then they have the option of coming into school to collect them at the time stated below or providing a stamped addressed envelope for us to send the results to them if they are unable to collect them on the day. Emails will be sent at approximately 7am. This is the first time that we will be sending results electronically and whilst we have tested our system there is always the chance that a problem with the network, for example, creates an issue. If your daughter’s email has not arrived by 8am then she will need to come into school to collect her results or wait for her stamped addressed envelope to arrive. We will not be accepting any telephone calls on the day. The school will be open for AS/A2 results from 10 - 11am for Year 12. Year 12 students will receive a Google form in addition to the email containing examination results so that they can confirm their options for Year 13. Community Involvement The Community Involvement scheme was introduced to Year 12 students in an assembly on 23 June. During the autumn term of Year 13 all students are required to undertake a Community Involvement placement. This usually takes place on Thursday afternoons. Students have previously undertaken a wide range of voluntary activities, such as helping in a school, care home or charity shop, working at an animal rescue centreand recording material for the visually impaired. Students have been asked to find a placement by the end of this term. There is a lot of information available at school about possible placements or students may choose to go somewhere different. We have to gain approval of placements by the Bucks Education and Business Partnership which is why students do need to make arrangements as soon as possible. Students should speak to Mrs Sutton if they have any questions.
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 Absences in Year 13 Procedures regarding attendance and absence in Year 13 remain the same as in Year 12. We do still ask for confirmation from a parent or carer to cover absence, even after a student is 18 years old. You may phone the absence line (01296 388230) if your daughter is not well enough to attend school. Alternatively you can e-mail Mrs Powton ([email protected] from September) or send in a note on your daughter’s return. This also applies to medical appointments; signing out or verbally informing a member of staff is not sufficient and we need confirmation from home as above. We very much appreciate your support in sorting out reasons for absence. Autumn Term key dates Monday 5 September – first day of term for students to be confirmed – AHS internal deadline to register to take admissions tests such as BMAT, HAT, TSA, Cambridge pre-interview assessments Friday 7 October – AHS internal deadline for completion of UCAS applications to study medicine, dentistry, veterinary science or any subjects at Oxford or Cambridge Wednesday 2 November – BMAT, Cambridge pre-interview assessments and other university admissions tests Thursday 10 November – Year 13 Consultation Evening Monday 5 December – AHS internal deadline for completion of all other UCAS applications Friday 16 December – last day of term And finally a message to the girls from me …… Please would you share this message with your daughters? I have thoroughly enjoyed being your Head of Year and I will really miss you all! You have been a fabulous year group and certainly kept me busy! I wish each and every one of you the very best of luck in your summer examinations and all that lies ahead. I hope that your final year at AHS enables you to make your ‘dreams come true’ and reflects all your hard work and determination. To quote Maria Robinson ‘Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending’. Kind regards and all good wishes.
Mrs Denise Bevan Head of Year 12
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 Unifrog, a new resource to help them research their future pathways, and got them registered and able to use what looks set to be an invaluable tool (see below for more information). The process of applying to university started to become much more real at our Future Success Activity Day on Tuesday 5 July. Students registered on UCAS Apply and began to enter the factual information required to support their applications. They also attended two separate sessions on writing a personal statement: one delivered by an experienced AHS teacher and the other by an external speaker from either Durham University or Goldsmiths, University of London. The final session of the day offered a choice of workshops and students could select one from CV Writing and Assessment Centres, Apprenticeships and Work Experience or Choosing the Right Course at University. We are very grateful to our visitors from Durham University, Goldsmiths, UCFB and Leonardo-Finmeccanica for sharing their expertise with our students. Students have been asked to share an outline of their personal statement with their form tutor before the end of term. Students can then continue to develop this during the summer holiday which will put them in a good position to move forward with their application during the autumn term. Together with this newsletter we are sending out guidance on the respective roles of students, parents/carers and school staff in the process of applying to UCAS. Please contact Mrs Sutton in the first instance if you have any questions about this. What if my daughter doesn’t want to apply to university? The majority of students in each AHS cohort do opt to apply to university which is why much of our guidance does focus on this pathway. However, we do have substantial experience advising and supporting those who decide to follow a different route. There are more and more great schemes for those who prefer to follow vocational training programmes and part of Mrs Sutton’s role will be to work with students interested in these areas. In addition, there is a wealth of information on Unifrog. We can arrange appointments for students with the Connexions careers advisor – students should contact Mrs Sutton to book an appointment. Unifrog The school has recently signed up to use the Unifrog database (www.unifrog.org) and we are confident that this is going to a huge benefit to both students and staff. Your daughter should now be registered to use Unifrog and can give you a demonstration! Unifrog describes itself as “a one-stop shop for getting in”. It brings into one place every university course, apprenticeship, and college course in the UK, as well as other opportunities, such as school leaver programmes and every college at Oxford and Cambridge. Your daughter can use it to build up shortlists of university courses or apprenticeship opportunities. She will also draft her personal statement within Unifrog and school staff will be able to offer feedback on it. Subject teachers will write references in Unifrog and form tutors will use the system to pull together the overall academic
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 reference. We think Unifrog has enormous potential to support our students and staff, and encourage you to have a look at it with your daughter. Sixth Form Transitions Co-ordinator - message from Mrs Michelle Sutton From September I will be taking up the new role of Sixth Form Transitions Co-ordinator. The key elements of this role will be to support students in making choices and applications for higher education and pathways into employment, and to manage admissions into Year 12. I will also retain responsibility for managing the Community Involvement programme in Year 13. My initial career was as a university administrator and I’m looking forward to supporting our students in these ways. Examination results This is a reminder of the arrangements for issuing AS examination results on Thursday 18 August. This year we will be sending examination results home electronically to students via their school email account. The information sent will only show the final grade received for each examination and not a breakdown of points (UMS). The printed results for new (Phase 1) A Levels will only show grades and not UMS, but if students want their UMS scores for their other A Levels, then they have the option of coming into school to collect them at the time stated below or providing a stamped addressed envelope for us to send the results to them if they are unable to collect them on the day. Emails will be sent at approximately 7am. This is the first time that we will be sending results electronically and whilst we have tested our system there is always the chance that a problem with the network, for example, creates an issue. If your daughter’s email has not arrived by 8am then she will need to come into school to collect her results or wait for her stamped addressed envelope to arrive. We will not be accepting any telephone calls on the day. The school will be open for AS/A2 results from 10 - 11am for Year 12. Year 12 students will receive a Google form in addition to the email containing examination results so that they can confirm their options for Year 13. Community Involvement The Community Involvement scheme was introduced to Year 12 students in an assembly on 23 June. During the autumn term of Year 13 all students are required to undertake a Community Involvement placement. This usually takes place on Thursday afternoons. Students have previously undertaken a wide range of voluntary activities, such as helping in a school, care home or charity shop, working at an animal rescue centreand recording material for the visually impaired. Students have been asked to find a placement by the end of this term. There is a lot of information available at school about possible placements or students may choose to go somewhere different. We have to gain approval of placements by the Bucks Education and Business Partnership which is why students do need to make arrangements as soon as possible. Students should speak to Mrs Sutton if they have any questions.
Year 12 Newsletter – July 2016 Absences in Year 13 Procedures regarding attendance and absence in Year 13 remain the same as in Year 12. We do still ask for confirmation from a parent or carer to cover absence, even after a student is 18 years old. You may phone the absence line (01296 388230) if your daughter is not well enough to attend school. Alternatively you can e-mail Mrs Powton ([email protected] from September) or send in a note on your daughter’s return. This also applies to medical appointments; signing out or verbally informing a member of staff is not sufficient and we need confirmation from home as above. We very much appreciate your support in sorting out reasons for absence. Autumn Term key dates Monday 5 September – first day of term for students to be confirmed – AHS internal deadline to register to take admissions tests such as BMAT, HAT, TSA, Cambridge pre-interview assessments Friday 7 October – AHS internal deadline for completion of UCAS applications to study medicine, dentistry, veterinary science or any subjects at Oxford or Cambridge Wednesday 2 November – BMAT, Cambridge pre-interview assessments and other university admissions tests Thursday 10 November – Year 13 Consultation Evening Monday 5 December – AHS internal deadline for completion of all other UCAS applications Friday 16 December – last day of term And finally a message to the girls from me …… Please would you share this message with your daughters? I have thoroughly enjoyed being your Head of Year and I will really miss you all! You have been a fabulous year group and certainly kept me busy! I wish each and every one of you the very best of luck in your summer examinations and all that lies ahead. I hope that your final year at AHS enables you to make your ‘dreams come true’ and reflects all your hard work and determination. To quote Maria Robinson ‘Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending’. Kind regards and all good wishes.
Mrs Denise Bevan Head of Year 12
