Sixth Form Prospectus aspire enjoy include respect community
Welcome to Cockermouth School Sixth Form Thank you for your interest in joining the Sixth Form at Cockermouth School. Our Sixth Form is a popular and successful place and we welcome both those students who are already at Cockermouth School and those joining us from elsewhere. We are proud of the energy and atmosphere that our Sixth Form students bring to the school and their tireless contributions in helping other students. The Sixth Form is a vibrant place yet all students joining us know that we have very high expectations regarding the work they must do to achieve success. We are rightly proud of the academic achievements of our students, whether they follow a traditional route of A Levels or take advantage of the vocational courses that we offer. The diverse range of destinations of our students reflects the fully inclusive nature of our school. From Oxford, Cambridge and Russell group university entrants, to apprenticeships and local employment, all students are valued equally at Cockermouth School. Our Sixth Form team are dedicated to helping students maximise their potential whilst here. The advice and support that our students receive is of the very highest quality and enables them to succeed in all areas of Sixth Form life. We value the specialist teaching that is integral to academic success, but we also challenge our students to take an active role in enriching their experience of Cockermouth School and support the local community. We measure our success by what is achieved both inside and outside the classroom. I trust that this prospectus gives you a flavour of life in the Sixth Form at Cockermouth School. Should you require further information, please visit our website or contact the school; details can be found herein. Dr Rob Petrie BSc PhD Headteacher
Head of Sixth Form A warm welcome to Cockermouth School Sixth Form. We are a successful, welcoming, friendly and inclusive community and we strive for academic success for all our students. We also believe that happy, well-rounded and well-supported students are the most successful. Whether you are presently a student in Year 11 at Cockermouth School, or a student at another school locally, or indeed elsewhere in the UK or abroad, I hope that what you read here will encourage you to consider studying with us. We pride ourselves on offering a broad and enriching curriculum that will prepare our students well for their future destinations, whether this be university, a higher level apprenticeship, further education or employment with training. We offer a wide range of academic courses at A Level and vocational courses at Level 3 and endeavour to provide each student with a combination of subjects that will best suit their interests and needs. We deliver a full programme of advice and guidance to help students choose subjects they will enjoy, and courses in which they will be successful. Details of our Open Evening can be found on the school s website. Please come along and talk to subject teachers and present students about what it is like to study in our Sixth Form. Students new to our school will need to complete an application form, which is available on our school website. Each student who wishes to study with us will then be invited to an advice and guidance session with their parents or carers, to discuss their choices with senior staff at our school. This will be followed by an Enrolment Day in July which will give students the opportunity to try out the subjects they have chosen and obtain more advice and guidance should they need it. I hope that you find all the information you need in this prospectus. If you have any further questions, please contact the school. Mrs Charlotte Dumbill MA(Oxon) Head of Sixth Form We pride ourselves on offering a broad and enriching curriculum that will prepare our students well for their future destinations, whether this be university, a higher level apprenticeship, further education or employment with training.
School Ethos Our core values of aspire, enjoy, include, respect and community underpin everything that we do. Our Sixth Form students are expected to play an active part in the life of our school community. We are extremely proud of the achievements of our Sixth Form students, which consistently enable them to take up places at a full range of good universities (including Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group universities) and to obtain places on highly competitive local and national apprenticeship schemes.
We believe that success at Key Stage 5 is built on four key principles: A belief that aspirations should be set high. Students should be encouraged and inspired to work hard and develop their academic skills and curiosity to enable them to be the best they can be, both within and outside the classroom. A belief that students should be well-supported, listened to and offered appropriate advice and guidance to help them to make a good transition into the Sixth Form and again, to help them to set and realise their future aspirations beyond school. Our aim is that our students will be supported to become resilient, highly-motivated lifelong learners. A belief that learning does not end in the classroom and that enrichment activities are an intrinsic part of an excellent Sixth Form provision. It is through these that students learn skills such as organisation, time management, good communication, independence, confidence and leadership, which will prepare them well for life beyond school. A belief that, as the oldest members of the student body, they must see themselves as role models to younger students, and ambassadors for the school in the wider community. They are encouraged to take on increased responsibilities and leadership roles within school and to develop into caring, responsible young adults and active, well informed citizens.
Academic Curriculum All our core courses at Key Stage 5 are at Level 3 (equivalent to A Level). We offer a wide range of traditional A Level subjects which are taught over two years and examined at the end of Year 13. This is a time of change in post-16 education. In the light of government reform, we have adapted our curriculum to allow us to better meet the needs of all our learners. The Vocational courses offer a different mode of assessment to the A Levels, which students should consider when making their final choices. In the light of the changes, students will have to study a minimum of three courses in Years 12 and 13. Students who achieve highly at GCSE will be encouraged to study four subjects over two years. For full details of individual courses, please see the Subject Information Sheets on the school s website or on Firefly. We will also be offering English and Maths GCSE resit courses for any students who have achieved grade 4 in one of these subjects. Students will be encouraged to take into account their strengths, interests and any plans they may have for future options when deciding their choice of subjects and courses. We endeavour to be as flexible as we can and try to accommodate the wishes of each student. Our unique offer is that students are free to choose any combination of subjects and we try to fit our curriculum and timetable around them. Sixth Form students will also have compulsory, timetabled, supervised private study periods. Independent study becomes increasingly important in the Sixth Form and it is an important factor in success at Key Stage 5.
Entry Requirements The minimum general entry requirement for the Sixth Form is 3 Bs/grade 6s & 2 Cs/grade 4s including English and Maths at GCSE. However, to be able to study a particular course, students must also achieve the entry requirements for that course as stated in the course details to be found on the school s website or Firefly. For many courses, this will be a B/grade 6 in one or more subjects at GCSE.
Outside the Classroom Throughout their time in the Sixth Form, students are expected to participate fully in our Enrichment Programme. They must gain experience in the following three areas outside their core curriculum: Personal Development Work Experience Volunteering Some of these activities can take place during the school day; others can be organised after school, at weekends or during the holidays. All students studying for 3 A Levels must be fully involved in the Enrichment Programme organised by school on a Wednesday afternoon. Sixth Form students are encouraged to develop a broad range of skills, attitudes and behaviours to help them to succeed in life beyond school. These include confidence, resilience, organisational skills, leadership, teamwork and communication. They will be supported by their form tutor to reflect on the skills they are developing and to build a personal, online portfolio to document and provide evidence of what they are doing. They will be able to incorporate this into their personal statement on their university application, or their CV for an apprenticeship or employment.
Enrichment Activities There is a variety of activities on offer in school. This allows us to personalise the broader curriculum to enable students to build on their own strengths and interests. We wish to encourage students to make good use of their leisure time, taking a break from academic study, and to prepare well for life beyond school. Personal Development can include academic enrichment such as an Extended Project or the study of an online course (MOOC). Other opportunities include music, art, drama, sport, Young Enterprise, Mock Trial, debating and the Duke of Edinburgh Award, to name but a few. Work Experience can include placements organised by students in the school holidays, or placements offered by school in local primary schools, the local hospital, local veterinary and dental practices and other local businesses. There will be a full programme of organised work experience placements on Wednesday afternoons, starting in September. Volunteering can include placements at the Food Bank, with Age UK, and work for local and national charities. Many students volunteer in school supporting younger students on our paired reading and form attachment programmes. We train students to take part in our mentoring and academic support programmes in which they work with younger students or their peers, or support students in our Learning Support Department.
Destinations Throughout the Sixth Form we run a well-developed Futures Programme to help students plan for the next stage in their education. The main focus of this programme is on securing excellent progression for our young people. This involves enabling them to maximise academic attainment, ensuring awareness of their options which will help us to encourage them to aspire highly on the next stage of their educational journey. In Year 12, we work to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas of interest. Through our work experience programme and work using our online careers program, we also encourage students to research career areas in which they may be interested. Towards the end of Year 12 and in Year 13, the focus shifts to making choices and preparing applications. We invite a number of speakers from universities, apprenticeship providers, former students and representatives from local business to speak to the students to help inform their choices. We also arrange for mock interviews, using external interviewers where possible, for all students who need to prepare for an interview. 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 University/Conservatoire 75% 77% 74% 70% 71% % places at Russell Group of universities 39% 36% 31% 23% 39% Apprenticeships 12% 8% 11% 14% 16% Further Education 3% 2% 9% 7% 4% Employment 3% 7% 3% 7% 2% Other 7% 6% 3% 2% 7%
University Students applying to university will be guided through their course choice and the application process, including the writing of their personal statement. There will be optional visits to Newcastle University, a Higher Education Fair at the Sands Centre in Carlisle and a trip to Oxford/Cambridge for those considering applications to these universities. A number of outside speakers from the University of Cumbria, Newcastle University, one of the Scottish universities and Oxford/Cambridge will be invited in to speak to students. Oxford and Cambridge Each year we support a number of applications to Oxford and Cambridge. In the last few years, Cockermouth School students have gone to Cambridge to study Natural Sciences, Medicine, Mathematics, Geography, Classics and Chinese, and to Oxford to study Medicine, Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Physics, English and Modern Languages. Apprenticeships For those applying for Higher Apprenticeships and work-based training, we have excellent links with local and national trainers (including GEN2). We work closely with employers and colleges and invite providers and former students in to talk to interested students. We help students put together applications and CVs when they apply and prepare them for the interview process.
The School Day and Attendance Sixth Form study at Cockermouth School is full-time. Most subjects are delivered on 9 one hour periods a fortnight, plus a minimum of 2 subject specific directed private study sessions a week. During a 25 hour week, students will typically have 14 hours timetabled in lessons, 8 hours of supervised private study, 2 hours of timetabled enrichment and one hour of personal development either with a form tutor, or directed by the Head of Year. Good attendance is expected in the Sixth Form. There is a clear correlation between good attendance and academic success. The school target is 95%. If a student falls significantly below this figure, support to improve will be given, and in the case of illness, learning support will be provided as necessary. If there are no good reasons for poor attendance and the situation does not improve, the student will be put on an attendance contract and may be asked to leave Sixth Form. Registration/Assembly 8.45-9.15am Period 1 9.15-10.15am Break 10.15-10.30am Period 2 10.30-11.30am Period 3 11.30-12.30pm Lunch 12.30-1.20pm Period 4 1.20-2.20pm Period 5 2.20-3.20pm We operate a two-week timetable.
The Sixth Form Pastoral System and Student Welfare Cockermouth School s pastoral system provides a caring and disciplined environment to help all students achieve their academic potential and develop as responsible young people. We want students to be happy and successful at school. Students are members of a tutor group and pastoral care is organised into separate Year 12 and 13 forms. At various points through the year, Year 12 and 13 forms pair up to discuss issues such as settling in to Sixth Form, making the academic transition and making future choices. The form tutor cares for the personal and academic welfare of the students through a daily form period and personal development lessons. The Head of Year oversees the programme, co-ordinates the work of the tutor team and oversees the pastoral needs of the year group, with the support of the Head of Key Stage 5. The Sixth Form Personal Development Programme includes academic monitoring and support, careers advice and guidance, health and sex education and active citizenship opportunities. The Learning Supervisor and the Learning Support Department may also help students to manage the transition to Sixth Form study. Parents receive termly progress reports, meet their son or daughter s teachers at Parents Evenings and are encouraged to contact staff if they have particular concerns. The Learning Supervisor and the Learning Support Department may also help students to manage the transition to Sixth Form study.
Frequently Asked Questions Questions from parents... Q How many hours per week should students be spending on independent work and what facilities are provided for this private study? Homework is set on a regular basis, and although there may be some variation in the amount of formal homework set, on average 20 hours per week outside lessons will be expected. We are well equipped in terms of study facilities and access to computers. There is wifi available throughout the school and students are encouraged to bring their own devices to school to help them in their studies. There is a Learning Resource Centre which is staffed throughout the day, as well as a dedicated Sixth Form area of the library. Q How am I kept informed of my son/ daughter s progress? You will receive regular feedback on your son/daughter s progress through our reports and Parents Evenings. You are also very welcome to make contact with us if you feel you need more information or wish us to be aware of anything. Most of our communication, as you might expect, is with the students themselves. Where there are problems with progress and/or attendance, however, we will support students, informing and involving you as necessary. Q What is the role of the tutor? Your son/daughter is a member of a tutor group of about 20 students, all in the same year, but studying a variety of different subjects. Students meet regularly with their tutor, either as part of the group, or individually for mentoring and support. The tutor gets to know the students very well, tracks attendance, academic progress and provides general pastoral support and guidance. The tutor also leads the Personal Development Programme and supports their students as they prepare for when they leave school. Q My son/daughter has no idea what they want to do when they finish school. Will they be given any careers guidance? Yes. Careers guidance is built into the Tutorial Programme, and help is also available from Inspira both on local employment opportunities and on apprenticeships. The supervised study room is fully equipped with IT programs to help your son/daughter in their careers research and we continually update the careers literature and information that is available to our students. Inspira also attends the Parents Evenings. Full support is given to students as they research their future options and make their applications during Year 13. Q When a student is absent, do their subject teachers provide the work that they have missed, or is it up to the student to go and sort out the missed work with the subject teacher on their return? If a student knows in advance that they will be absent, work will be given to them, normally at the lesson before the planned absence. If the absence is unplanned, however, the expectation is that students will catch up any work missed on their return, by speaking to other students and/or their teachers, as appropriate. All homework tasks are set on Firefly, our online Virtual Learning Platform. Many departments have a wide range of online resources on Firefly which students can access wherever they are. We encourage parents and staff to keep channels of communication open to support any student who is absent through prolonged illness.
Questions from students... Q Where do students go after Sixth Form? The majority of our students move onto Higher Education courses at universities and colleges. Some students delay entry and take a gap year. This may involve voluntary work, paid employment and/or travel, sometimes arranged through organisations. Students have also been involved in education projects. Other students opt to enter the world of work via modern apprenticeships or they progress directly into the workplace, usually with training. The Sixth Form team has the expertise and experience to support students to apply successfully for courses through UCAS, and to apply for apprenticeships. Q What happens if I find classwork hard and I start to struggle? You will inevitably find your A Level subjects much more challenging than your GCSEs but there are many ways in which you can receive help. Initially, and most importantly, you must always talk to your subject teachers, who are willing to work with you to overcome any issues you may have. Your form tutor is available to help out and can help you to improve your study skills and organisation if you need it. Our Study Supervisor supports many students with their independent learning and has lots of information about local and national apprenticeship opportunities. Your form tutor and Heads of Year are available to offer support and guidance throughout your time with us. Q How will I cope with the increased difficulty of A Levels compared with GCSEs? There will be plenty of help and guidance from your subject teachers, form tutor, Head of Year and other students. You will be set some bridging work in each subject you choose, to be completed over the summer holidays, which will prepare you for the academic step up. You will take part in a Sixth Form Study Skills session on your first day which will help you to understand what is expected of you, and give you some strategies to be successful. And most importantly, you will need to develop some resilience to help you to cope well if things get tough. Q How is it different from Year 11? Every day is a mixture of lessons and directed study time. You also have a Personal Development lesson either delivered by your tutor, or as a whole year group forum session led by your Head of Year. You have enrichment on a Wednesday afternoon for which you have to choose an activity, and you will work on an online portfolio to record all the extra skills you are developing outside of your lessons. Students are more self-reliant within a structured learning environment and you are treated more like adults. You don t wear a uniform but you have to wear an identity badge and follow a dress code. Q What can I expect from Sixth Form? Most people who join Sixth Form are a bit nervous on the first day, particularly students who come from different schools, as they are not sure what it will be like. But you don t need to worry. We are friendly, welcoming and open, and are keen to know your views to help us to improve what we do.
Sixth Form Prospectus Cockermouth School Castlegate Drive Cockermouth Cumbria CA13 9HF Tel: 01900 898888 Fax: 01900 898889 Email: reception@cockermouthschool.org Web: www.cockermouthschool.org Twitter: @cockermouthsch Cockermouth School is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England Company No: 09679536 Headteacher Dr Rob Petrie BSc PhD Chair of Governors John Grainger MA FCMI FRSA