Presentation and Feedback Expectations

The aim is for students to build up a body of work that will enable them to revise easily  

• Students should either use hard back folders or exercise books to keep notes as directed by teachers.  

• Students’ notes should include an outline of the specification and some form of tracking sheet to help students understand the progress they are making  

• Outline of key dates for Internal and external assessments

• Notes should be dated and in the case of folders correctly filed.  

• Student’s tests/exams should be kept together.  

• Students should avoid writing on loose paper that is then just put in a bag.  

• Students should be expected to show colleagues their notes on a regular basis and receive regular feedback on them.  

• Students who fail to keep a “decent” set of notes should be given an opportunity to resolve the situation if that fails students should be referred to their Form Tutor and HoD and HoY. 

The purpose of any feedback is:

FOR STUDENTS  

• To inform them of their progress towards their current target grade and motivate them to improve their performance  

• To help them identify the positive elements of their work and build on these  To recognise areas for improvement and act upon the targets set  

• To develop their ability to accept constructive criticism and praise in order that they can reflect more effectively on what they have learned  

• To equip them with the skills of constructive self-criticism so that they can become effective independent learners  

• To acknowledge and action the diagnostic feedback provided by staff.  

• To be able to deliver and accept critical peer review and self-assessment 

FOR TEACHERS  

• To inform them of the progress that students are making against their current targets  

• To diagnose individual and general learning needs  

• To inform curricular planning to meet the needs of learners 

• To evaluate the impact of the teaching on students’ knowledge, understanding and skills  

• To become reflective practitioners 

• To reinforce expectations and students’ sense of purpose 

Sixth Form students should have feedback (no less than 4 times per half term) with the marks recorded if applicable; this could include class work, homework and exam questions. BTEC students need to have similar regular feedback on assignments along with record sheets that include dates of assessment and feedback, grade descriptors and marks achieved. The key objective is that all students know at what level they are working at and what they need to do to improve. 

Don’t confuse getting used to something new with a dislike for the subject, particularly if it is a subject you have not studied before. However, if you are sure after the first couple of weeks that you have made the wrong choice, then discuss a possible switch of subject with your teachers, your tutor and then your housemaster/mistress. Any subject changes should take place before the September exeat, it may be too late after that stage.

There will be challenges for all students in making the step up to sixth form study. If you have previously found your chosen subjects relatively easy to understand and achieve highly in, it can be an uncomfortable surprise to not immediately be achieving top grades. Please remember that it will take time for you to develop the skills, understanding and knowledge required at sixth form level. Some students may find getting used to new teachers a challenge, or you may feel intimidated working alongside different groups of students from those you were grouped with at GCSE. All of this is perfectly normal, and you should not feel worried about discussing your worries at an early stage with your teachers, tutor or housemaster/mistress. Students always talk about the ‘step-up’ from GCSE, and the perception is that it is particularly challenging in certain subjects. In truth, each subject brings challenges of its own, but your teachers do not expect you to master the new skills, techniques and understanding instantly, and are here to help you.

In the sixth form you will experience a greater level of independence compared to what you have had previously. This is a positive aspect of sixth form life, however with greater independence comes greater personal responsibility. When you did your GCSE’s, most of your learning was done in lessons and this was supplemented by homework and prep. In the Sixth Form, your learning is split equally between lessons and independent work – more details on specific timings are provided later. 

In the sixth form you are responsible for organising your study time far more than you have needed to do before. To start with, you will have a number of study periods each week. Some of these will be scheduled in the Sixth Form Centres study areas, where a structured environment will help you to work quietly and productively. – either individually or collaboratively – to use facilities in other parts of the school (e.g. Art and Design Centre), or to see teachers for additional support. You cannot afford to waste this time, as it is a fundamental part of making good progress with your learning. If you know that you tend to procrastinate (we all do from time to time!) then working in the Study Areas for all of your study periods may initially be a good idea.

The most successful sixth form students are those who go beyond the essential content of each subject’s specification, broadening their understanding and discovering their own personal areas of interest by doing wider reading, watching relevant video clips and documentaries or by practising the skills they are developing in class. This will have the triple benefit of developing your engagement in, and enjoyment of, each subject; benefitting your overall understanding and progress; and giving you something valuable to mention in your UCAS, apprenticeship or employment application. The subject specific pages provided in this booklet will help you to understand what is expected for each subject. If you find yourself without any formal homework to do, use these guides to help you work out what you can do to further extend your understanding.

Your teachers will provide you with text books, notes and handouts as appropriate, but the increased independence expected of you in sixth form will also mean that you may be asked to produce your own class notes – either by making notes in the lesson, or by reading relevant chapters of your textbook and making summary notes that you can refer back to later. Here again, the better the job you do in the early stages, the deeper your understanding will be and the easier it will be for you when you need to refer back to these notes later on. The most successful students spend time reviewing and processing their notes regularly and at the end of each topic/sub-topic, e.g. highlighting key words, making flash cards and checking their understanding through discussions with others. You should also use a copy of the course specifications that you will be given to keep track of the progress you are making through the course.

The general expectation is that you should do 4-5 hours of work for each subject, each week, in addition to your lesson time. For a typical programme of 3 A levels/BTEC courses, that’s 12-15 hours each week, or 2.5–3 hours per day (Monday to Friday). Now you can see why making good use of your study periods during the school day will be essential! Typically, 3-4 hours of each subject’s time might be spent on work set by your teachers, leaving around 1 hour each week to review/revise your learning or to conduct some wider reading/research. During the first few weeks in September, these expected hours may be a little less, however, by October you should consistently be meeting these expectations if you wish to fulfill your potential.

If you are absent from a particular lesson - either due to illness, or sporting and other commitments - the onus is on you to liaise with your teachers beforehand or immediately after to agree the best way of catching up your missed learning. If you start to realise that things may be slipping away from you - maybe you haven’t quite understood a topic, or you’ve struggled with a specific piece of work - don’t ignore a problem or bury your head in the sand! Your teachers will be accommodating and supportive if you see them proactively to seek assistance, rather than turning up empty-handed on the day of a deadline. 

We want you to aim high and to maximise your potential, using the support and help available to you, as well as self-motivation, to get there! In order to support you in generating aspirational and realistic target grades, all Lower Sixth students receive an ALIS grade. This is your prior academic attainment profile compared with the previous performance of thousands of other students internationally with the same sort of profile and score as yours. This is then used to generate a set of estimated grades for each of your chosen subjects. ‘Chances graphs’ are also generated which indicate the statistical likelihood of you achieving each grade (A*-E or D* - P) in your final exams. These tests, and the data they produce, are a useful starting point to help identify the sort of grades that you should be aiming to achieve. However, they are purely statistical estimates and therefore need to be personalised for each student. In order to do this, during the term your teachers will use the ALIS estimates along with their understanding of your strengths, areas for improvement, and aspirations to generate a BG (benchmark grade). You will have the opportunity to discuss your BGs with your teachers before they are finalised. Finalised BGs will be included on your end of term reports and used by your parents and the school to regularly monitor and track your progress towards achieving them. Please note that it is quite normal for your CAL (current attainment level) to be below your BG during the early to mid-stages of your A level and BTEC courses. It is expected that you will follow a flightpath and make progress as you mature and develop your skills.

No one gets everything right all the time. You may struggle to develop good organisational systems; you may find it difficult to manage your independence and get into a good working routine; you may face other challenges which impact upon your learning. We all make mistakes and face personal challenges, and your teachers will be understanding of this. However, if late, poor or missed learning starts to become a pattern, we will intervene to support you in making progress and achieving your potential. There are a range of strategies that can be used to support you, and this may include involving your parents in discussions so that they can ensure you are supported at home too. If you have any worries whatsoever, whether it relates to your academic progress, extra-curricular commitments, personal circumstances or any other element of sixth form, please do approach whichever member of staff you feel most comfortable talking to. Your tutor  and teachers will also get to know your style of working during your sixth form courses; they will notice if you appear to be struggling, if you are putting too much pressure on yourself or if you are spreading yourself a little too thinly with additional commitments. The most important thing is that you are happy and able to enjoy everything that the sixth form has to offer. If the balance doesn’t appear to be quite right for you, for whatever reason, we would much rather have a mature conversation with you about the specific issues, and what can be done to resolve them, as soon as possible.