Sixth Form Experience  Curriculum Personal Development Student Support and Guidance Our Policies Summer challenge

Attendance

Please use the online form to contact the Sixth Form team should you need to report any unplannedabsence or have a request for a student’s leave of absence.

https://forms.office.com/e/aLKQURFyi4

• All students in The Sixth Form are expected to maintain a minimum of 95% attendance.
• All absences must be authorised by parents/carers, even if the student is over the age of 18.
• Planned absence, such as medical or dental appointments, should be arranged to avoid missing lessons wherever possible.
• Students must use their ID badge to sign in and out whenever they enter or leave the school site.
• In the event of an absence, it is the responsibility of the student to liaise with their teachers to catch up on any work missed. All work set during an absence should be completed in full, including homework.
• Detentions are run on Wednesday 15:00-16:00. Students must not arrange part-time work or other commitments that may conflict with this.

 

On-site attendance policy 

• All Sixth Form students are expected on site between the hours of 8.30am – 13.25pm, as a minimum. When not in lessons, during periods 1-4 students are expected to remain in the Forum, private study room, or one of the free learning spaces to complete their studies.
• Students should expect to complete up to 5 hours of private study work, per subject, per week within their Sixth Form education.
• Students are allowed to leave at lunch time to study from home only if they have a period 5 private study period. This privilege will be reviewed and withdrawn if it is deemed that a student is not managing their time effectively to support their studies or where a Sixth Former has low attendance or has received demerits from teachers.
• If a student has an appointment and therefore needs to leave site early, they need to speak to a member of the Sixth Form team to authorise this, and a parent must have notified the schoolfollowing our attendance policy.

Holidays and family leave

Students should not take holidays during term-time. Where parents request time off school this will be refused and unauthorised, unless there are extenuating family circumstances that must be explained in writing.

Open Days and interviews

Attendance at Open Days is encouraged and will be allowed wherever possible. Students wishing to have a day off to go to an Open Day must ask a parent to complete the online form. This visit must have a clear purpose, and students must be able to justify their decision to attend.

Study days

If a student does not have any timetabled lessons, then they may be given permission to study at home for the day, but only if this has been agreed by both the Head of Sixth Form and their parents. Should a student be found to be using study days unwisely, or if their progress drops below the expected standard, this privilege will be withdrawn.

Exam Leave

During exam study leave, the following expectations must be met by students and supported by their parents:

• Spending at least six hours a day doing schoolwork.
• Doing no paid work between 8:30am and 3:00pm on any school day.
• Not going on holiday during study leave.
• Attending any lesson to which they have been invited, unless this is on the day of or the day before an examination.
• Using their ID badge to sign in and out when entering or leaving the site.

Academic Progress

• The Bicester School Sixth Form is committed to the promotion and maintenance of high academic standards and positive outcomes for all students on all courses. 
• All students are expected to work in collaboration with teaching staff, the Sixth Form Team and parents to maintain a minimum expected level of academic performance throughout their courses. 
• Students who for any reason do not meet the expected levels of academic progress will be identified at an early stage and offered targeted support and assistance.

Target setting

All students will be set an individual target for each of their courses. These targets will be challenging and aspirational and will take into account both prior attainment and future plans. It is important to note that these targets represent the minimum expected attainment for each student – they do not represent a limit to potential attainment and are not a prediction of outcome.

Monitoring progress

Students will regularly have work assessed by their subject teachers. This will include a range of assessment techniques, including formative assessment that will provide detailed feedback and areas for improvement. Progress will be formally reported to parents through the whole school Common Assessment Point (CAP) system. These will be calendared at the beginning of each academic year.

Support and intervention

Initial responsibility for the monitoring of student progress and implementing any required intervention lies with subject teachers. They will work in collaboration with their Head of Department and the Sixth Form Team to ensure all students are making the progress we expect of them. Concerns about academic progress can be raised at any point during the year but detailed analysis of CAP data will also highlight students who require intervention. Should intervention be required, clear guidance and timescales will be set to address underperformance, and this will be shared with parents. If there are still concerns about progress following this initial intervention, individual cases will be escalated to the Head of Year for more intensive intervention.

Admissions

All students are entitled to apply to The Bicester School Sixth Form provided they are 16 or 17 years of age when they join Year 12. All applicants will be invited to attend an interview with a member of the Sixth Form team and will be considered for a place in the Sixth Form.

Students from other schools are set the same entry requirements as students from The Bicester School, with equal priority given to both. Where the Sixth Form is oversubscribed, priority will be given to looked after and previously looked after children, if they meet the academic entry requirements.

All prospective Sixth Form students can apply to the Sixth Form following our Open Evening for entry the following September. Application Forms must be returned by the end of January and are followed up by interviews in February and March. Formal offers will be made by letter after the Easter holidays and admission to the Sixth Form will be confirmed following GCSE results in August.

We offer an academic Level 3 curriculum that is focused on helping students access higher education (including both apprenticeships and university). This means that we are not able to admit students into the Sixth Form unless they have met our academic entry criteria. However, contextual offers may be made in extreme circumstances.

All subjects require at least a Grade 4 in English Language and Mathematics. Individual departments set specific entry criteria for the courses they offer. More information can be found on our website using the subject pages.

If an application is unsuccessful, the Sixth Form Team will meet with applicants to discuss their options and to signpost to courses that they are able to take at The Bicester School, if appropriate, or towards other institutions in the local area.

Driving

Students are allowed to drive onto school site but should ensure that their car details are registered with the Sixth Form Office. Students must use the main school car park and must not park in the parent drop-off and pick up car park.

Dress code

The Sixth Form at The Bicester School intends to support all students to develop a mature and independent approach to learning. A suitable and responsible dress code is one of the ways we achieve this.

Our dress code allows students to express themselves as individuals, but in an appropriate way. It is particularly important that the standards of dress in the Sixth Form complements and supports the main school uniform policy and recognises that the school is a professional working environment.

While students are given considerable freedom in determining how to dress, the following guidelines must be followed:

• Clothing must not have any offensive language, logos or images.
• Skirts, dresses and shorts, if worn, must be of at least mid-thigh length.
• Leggings, if worn, must also be worn with a skirt, dress or other top of at least mid-thigh length.
• Ripped jeans/trousers must not be worn.
• Tracksuit bottoms should not be worn.
• Strapless, backless or string-strapped tops must not be worn.
• Clothing that is revealing should not be worn, for example exposing bare midriffs.
• Caps, hats and hoods should not be worn indoors.
• Clothing must not be worn in such a way as to reveal underwear.
• Flip flops, open-toed or backless footwear must not be worn.
• Tattoos must be covered at all times.
• Any jewellery worn should not be excessive or unconventional.

 

Equipment

All students must be equipped for learning. They should have:

• paper and pens for written work, as well as
• anything else required for their subjects, such as scientific calculators for Science and Maths.
• Students should also have a folder or hard-backed notebook for every subject, in which they are expected to keep all of their notes for the course. This should be well organised and relevant materials brought to every lesson.

Homework

Homework should be completed at home, not in school. Students should expect to spend around 10 hours per week on homework, though they may sometimes have more than this. This should include homework that is to be marked by staff and homework that is to be used in lessons.

Student commitment to homework will be checked regularly. Staff will record failure to do homework and report any students of concern to the Sixth Form team.

ID Badges

All students will be issued with photo ID when they join the Sixth Form. These must always be clearly visible when a student is on the school site.

Part-time work

Students are encouraged to have a part-time job to support the development of their employability skills. However, there are some important considerations before taking on part-time work:

• Part-time work will not be accepted as a reason to miss a detention after school. These are usually held on Wednesday 15:00-16:00.
• Students should not be working more than 10 hours per week, and this should ideally not be on a school-night.
• Students must not engage in paid work between 8.30am and 3pm Monday to Friday in term time. Where students are seen to be working excessive or inappropriate hours, parents will be contacted and encouraged to intervene.

Study periods

Students should use their timetabled study periods to:

• consolidate learning,
• complete coursework and
• do wider reading.

This will be guided by subject teachers who will support students by identifying good sources of information and beneficial study practices. Time should also be spent going over class-notes to check understanding.

Textbooks

Students will be provided with any necessary textbooks for their courses, but these remain the property of The Bicester School and must be returned upon leaving.

Wellbeing

At the Bicester School we recognise that the Sixth Form can be a challenging time, and that young people face an increasingly diverse range of possibilities and pressures. All members of staff will support students in becoming content, confident young people ready to fully engage with the world. However, this policy does not constitute a medical or mental health service. If such services are required, the Bicester School will always follow appropriate referral routes to suitably qualified professionals.

There are many descriptions of wellbeing and defining it as a single concept presents many challenges. In the Bicester School Sixth Form, we define wellbeing as: 

A state in which every individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community.

We do not define wellbeing as the absence of challenge, difficulty or ill health, nor is it a constant state of happiness or good health. Rather, wellbeing is the recognition and acceptance that we all live in a state of balance or equilibrium that can be affected by life events and challenges. Our usual state of balance is something that is unique to us all and based on our own experiences and story.

In practical terms, we aim to support and cultivate student wellbeing by:

• Implementing a range of interventions, plans and activities within the broad categories of physical health, mental and emotional health, social connection and preparation for life beyond the Sixth Form.
• Directly helping students to develop the means and inner resources to promote their own wellbeing whilst studying at the Bicester School.
• Working directly with students where their circumstances present them with challenges that require additional support.
• Connecting with the wider community, to include other students in the school, parents and families and external organisations that can offer tailored support.