In Year 12, you will have many opportunities to enrich learning to help you with your Post 18 Progression choices. Your tutor will help and guide you in your career planning, researching different career areas and identifying which pathway is the best for you. You will have access to specialist websites to help you with your research including Unifrog an online, impartial website using a research tool for Post 18 University and Apprenticeships showing students how to choose the best universities and Apprenticeships for them.
Unifrog will match university entry requirements to your likely performance/find live Apprenticeship vacancies quickly and can help you compare different factors e.g. distance from home, accommodation costs, salary etc.
Continuing into Year 13 you will be supported in your applications for Higher Education and employment by attending one-to-one careers interviews and attend presentations by our partner Universities who will explain the UCAS process, help you with your Personal Statement writing, and guide you through student finance applications.
There are many opportunities to support your post 18 progression including:
masterclasses at local universities visits to Russell Group Universities UNIQ Summer Schools (Oxford) University of Birmingham ‘Routes to the Professions’ programme for students interested in Medicine Aimhigher Undergraduate Mentoring with Aston University Realising Opportunities Programme – supporting progression to leading universities (www.realisingopportunities.ac.uk) Access to Birmingham (A2B) (www.bham.ac.uk) attend the UCAS Convention where you will be able to meet universities and employers from across the county attend a Personal Statement Writing Workshop at Aston University take part in work placements to support your post 18 progression practise interviews with employers meet apprenticeship providers & employers meet with Careers AdvisersNew A Levels are being introduced in all subjects over the next couple of years. They will all include examinations to be taken at the end of 2 years’ study. They will include the opportunity to explore topics in more depth and these new A Levels will often demand more extended writing in the examinations.
You may take an AS examination at the end of the first year. These marks will not count towards your final A Level grade but they will help you to check on your progress in the subject. You will have lots of practise and support to develop the skills you need to prepare for the examinations and to ensure that you achieve the best grades you can.
Almost everybody will concentrate on 3 subjects for their A Level course. There will be the opportunity to study a fourth subject to AS or to do a GCSE English Language and/or Mathematics resit course.
To study a 4 A Level course you will need to have A* and A grades across most of your GCSEs, including high grades in both English Language and Mathematics GCSE.
For a 3 A Level course you need 5 x GCSEs at Grade C or above and will need to meet the subject specific entry requirements for each of your subject choices.
If coursework is a strength for you, you should look carefully at the BTEC courses. These are equivalent to full A Levels and you can study one or more BTEC subject alongside an A Level subject.
BTEC courses are demanding and will require you to keep meeting strict deadlines throughout the course. Most of our students achieve the highest BTEC grades which will enable you to progress on to University degree courses.
Success at English Language & Mathematics GCSE will help you enormously in your A Level/BTEC course and at University and in the workplace. Most A Level subjects, Universities and employers will expect you to have English Language & Mathematics GCSE at Grade C or above.
Almost all students who apply for University from Swanshurst Sixth Form are successful. Some students choose training opportunities because it offers on-the-job training. You need to find out what opportunities there are and start thinking about what would best suit your way of learning.
It is never too early to:
start looking on the UCAS website which gives details about different University degree courses and what GCSE and A Levels you will need to study talk to teachers about particular subjects they have studied at UniversityTo find out more …
www.ucas.com www.bestcourse4me.comUniversities will expect you to take 3 A Level subjects and many accept a BTEC subject as one or more of these 3.
Students who have an additional AS may show greater breadth in their studies. Universities will make offers based on the Grades they want you to achieve at A Level for a particular degree (for example Grades BBC or Grades AAB might be asked for).