Sixth Form Introduction Letter

October 2023

Dear Parent/Carer,

I wanted to write to you to introduce myself as the new Head of Sixth form and give some details about the direction for Year 13 over the next academic year.

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to re-emphasise the importance of attendance throughout the year. Poor attendance significantly impacts academic achievement and in recent years we have seen that where a student’s attendance drops below 90% they achieve one grade lower than expected. In order to achieve, your child must be present so that they are able to make the most of their lessons and the additional support their teachers provide. We currently have a large number of students who are not meeting the school’s attendance target of 95%.

When you receive this letter, the Year group will be taking part in their assessment week which is an important part of preparing students for the summer and enables teachers to review gaps in your child’s learning. Further to this students will have their practice exams the week beginning 11th December 2023.

University:

We are also approaching an important period for those wishing to go to university. As part of this process students have to complete a personal statement about themselves. All students have been given guidance over the past few months about what is needed for this section. On top of this, the school will also provide a reference for your child.  This is completed via a portal called Unifrog, which all students have been using over the past few years.

As part of the process, there are a series of deadlines that need to be met. Below is a list of the key dates for you to be aware of:

16th October 2023 – application deadline for Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry.

6th November 2023 – Biddenham’s personal statement deadline for students (this is to allow for amendments, additions and to be able to review the application)

31st January 2024 – UCAS application deadline for other courses.

On top of this, there will also be opportunities to visit universities, engage with apprenticeship schemes and take part in careers workshops which will support the different destinations students may be wanting to take post Year 13.

Apprenticeships:

With regards to those that are looking specifically at the HND/Degree apprenticeship route, Mrs Darlow will be supporting those students with workshops regarding the online assessments required. The application date for HND/Degree Apprenticeships between January and March 2024 with the interview stage beginning after Easter. 

Finally, I wanted to ensure that you had the contact details for your child’s tutor should you need to make contact throughout the year. This can be for a range of issues in the first instance.

The Sixth Form pastoral team is as follows:

Tutors:

Mrs A Tatu alina.tatu@mybiddenham.com

Miss C Walton chanelle.walton@mybiddenham.com

Miss C O’Brien clare.obrien@mybiddenham.com

Dr S McGrath sally.mcgrath@mybiddenham.com

Mrs S Lambert susan.lambert@mybiddenham.com

Mrs G Johnstone gail.johnstone@mybiddenham.com

Mr G Thomas glen.thomas@mybiddenham.com

Mr J Boast joe.boast@mybiddenham.com

Mr D Grosu daniel.grosu@mybiddenham.com

Mr M Horton mark.horton@mybiddenham.com

Mrs N Fountain nic.fountain@mybiddenham.com

Mrs RA Vaughn reeann.vaughan@mybiddenham.com

Mr T Price terry.price@mybiddenham.com

Pastoral Leads:

Mr A Smith    ali.smith@mybiddenham.com

Mr A Shakoor abdul.shakoor@mybiddenham.com

Mrs K Saggu kuldip.saggu@mybiddenham.com

Head of Year:

Mr E Evans ed.evans@mybiddenham.com

Regards,

Mr. E. Evans.

Head of Sixth Form