Sixth Form House

Students at BGS are extremely fortunate to have a dedicated Sixth Form centre, including classrooms, study spaces, a large common area - known as The Hub and a dedicated café. The Sixth Form community share responsibility for keeping all areas of the centre clean and tidy.

The Hub

The heartbeat of Sixth Form, The Hub is a light, state-of-the-art communal area for work, rest and socialising. Replicating the open plan nature of the working world it offers another step towards independence.

It is open from 7.30am to 7.00pm. Students are expected to respect the facilities and keep it clean and tidy.

Chequers Caf

Open all day, from 7.30am to 5.00pm, Chequers serves delicious hot and cold food, ranging from breakfast bagels to fresh homemade salads and cakes. With barista style hot drinks and a wonderful seating area, the café provides a setting for relaxation or collaborative working.

Opening onto the Sixth Form gardens it is the perfect spot to refuel between lessons.

The Study Loft

High in the top of Sixth Form House, this area is a dedicated quiet space for individual study and reflection. It is open until 7pm each evening.

THE WELL-BEING ROOM

Opening September 2023, the room is located in the Study Loft, a secluded nook located in the Sixth Form Wing, perfectly tranquil for any student to step away from their hectic schedules.

The Bridge

The School’s Career Centre is housed in Sixth From House and the team are always there to welcome students to Lunchbox Lectures, for meetings or just to answer a quick query.

Lrc And Classrooms

Students may also choose to study in the main school LRC for study or designated empty classrooms.

Assessments And Examination Periods

Alis Testing

Within the first few weeks of term students will receive an email explaining when they will complete ALIS testing. ALIS is an adaptive baseline assessment that helps give an objective perspective on students’ strengths and weaknesses and see how they are likely to perform at A Level or IB. Teachers can use this to support students in the best ways in the classroom, there is no revision or preparation required.

The Assessment Cycle

Regular testing will take place throughout the Sixth Form in all subjects to help students identify areas of strengths and weakness.

Lower Sixth examinations follow the Easter break.

Upper Sixth Mock examinations take place following the Christmas break, these can help students when making decisions regarding their university choices. The IB Diploma Programme final examinations run across the first three weeks of May.

Upper Sixth A Level examinations run from mid May to mid June.

A period of home study will be given to students in the run up to final examinations.

Ucas Predicted Grades

Results from formal and informal assessments, along with larger homework or class assignments and test results from throughout the Lower Sixth are used holistically, to provide the evidence on which UCAS predictions are based. UCAS predictions are purely for the university/ apprenticeship application process and are realistic, but optimistic. UCAS predictions are unlikely to be any more than one grade higher than a student is consistently scoring in internal assessments. It is therefore important for students to demonstrate the grades they are capable of scoring throughout their A Level and IB Diploma courses. Current working grades and estimated grades in student reports give the most recent information as to how well a student is performing and should be used when students consider their final choices for university.

Learning Support And Special Consideration

Head of Learning Support, Mr Williams and his team work with students to identify and support any learning needs or special consideration for examinations. They will coordinate with students, relevant staff and parents.

For new entrants joining Sixth Form, it is important that any evidence of access arrangements in their GCSE is shared with our Examinations Office as soon as possible in September of Lower Sixth, so that we can review and support these arrangements moving forward.

Academic Support

Individual Departments will run regular revision and additional drop-in support sessions; students should talk to their academic teachers to find out when these sessions will run. If a student needs academic reinforcement in a particular area, a teacher may suggest a student attends specific sessions, our expectation is that the student will then attend as requested.