Admission to the Sixth Form

Entry requirements

We require three grade 7s or above, and three grades 6s at GCSE* as the requirement for external and internal entrants to Clifton College Sixth Form.

*Please note: throughout this booklet any mention of ‘GCSE’ is used to refer to GCSE or IGCSE.

In all cases, the Head Master will review each student’s performance and admission to the Sixth Form is at his discretion. Individual departments also have minimum entry criteria which are detailed in this booklet (please see curriculum pages 19-86).

AS and A Levels

At Clifton we offer a wide range of A Level subjects.

A Levels are highly appropriate qualifications for preparing students for entry to university, and allow students to study subjects in which they have a particular interest. To explore these in depth, whilst also being able to broaden their curriculum through a wide choice of subject areas. There are an increasing number of routes into Higher Education and other vocational paths for which other qualifications are more appropriate, and that is why we also offer a small number of BTEC Level 3 qualifications alongside our suite of A Level courses.

At present, 39 subjects are offered as A Level or BTEC options (see the index on page 92). Most students follow four

subjects from these initially in the Lower Sixth, before narrowing down to three subjects for A Level after school examinations in the Lent term, or later, though some students will continue with four. Students will not sit AS examinations at the end of the Lower Sixth year but it may be suggested in some circumstances, and some students may choose to sit AS examinations at the end of Upper Sixth.

In addition, we operate a ‘sector E’. Sector E allows students to pursue additional interests, in areas such as performance or photography, or to choose an additional two-year GCSE, AS or BTEC course. For example, a new modern foreign language. Where necessary, others may take the opportunity to re-sit Mathematics or English GCSE.

The weekly structure

The Upper School at Clifton operates a twoweek timetable consisting of 30 periods, most of which are 50 minutes long.

In the Lower Sixth, subjects have 12 periods per fortnight, and 13 in the Upper Sixth. Most subjects split these lessons between two teachers. In addition to timetabled lessons, some lessons are allocated for Sector E and one for a PSHE lesson on Wednesday afternoon. The remaining periods are for private study, and the appropriate use of these is a key study skill for students to learn.

Choosing subjects

There are a number of questions to ask yourself when deciding which subjects to choose.

In order of priority, the questions should be as follows:

Do I have a particular degree or career I am interested in?

For example, if you are planning to do Medicine at university, you must choose Chemistry, whilst

Biology and Mathematics are advisable. For Engineering at top universities, Mathematics and Physics are essential whilst Further Mathematics is strongly advised. Natural Sciences courses also have specific requirements. The Head of Sixth Form can give you more advice on these requirements.

What do I enjoy doing?

At A Level you will study subjects in far more depth than at GCSE, so you need to have a genuine interest in the subject to sustain the enthusiasm that will underpin your work.

What am I good at?

Naturally, you need to take account of your ability in a subject. On this point, please also see the departmental requirements at GCSE for each subject on the relevant subject page. However, you should not just choose subjects based on your current grades. For example, PE at GCSE is heavily based on assessed work, whilst at A Level it is much more theoretical, so your current level of attainment may not be a good predictor of future success. In addition, there are a number of new options available at A Level, such as Politics, Philosophy and Photography.

You will probably need help in making the right decision regarding subjects. Obviously you need to speak to your parents/guardians, but you may also find it helpful to speak to your Housemaster/mistress, tutor, Heads of Department, Head of Sixth Form, and the Deputy Head (Academic). It may also be helpful to speak to current members of the Sixth Form.

You may also find it useful to visit the Russell Group’s Informed Choices website here: www.informedchoices.ac.uk/ to help you understand which subjects open up different degrees.

Academic progress

All members of the Sixth Form are assigned to a tutor, whose group contains a maximum of 12 students.

Tutor groups are made up of both Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth students from the House to which the tutor is attached. Tutors are key to assisting Housemasters/mistresses in reviewing students’ academic progress in the Sixth Form, and tutors and tutees will meet several times each week. At every half term and end of term, students will receive either a grade or written report assessing their effort and attainment.

The attainment grades (A*-U) are not examination predictions but give an indication of how well they have performed in that period when judged against the examination standard. Tutors will use all this information to give praise where relevant or to suggest strategies for improvement, which may include placing students on report. It is important to establish good study skills and time management, again, an area in which tutors can assist.

Praise points are also regularly awarded to students during lessons and co-curricular activities, recognising many different aspects of effort and achievement such as ‘great contribution to class discussion, excellent effort in prep, excellent contribution to a co-curricular activity, improved application in lessons and many more. The points mount up and when designated totals have been met, students' efforts will be rewarded, hopefully spurring them on to reach the next target.