Selby College Sixth Form & Science Newsletter Autumn 2024
Department Newsletter
Autumn I 2024
Welcome
Greetings from Selby College’s Sixth Form!
My name is Karen Ralphs and I am thrilled to welcome you to read our departmental newsletter, an exciting new publication designed to keep you informed and engaged with the latest developments at our amazing Sixth Form.
As the Head of Sixth Form, I am delighted to introduce you to our amazing community, where we are dedicated to nurturing your academic and personal growth.
The Sixth Form Department and its tutors are always committed to enhancing the student experience outside of the classroom.
In this newsletter, you can find out what our current and former students have been up to over the past year –from career activities to college trips, enrichment and student stories.
Each cohort we welcome to the College consistently demonstrates academic excellence and enthusiasm to learn. We are very proud of our class of 2024 who achieved amazing results in their A Levels this summer – read about their successes inside.
It is important to us that you feel at home at the Sixth Form, so we have a support system open to all of our students. This includes our Student Wellbeing Officers, a Student Experience Team, counselling services and more.
I hope you enjoy reading through the newsletter and finding out about all the exciting things we have been up to lately.
Karen Ralphs
Head of Sixth Form & Science
Selby College Alumna Shares Oxbridge Experience
Emily Morbey, a former Sixth Form student at Selby College, returned to the College to speak to students about her experience studying at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.
Emily completed her A Levels in 2019 with three A*s in English Language, Maths and Biology. This led her to secure a place at the University of Oxford to study for a Bachelors Degree in Human Sciences which she achieved a First Class Honours in.
Following this, Emily completed her Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at Oxford and is currently studying at PhD in Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge.
Listening to the Selby College alumna, the A Level students learned about the various fields they could work in and the diversity of career pathways available for those studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects.
One of the A Level students said: “It was inspiring to hear from Emily and she gave us a real insight into university life at Oxbridge and tips for applying. I learned that someone like me, from Selby College, with hard work and some luck, can follow an academic route to Oxbridge.”
Emily was part of Selby College’s Mentoring for Excellence programme – a scheme that supports students with their applications and portfolios for Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group Universities.
The mentoring sessions provide the students with additional and personalised support and has supported the College’s highest achieving students to progress to their chosen prestigious universities in a variety of disciplines including Computing, Dentistry, Law and Medicine.
I particularly enjoyed the small class sizes in each of my lessons as this meant that tutors were able to give a lot of attention to each student. My tutors were incredibly generous with their time and provided feedback for all my pass papers which really helped me practice for my exams. The flexibility of my A Level options meant I kept many academic doors open and developed both literary and scientific skills.”
- Emily Morbey
Emily credited her tutors at Selby College for their attentive support during her A Levels which pushed her to succeed:
A Level Destinations Stats of Success
Many students were accepted into their first-choice universities such as: the University of York, the University of Leeds, Newcastle University, the University of Manchester and many more! 99.5% overall pass rate for the class of 2024
15 A Levels, including History, Biology, English Language, Chemistry and Business achieved a 100% pass rate
Eloise
Subjects and Grades: Computer Science (A), English Language (A) and Law (A)
Destination: Computer Science at Lancaster University
I really enjoyed the coursework we got to do in English Language because we had the freedom to choose the topic, so I found it really interesting. My biggest takeaway from College has been independent learning as I was able to find out what revision techniques worked well for me and what didn’t. I want to go into a job in cybersecurity in the future as it’s my passion.
Chloe
Subjects and Grades: Chemistry (A), Maths (A) and Further Maths (A)
Destination:
James
Accounting and Finance at the University of Leeds
I chose this course as I want to study something I can apply my Maths skills too and I want to get into the business industry in the future. At College, the teachers were always really helpful and the general College surroundings were really nice so I enjoyed it a lot.
Subjects and Grades: Geography (A*), History (A) and Sociology (A)
Destination:
Economics at the University of Manchester
At College, I really liked my teachers - they were the reasons I got such good grades. You can’t succeed at A Levels without the proper support structure around you and we all had that here at Selby College, thanks to the teachers who helped us with extra academic support and personal support. I chose Geography, History and Sociology for my A Levels because I was really passionate about them at GCSE level. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made as I’ve really enjoyed my time here.
A Level Students’ Careers Week Activities
Back in January, the Sixth Form Centre conducted its own Careers Week, here is what they got up to:
Monday 22nd January
Laura Tisdall from Newcastle University hosted a workshop for the students where they learnt about the History of childhood.
Tuesday 23rd & Wednesday 24th January
Science students welcomed a local General Practitioner, a haematology postgraduate student at the University of York and a dietician based in Selby. They each spoke about how their academic journeys led them to careers in their respective fields.
Thursday 25th January
First year Chemistry students were involved in the RSC’s Chemistry Olympiad – a national competition for Chemistry students. The students faced challenging questions where they had to apply their classroom knowledge and skills to real-life research scenarios.
A Level English students welcomed a Digital Marketing Manager from Brew York who spoke to the students about the application of English skills in industries and careers such as marketing.
The students also visited the Humanities and Arts department at the University of Huddersfield to explore their options in higher education after their studies at the College. They took part in an English Literature study day where they participated in mock lectures and seminars, to mirror what a day-in-the-life at university would be like.
Friday 26th January
Students met with scientists from CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, who spoke to them about careers and research developments in the world of Physics.
The Outreach team at Newcastle University also conducted a series of sessions – the College’s BTEC and A Level students learnt about the importance of medical ethics whilst Psychology students discussed careers and opportunities in Forensic Psychology.
Criminology and Law’s Amsterdam Trip
Our Law and Criminology students visited Amsterdam to immerse themselves into a city with a different culture, infrastructure, and legal system.
To support their classroom learning, the students visited Amsterdam in the Netherlands to compare its legal system to the UK’s. They discussed topics such as the criminality of prostitution and cannabis – asking why they are more tolerated crimes, why they are still illegal in the UK and why countries like the Netherlands have legalised them. Through experiencing the city first-hand, the students gained an entirely new perspective and insight into a culturally different society.
The students also studied the urban landscape of the city. Amsterdam is known for having tight-knit streets that are easily accessible and
densely populated, yet the city still offers large, open green spaces for people. Students were asked to think about whether the design of this environment is a factor in why crime rates are so low in the capital city and drew comparisons between Amsterdam and York.
Hannah Hunt, lecturer in Criminology, said: “The trip has really engaged our students to think about how the UK legal system operates by using an international comparison. This trip has linked all our curriculum units together, broadened the students’ global perspectives and provided them with a fantastic learning opportunity outside of the classroom that can be utilised in future applications for further study or employment.”
Sixth Form Guide
Have you seen our Sixth Form Guide? It’s packed with information about our courses, our Mentoring for Excellence programme, enrichment opportunities and lots of student stories. You can read and download it through the QR code!
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