Updates and Reminders for Students

Year 12 students

Exams: Week one of exams has gone well and we wanted to remind you of the information we sent out last week when your exams continue the first week back after half term. Subject teachers are in charge of setting your year 12 exams, so for any given subject, some of the points below might not apply. Teachers will be in touch with you if so.

Trust - We can’t get away from the fact that this process relies on you giving yourself the most realistic exam experience. Follow the instructions. Follow the timings exactly. Rely on what you know. Don’t use any sources of help. This will help you judge where you are in a subject, how the exams feel and what you are working for this time next year.

Exam Process  Issue: Unless your subject department tells you otherwise, the exam paper will be released on

SMHW. There may be some cases where a teacher might use Microsoft Forms (in which case they will tell you, and hopefully you’ll have had a practice on this first).  Timings: For a morning exam the exam should start at 10am. If your subject is asking you to print off the paper, and it will take a while for you to do that (eg. because it is a booklet which is 10 pages long) then the paper will be released a bit earlier (say 9.45am to allow you fifteen minutes to print it off). For an afternoon exam: the start time will be 2.30pm. (The same applies in terms of releasing the paper a bit earlier if necessary).  Start and finish times: So for a 2 hour exam you start at 10am and finish at 12pm. If you are still printing off a booklet and start at 10.02 or 10.05, that’s fine – you finish at 12.02 or 12.05. Just be honest with yourself. But what we are not expecting is starting at 10.30 and finishing at 12.30.  Submitting your work: Your teachers will confirm what they want. But in most cases you will upload your answers via SMHW. With hand-written answers that will mean photographing and uploading them. Time for submission: You will be expected to submit your work as soon as possible after the end of the exam. That might take you five minutes or so to do – we will be expecting that. We won’t be expecting it to take 30 minutes.

Access arrangements - If you get extra time, take extra time. Please indicate what you did during extra time – either by writing it in purple if you are hand-writing, or showing in bold if you are typing. If you do exams on a laptop, do them on your laptop (even if others have been asked to hand-write). If you have been assessed and are allowed a reading pen or other arrangement, please email Mr Flett and let him know you would like one.

Preparation

 Paper: Make sure you have plenty of paper to cope with all the exams.  Technical issues: If you have any issues with computers/printers etc. please let us know asap.  Charge your phone: If you are going to be taking photos of your work with your phone instead of your computer, make sure your phone is charged and ready. So the basic principle is – be prepared and let us know of any problems in advance.

Marking, results and feedback - Subjects will mark and give results according to their own capacities. Please be aware that the circumstances of different teachers and departments varies, and so they will do their best with results, marking and feedback, but it may well take considerably longer than if things were normal.

And finally – these exams are about helping test and prepare ourselves. They are about doing your best. They are not about doing the impossible. Email us if you have any problems.

Highfields School Newsletter Year 11 students Chesterfield College

For year 11 students thinking of studying at Chesterfield College post-16, please look at the information below.

Chesterfield College have recently launched some interactive live Instagram sessions to alleviate those worries of future students, each lunchtime live focuses on a different curriculum area with a member of the teaching team answering questions as they come through from viewers - the link is: https://www.chesterfield.ac.uk/join-us-live-at-lunchtime-to-find-out-more-about-college-life/

They are also launching a virtual open evening on 3 June 2020 - again with interaction from teaching staff, the link; https://www.chesterfield.ac.uk/news/

Year 11 Frequently Asked Questions: Sixth Form Entry

Can I change my Sixth Form options?

Yes, but.. (a) during your sixth form interview it might be that we decided it would be good to do or not do a particular subject - in your best interests. So in terms of changes, just to think, check and talk to us if this was the case. (b) some classes do get full. Unfortunately there are limits beyond which make it difficult to teach, and so we may need to say no. And in fact, you probably don't want to be taught in a very large class either. (c) it is probably not advisable to change subjects just on the basis of the work being set now on SMHW. We say this at the beginning of Year 12 too. You might hear of something interesting being set in another subject, or find something you've been set a bit hard, or not what you expected. Some teachers also have more time than others in terms of what they are setting. Broadly speaking your original decision is likely to have been your best one. (d) where you were uncertain about which subject to take, we have tried to put you into the classes you were interested in on SMHW, so you can see the type of work in each subject and this might help to make up your mind.

Do I need to do all the work in SMHW?

Yes. Of course there may be some bits where a teacher has made clear that 'if you are interested you could have a look at....' - in which case that might be up to your interest. But the point of this work is to give you the best start possible, and we don't know what will happen during the rest of the year, so the work is important to do.

You only need to do work in the subjects you are going to do in Sixth Form. Not in any others. (We may have added you to a fourth or fifth subject in cases where you weren’t sure what subject you wanted to do at A Level. If you are sure you don’t want to do that subject, that’s fine – it would be helpful to let us know and we can take you off that course).

Is it too late to apply for Sixth Form?

No. Just email Mr Flett (mflett@highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) and he will be able to call you to discuss options. The criteria are set out below (and are in the online prospectus).

Are the entry criteria for Sixth Form still the same?

Yes. The entry criteria for entry into sixth form remain the same, as they have done for previous years, which is an average of a Grade 4 across all subjects (with the additional requirements for maths, physics, chemistry and biology, as set out in the prospectus).

You will understand that, in advance of the results being officially published, we do not know who will get an average of a Grade 4 and who will not. In accordance with government regulations, teachers must not discuss grades with students.

As in previous years, we can advise whether it seems sensible to have a back up option, like a college course which might suit you. We believe that all those who wanted to, have had discussions around this, but if you do have queries, please email Mr Flett who will be able to call you.

Teachers and tutors will not be able to comment further on this.

Have I got a place in Sixth Form?

Provided you meet the entry requirements, then you get a place in sixth form. So it is not a case of ‘have an interview’ and then ‘wait to hear confirmation’. We have you down for the subjects that you are entered for in SMHW. Although remember that:  there are specific entry requirements to do maths, further maths, biology, chemistry and physics.  we may have entered you on SMHW for one or two extra subjects that you were interested in.

How do I make contact for options, changes, discussions

Please feel free to email Mr Flett if you want to discuss changes to options for sixth form (and avoid overloading Mr Redhead’s inbox).

Advice from Colleges

The colleges are still providing advice and accepting applications. For example at Chesterfield: “The student services team are managing the advice@chesterfield.ac.uk email so this would be the first point of contact. They are currently extremely busy so there may be a delay on the reply.”

Qualifications and Exams: Years 11 and 13 students

We will keep families updated on any further Ofqual information published.

Exam results dates at present will take place as originally scheduled:

Year 13 - 13 August 2020 Year 11 - 20 August 2020

Ofqual video – qualifications process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXuDOrtJY1Q&feature=youtu.be

Ofqual letter for students about grading and qualifications this summer: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 878854/Letter_to_students_-_Summer_2020_grading.pdf