WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Outlined below are some of the key stages of the process from March until the end of Year 13:

March June (Year 12)

Students should: • Visit the UCAS website and explore further the Unifrog platform. • Begin their university and course research, recording findings in their Unifrog profile. • Conduct a variety of ‘virtual tours’ of universities on-line. • Identify Open Days of interest. • Attend Virtual Open Days where possible before considering attending open days (when they become available again) • Consider visiting a university, but not when they have examinations during the Year 12 Examination Week (tbc in late May or early June 2021). • Access Oxbridge advice. • Reflect upon the suitability and desirability of Apprenticeships as a viable pathway. A number of students explore this alongside undertaking a UCAS application, so one can do both. • Work hard across all subjects!

May July (Year 12)

Students will experience: • Internally-assessed examinations, which are undertaken with clear feedback to help to build an effective plan to maximise academic potential. • Initial UCAS Forecast Grades to assist with course and institution selection. • The Future Pathways Programme, which involves a variety of university application preparation sessions. This is conducted over a number of weeks. This will include tutorials, explaining how the UCAS on-line application system works. • One-to-one support from their tutor to create an initial draft version of their personal statement.

September (Year 13)

• Updated UCAS predicted grades are shared with students. • Final choices of universities to be explored (five in total).

October (Year 13)

• 15 October - final national UCAS deadline for all Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science applications. • Half-term: desirable school deadline for all other UCAS applications.

November (Year 13)

• Mock interviews can be arranged. • Entrance Tests for some courses (e.g. BMAT for Medicine). • First university offers are made to applicants. • Late November - Year 13 Parents’ Evening (tbc).

December (Year 13)

• Oxbridge interviews.

January April (Year 13)

• 15 January 2022 - final UCAS deadline for September 2022 applications. • Early January mock examinations. • Predicted grades given by departments. • Most UCAS decisions received by end of January. • Late-February - UCAS Extra opens. • Final two university choices made, typically by end of April. A first choice (firm offer) and reserve university (insurance offer) must be identified and UCAS notified before the deadline or all offers will be rescinded.

May July (Year 13)

• A Level Examinations.

August (Year 13)

• Mid-August - A Level Results Day. • Clearing system operates for those students who have not obtained offers or who have missed their conditional grades. Extensive support is provided by staff on and directly after Results Day.

I hope that this guide will have helped you begin to understand the process of applying to Higher Education and will prove a useful aid during the year ahead.

Please keep discussing your options with your teachers and tutor, parents and relatives etc., however, do remember that the decision must be yours.

We are here to help. If you have any further queries, or would like to have seen other topic areas included in this guide, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Mr J Alderson

HEAD OF SIXTH FORM

j.alderson@newhallschool.co.uk