Sixth Form Expectations

The School Day

 

8.40-10.20 Period 1

10.20-10.50 Break

10.50-12.30 Period 2

12.30-13.00 Break

13.00-13.30 Registration &Tutorial

13.30-15.10 Period 3

15:10- End of school day

 

Timetable

You will see that in Sixth Form you will have 15 timetabled lessons plus Independent Study Sessions.

You will be required to register for each of those Study Sessions with the named member of staff on your timetable or a member of the
Sixth Form Team.

Additionally, you may be given the opportunity to Mentor in KS3 & KS4 lessons during your Independent Study Sessions.

Lesson Attendance & Punctuality Concerns

Students are expected to achieve an attendance record of 95% or above for all lessons whilst at The Forest School’s Sixth Form. Where there are concerns around lesson attendance, the student will be placed on a monitoring report. The Sixth Form Team will inform home, monitor the report, and maintain close contact with the student’s parent/carer. Where there are persistent concerns, the student’s parent/carer will be invited into The Forest School for a meeting.

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Absence

• The content of A Level / 16-19 courses is very high, it is important that you do not miss lessons.
• It is expected that students achieve 95% attendance throughout the academic year.
• Attendance, an exemplary record of attendance says a huge amount about you as a person: that you are dedicated, well – motivated; organised and someone who takes responsibility seriously. Good attendance also plays an important role when applying to higher education establishments or for employment.
• All attendance data will be quoted on references and passed on to universities.
• Parents / Guardians are expected to notify the school / Sixth Form Reception of absences before 9am on the morning of each day’s absence.
• Upon their return to school it is the student’s responsibility to meet with members of staff to collect and complete all the work that has been missed during their absence.
• Wherever possible medical appointments should be made outside of school hours.
• Driving lessons are not to be organised during school hours, with the exception of a lesson before a driving test (this would be organised and authorised).
• Any request for holiday during term time will be unauthorised, unless in exceptional circumstances.
• Students should not take paid employment that affects their attendance throughout the timetabled school day (8.40am – 3.10pm).
• Where knowledge of an absence is known in advance, please inform the school / Sixth Form Reception in advance, it is the student’s responsibility to collect work and complete that would be missed.
• Missing even a low percentage of lessons reduces significantly the teacher contact time that other students will have received and will impact upon success at KS5.

Dress Code

The beginning of Key Stage 5 is a new chapter in the transition to adulthood. With this in mind, as a Sixth Form, it is important that our students present themselves as such.

Appearance has a huge impact on overall perceptions of an educational institution. As the Sixth Form is a collective of our most
successful students, we require them to be role models in every way, including their appearance.

If you are not following the dress code, then you may be asked to go home and change into suitable clothing.

Please remember as Sixth Form students you are the school's role models and ambassadors. All students in the Sixth Form will be given an ID card and lanyard to wear at all times on the school site. You must scan in regardless of whether you have a lesson or independent study period during lesson 1.

There is a charge of £10.00 for any lost identification cards and lanyards.

Please see the details of our Sixth Form dress code in order to maintain our
high standards.

Trousers – Formal and tailored trousers are permitted, either individually
or as part of a suit.

Skirts and Dresses - Should be formal/tailored and around knee length.

Shirts/Ties/Blouses – Buttoned shirts must include a collar. Ties are optional. Tops should be what you would find in a formal professional setting without the presence of logos and ensuring that an inappropriate amount skin is not showing. No crop tops or vest tops. Smart Turtlenecks - fitted

V- Neck Jumpers – Smart plain jumpers may be worn over a collared shirt, but these must not include excessive branding of any kind. Blazers/Suit Jackets – A blazer or jacket is not essential but is more than acceptable.

Shoes – Formal footwear or Air Force Ones that are all black are to be worn, no other trainers, crocs or canvas type footwear are permitted.

Jewellery – Discrete jewellery, nose studs as opposed to a nose ring.
 

SUMMER Term Only – Polo Shirts with no big logos on front or back.

Denim, leather, hoodies, casual suede (coats, jackets, shirts, trousers) and any form of sportswear are not considered professional/business wear.

 

 

Driving to School

1. Apply for permission from the Head of Sixth Form (HoSF), such permission is ultimately at the school’s discretion and should generally be sought only if other suitable forms of transport are unavailable. We encourage students to use public transport whenever possible and to walk to school if they live nearby.
2. Any student driving to school must possess a current full driving license. His / her parents must confirm that the vehicle is:-

1. Fully taxed
2. Fully insured against all risks
3. Has a current MOT certificate (where needed)

The relevant documental evidence must be submitted to the HoSF. Once the evidence is provided a parking permit will be issued. This should be displayed on their dashboard at all times.

Passenger lifts should only be given if there is full passenger liability insurance, and drivers must not carry passengers under 18 without having obtained the permission of the passengers’ parents.

1. No student should park at the front of school, to avoid congestion and parking problems and for pedestrian safety.
2. Sixth Form students are reminded of the importance of safe driving. The provisions of the highway code must be respected at all times, as must all legal and other provisions affecting drivers and passengers. No-one else’s car is to be manhandled or interfered with in any way. It is specifically forbidden for any Sixth Form student to drive another students’ vehicle.
3. Sixth Form students must not use their cars during the course of the school day (even if they have a study period). Cars must be used strictly as a means of transport to and from school.
4. Students may travel to an authorised activity with the permission of a member of staff and permission is subject to the provisions of rules 1 and 2 above.
5. Before they travel to a school activity in another student’s car, the passenger must provide a letter giving permission to do so from their parents, to the teacher in charge of that activity.
6. The registration number of any vehicle which may be driven to school must be notified to the HoSF.
7. Any subsequent changes in the registration details of a student’s car must be notified to the HoSF in advance of it being driven to school.
8. The speed limit on the school site is 5 mph.
9. Any Sixth Form student who ignores and / or breaks the rules is liable to have permission to drive to school withdrawn.

*Disclaimer

Partnership

Parents/Guardians have a very important role to play in the three-way partnership you are entering into. In the Sixth Form we do not subscribe to the view that post 16 students are entirely independent decision makers. Indeed it is our view that students entering Post 16 do so in a deliberate partnership with their parents or guardians, who retain an active responsibility for development and progress. Your Parents have supported you throughout the compulsory stages of education and are encouraging you to continue your studies. Even though you are older, their support is still essential and they will want to share with you the important moments and decisions throughout Post 16, as well as encouraging you to achieve your full potential. Primarily we will try to deal with students directly as young adults, but out of courtesy information will be shared with parents or supporting guardians. We reserve the right to share with and involve Parents/Guardians even though you are older and in voluntary education. This will happen automatically through reports and parents evenings, but there is also an open invitation to parents to contact us at any time and this is very much encouraged. Contact can be made directly to teaching staff for subject specific issues or through the Sixth Form Pastoral Team.

Mobile Phones

All devices must be ‘not seen and not heard’, switched off, and stored in students’ bags during the entire school day. This means from entering the school gate at 8.35am until dismissal from learning at 3.10pm.

Students should carry their mobile devices, including headphones, in bags.

Sixth Form students are permitted to use devices on site, but only in theSixth Form Centre. Please do not use your mobiles in the main school at any time unless instructed by a member of staff.

AirPods/headphones are allowed in the Sixth Form Centre only.

Please note that the school will not accept liability for any phone or device lost or damaged on the school site.

Part Time Employment

We understand that many students need to earn money in part-time employment and that this can provide valuable experience for them.

We strongly recommend that they work a maximum of 10 hours per week, however. Any more than this is likely to prevent them from making a sensible balance between study, social life, exercise and work.

Independent Study

You will see that in Sixth Form you will have 15 timetabled lessons plus Independent Study Sessions. You will be required to register for each of those Study Sessions with the named member of staff on your timetable or a member of the Sixth Form Team. Additionally you may be given the opportunity to Mentor in KS3 & KS4 lessons during your Independent Study Sessions.

Equipment List

To be lesson ready students need to be fully equipped for their school day. Please see below for a list of requirements for Sixth Form:

• A bag large enough to hold A4 folders
• A diary/planner or To-do List book
• A4 folders for each subject
• Plastic wallets
• Dividers
• A4 lined paper (pre-punched and easy to file in folders)
• A calculator (many A level subjects include mathematics content)
• Textbooks
• A clear pencil case which includes:
• Pencils
• Ruler
• Black/blue pens (You have to use black pens in the exams)
• A purple pen for corrections
• Eraser
• Highlighters
• Post-it notes