Dame Alice Owen's School

Admissions

Please note! Dame Alice Owen's current Year 11 parents and students will find information about the Sixth Form on the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) - sign in via the link above.

Introduction

We warmly welcome applications from external candidates to join our Sixth Form. The choice of where to study is an important decision and we hope the information provided here will be helpful in this process. We believe further that success in exams is of prime importance, but we seek to develop our students both personally and socially as well.

Our Head of Sixth Form, Mr M Ewins, left, advises external candidates that to "exchange the familiar for the unfamiliar can be daunting but in taking this step you are not only taking a welcome degree of responsibility for your own learning but also ‘bridging the gap’ between school and university". The main attraction of our Sixth Form may well be the school's excellent record of success in public examinations. There are, however, many other factors which will contribute to making our Sixth Form an enjoyable and rewarding environment in which to study.

You will find that you are taught with other students who, like you, are enthusiastic about your chosen subjects. We value your ideas, and discussion, independent research, group work and presentations, which are all likely to form part of your courses, as well as the expertise provided by our highly qualified staff. Of course, you will have to work hard, and probably, for the first time in your education, you will find yourself with private study periods in school. Our facilities for study include a well-stocked school library and an extensive computer network.

Please browse the other sections of our Sixth Form area on this website - we offer excellent opportunities both academically and socially and provide a friendly and purposeful environment in which to study. We are extremely proud of the fact that of the large number of students who join our Sixth Form from other schools each year the vast majority settle so quickly we soon find it impossible to distinguish them from our home-grown talent. We feel strongly that this is because of the excellent pastoral care provided by our Sixth Form team.

Conditions of entry for external candidates

• In order to start AS Level courses, you must have at least five GCSEs at Grade B and above, and have achieved at least a B Grade in any subject you are intending to study at AS Level. If you are undecided, be guided by the advice of our subject teachers. Please refer to the individual subject outlines in the Guide to Courses for particular requirements.
• You must obtain at least a C Grade in English Language.
• Where you wish to apply for an A Level which you have not studied at GCSE (e.g. Government and Politics, Psychology, Sociology), a Grade B or above in a related subject will be expected.
• You must have at least as many B Grades at GCSE level as subjects you intend to study at AS Level.

Admissions Process

We begin by inviting Year 11 external candidates and their parents to our Sixth Form Open Afternoon in November. The programme consists of tours of the school, talks by Mr M Ewins and an opportunity to talk to subject teachers (you are advised to read through our Guide to Courses before you attend to prepare any questions, as this is only available on our website) and the Sixth Form team, which comprises from September 2012:

Mr S Paine (Head of Year 12)
Mr R Morley (Deputy Head of Year 12)

Miss C Simmons (Head of Year 13)
Miss A Brown (Deputy Head of Year 13)

How to Apply

The timeline for external candidates for entry September 2013 is shown below. When you have considered our Guide to Courses and decided on your subject choices, you need to print and complete the Application Form below, which includes your personal details, subjects choices and an agreement statement, then return the form to Mr M Ewins, Head of Sixth Form.

External Candidate Application Form - for entry September 2013

Timeline for external candidates for entry September 2013

*Only selected students will be invited to the school to discuss their applications further.

Please note - 16-19 Bursaries are available - see Policies

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