Sixth Form

December 2016

Sixth Form Team:  Sally Kay—Head of Sixth Form  Jennah Alder—Deputy Head of Sixth Form  Alison Moore—Student Support Manager  Helen Holmes-Higgin —Sixth Form Administrator  Nicky Hubble—UCAS Coordinator  Lucy Monger— Strategic Lead for Sixth Form

Highlights:  Welcome Year 12 Achievement Awards

Christmas Celebration Assembly

Attendance Work Ethic Study Hours Tracking and Monitoring Interventions

Welcome As we come to the end of a long and busy term, there is much to celebrate within the Sixth Form. Christmas is approaching and we hope that students, staff and families are preparing for a well deserved rest. Year 12 and 13 have been busily working towards their goals, with a huge number of assessments, tests and coursework deadlines over the last few weeks. In January, revision will start in earnest as both years have mock exams following half term. We have been incredibly proud to see the students in the Sixth Form developing into successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. Year 13 now have 18 weeks left of their school education and have been working incredibly hard. Many students have completed their University applications and can now focus on their studies and preparing for the exams in the summer. Interviews for some courses have taken place and we’ve had excellent reports back on the students’ performance, professionalism and confidence. Some students are making plans for gap year travel and applying for jobs and apprenticeships. Overall, lots of very exciting plans for next year. The commitment and dedication of our Year 13 students is so pleasing to see and we wish them all the best of luck as their studies continue.

Year 12 have settled in brilliantly to Sixth Form life and the vast majority are now adopting the successful work ethic required for studies at this level. There is a real buzz of focus in the Sixth Form Centre and it is a joy to see students so focused and motivated. They have been completing their Active Citizenship projects and contributing to the school and wider community with some excellent schemes. We are very proud to see them giving their time in such an altruistic way. Trackers will be coming out towards the end of this week for Year 13 students, and after Christmas for Year 12 students. We hope they will spend the time going through these comments, celebrating their successes and reflecting on areas which need improvement. We hope that all students will take some time over Christmas to relax, reflect on the successes of 2016 and look forward with excitement to the coming year. We wish you, your families and all who support Tring School, a restful and enjoyable Christmas break.

Bursary Fund Driving on School Site Careers Advice Top Ten Skills for Business Job and Apprenticeship Opportunities

University Advice Head Boy/Girl Team Charity Events Trips Key Dates Final Words

Year 12 Achievement Awards 2016 At the GCSE certificate presentation evening last month, the following students were recognised for their outstanding performance in their subjects in Year 12. Well done to them all: Biology & Chemistry—Rebecca Nam Drama—Matthew Wake English & Philosophy and Ethics—Niamh Lawlor Maths & Physics—Jack Lloyd Geography—Naveen Mehta & Jasmine Booth Film Studies—Natalie Beardsley French—Elizabeth Wilde

History—-Philip Marriott Media Studies - Seb Farrow Music—Imogen Pledge Physical Education—Oliver Beeny & Freya Michalski Psychology—James Thirkettle Sociology—Ellie Williams Textiles—Rozi Lane Travel & Tourism—Jemma Davies

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Year 12 and Y13 Christmas Celebration Assembly On 19 December, the whole Sixth Form came together to recognise the fantastic achievements of individual students during the autumn term. Subject teachers gave their nominations for “Outstanding Owls” (students excelling in all areas) and “Super Squirrels” (working the hardest to deliver the most improvement). There were also nominations from the Sixth Form Team, Form Tutors, Heads of House and other staff, to recognise the outstanding contribution that some of the Sixth Formers make to the life of the school. Everyone who received a nomination was entered into a prize draw.

Fabulous achievement—Super green tracker (3 grades + above ALIS prediction) Emily Dalton

Sasha Gilbey

Jack Lloyd

Karolina Solarska

Jemma Davies

Jacob Hurkett

Timothy Neal

John Thirkettle

Carys Doyle

Rozi Lane

Lucy Roberts

Caleb Thompson

Ellie Williams

Sammy Evans

Niamh Lawlor

Nicole Smith

Michael TurnbullKing

Michael Winn

Emma Van Rhee

Each of the teaching departments nominated students for their excellent achievement this term as “Outstanding Owls” (students excelling in all areas) and “Super Squirrels” (always working hard to collect enough ‘nuts’ for future success) APPLIED SCIENCE & FORENSICS Outstanding Owls: Y13: Catriona Openshaw, Sasha Gilbey

BIOLOGY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Kate Richardson, Tom Hood Y13: Amy Grocock Super Squirrels: Y12: Joe Bowman Y13: James Thirkettle CHEMISTRY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Maisie Bradfield Y13: Becky Nam Super Squirrels: Y12: Joe Bowman Y13: Adam Kelly

ART Outstanding Owls: Y12: Ella MorrisSkingley, Eve Bullard Y13: Rozi Lane, Adam Kelly, Will Atkinson, Beccy Webb Super Squirrels: Y12: Scarlett Wager-Leigh, COMPUTER SCIENCE Elizabeth Gidney Y13: Samina Josefsberg, Outstanding Owls: Y12: Edward Skeith Ruby Lloyd Y13: Chester Williams, Cally Munro Super Squirrels: Y12: Too many to list! Y13: Charlie Barker BTEC BUSINESS Outstanding Owls: Y12: Owen Hillair-Brady Y13: Maiya Alladice CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION Super Squirrels: Y12: Ella Dixon Outstanding Owls: Y12: Ben Woods, Sam Y13: Connor Breen Hansford, Elizabeth Gidney Y13: Oliver Dimes, Tommy Burge BUSINESS Super Squirrels: Y12: Anne-Marie McArdle Y13: Amy Halliwell Outstanding Owls: Y12: Ryan Coney Y13: Victoria Tuff Super Squirrels: Y12: Honor Baker Y13: DRAMA Frankie O’Brien Outstanding Owls: Y12: Phoebe

Greenstreet Y13: Jess Burckhardt Super Squirrels: Y12: Michael Adu Y13: Beth Marsh ENGLISH Outstanding Owls: Y13: Maddie Neill, Lauren Perry Super Squirrels: Y12: Brad Elson Y13: Katie Pert, Jenny Fox ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Sam Bettridge Y13: Niamh Lawlor, Tegan Davis Super Squirrels: Y12: Harry Fox Y13: Tara Doyle, Sasha Gilbey FILM STUDIES Outstanding Owls: Y12: Liam Bell, Grace Elvins Y13: Natalie Beardsley Super Squirrels: Y12: Tara Raeburn-Cowell Y13: Millie Lloyd-Hunt

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Sixth Form ECONOMICS Outstanding Owls: Y12: William Darraugh Y13: Ella Holmes-Cowan, Laurie Garner Super Squirrels: Y12: Michael Renkel, Tomas Pierleoni Y13: Timothy Neal, Jamie Rudin

Super Squirrels: Y12: Lewis Lambourne, Liam Bell, Jonny Forster Y13: Max Beckley, Beccy Webb

FOOD TECHNOLOGY Outstanding Owl: Y13: Sammy Evans Super Squirrel: Y13: Sian Gill

FURTHER MATHS Outstanding Owls: Y13: Nikhil Jha

GEOGRAPHY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Holly Ashall, Thomas Hood, Kate Richardson Y13: Jemma Davies, Sammy Evans, Oli Johnson, Naveen Mehta Super Squirrels: Y12: Daniel Simmons, Will Darraugh, Y13: Max Beckley, Amy Grocock, Harry Sargent

MATHS Outstanding Owls: Y12: Lucy Weston, Georgina Haddock Y13: Laurie Garner Super Squirrels: Y12: Sam Hansford, Owen Payne Y13: Vicky Tuff, Ollie Johnson

MUSIC Outstanding Owls: Y12: Tom Lovatt Y13: Nathan Gunaselvam Super Squirrels: Y12: Charlotte Clark Y13: Ella Hart

PHOTOGRAPHY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Ben Hartley, Natalia Cox Y13: Oli Cullimore, Freya Michalski GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Super Squirrels: Y12: Charlie Wright, Outstanding Owls: Y12: Annabel Edwards, Daniel Hearn Y13: Amy Sampson, Karolina Sam Bettridge Y13: Emma Van Rhee, Matt Solarska Wake, Tegan Davis Super Squirrels: Y12: Alex Lashley, PHYSICS Hannah Mitton Y13: Holly Hadland Outstanding Owls: Y12: Harriet Grout, Paddy Dunphy, James Burkhalter, Georgina Haddock Y13: Nikhil Jha HISTORY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Phoebe Super Squirrels: Y12: Matt Cowan, Matt Greenstreet, Ella Dixon, Elliot Warren, Lindars Y13: Tim Neal Michael Renkel, Jak Spencer-Williams, Katy Colwell, Joe Bowman, Georgia Williams, PSYCHOLOGY Lorna Piggott Y13: Phil Marriott, Naveen Outstanding Owls: Y12: Maisie Bradfield, Mehta, Ella Holmes-Cowan, Emma Van Kate Richardson Y13: Phil Marriott, Sammy Rhee, Tegan Davis, Freja Edmonds, Ffion Evans, Sadie Fewster, Matt Wake White Super Squirrels: Y12: Adam Coombs,

Callum Brooks Y13: Sam Gough, Isabella Fuff PE Outstanding Owls: Y13: Oli Beeny, James Thirkettle, Haydn Impey, Freya Michalski Super Squirrels: Y13: Sam Gough, Jasmine Gutsell PE BTEC Outstanding Owls: Y12: Anna Lane Y13: Eleanor Barham Super Squirrels: Y12: Helen Jennings Y13: Neve Corcoran PRODUCT DESIGN Outstanding Owls: Y12: James Burkhalter Y13: Connor Breen Super Squirrel: Y13: Toby Andrews SOCIOLOGY Outstanding Owls: Y12: Lily Juchau, Maisie Bradfield Y13: Freya Michalski, Ellie Williams Super Squirrels: Y12: Scarlett WagerLeigh, Hollie Webb Y13: Sophia Collier, Amy Halliwell, Lucy Roberts, Charlotte Wright TEXTILES Outstanding Owl: Y13: Rozi Lane Super Squirrel: Y13: Karolina Solarska TRAVEL AND TOURISM Outstanding Owls: Y12: Anne-Marie McArdle Y13: Jemma Davies Super Squirrels: Y12: Harry Perrin, Hollie Webb Y13: Sarah Griffiths

Staff also nominated students for their outstanding contribution to many aspects of school life; Lizzie Wilde - Consistently outstanding work with younger students in the form. Lizzie shares well-grounded values and regularly gives up her own time to support them. Alex Cox - for settling in very well with his transfer from South Africa and having taken every challenge available. Alex also volunteered to be part of the School Council for the form. Haider Maqsood - approaches his responsibility as a role model for younger years in a very mature way, and is always so friendly and generally lovely. Thank you for showing off your kind nature in form time - A13 and Miss Fleming really appreciate it! Will Darraugh and Rowan McIntosh - for leading the recycled fashion project. Will Darraugh and Vicky Millwood - for creating the Christmas Quiz. Issac Burnett- for wanting to use tutor time to discuss charity activities. Sasha Gilbey - for being involved in lots of different topics around the school. Daniel Simmons - for being an amazing role model and the perfect school council rep. Jimmy Andrews - has started teaching H3 students self defence and makes a wonderful contribution to form time. Oli Cullimore and Freya Michalski - for helping at Year 11 options fair and generally being two of the most dedicated, keen and enthusiastic Photography students we have ever had. All the Y12 and 13 Art students - for being fantastic on the Paris trip: enthusiastic, energetic, dedicated and great company. Zoe Wood, Dom Reynolds, Harvey Passingham, Ben Woods, Sam Hansford and Liam Bell for being Media Mentors to Y11. Chloe Randall, Tara Raeburn-Cowell and Emily Leaver for running the KS3 Film Club.

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Outstanding contribution to the life of the school continued Fabulous Halton House Captains for organising a very successful Charity Day: Ellie Williams, Tim Neal, Tom Baldwin, Laurence Blundell, Sian Gill, Georgia McEnery, Katie Crombie, Freya Michalski and Toby Smith. Fabulous Clayon House Captains for organising a very successful Charity Day: Izzy Kirwan, Jake Brooks, Becca Bowman, Holly Hadland, Will Atkinson, Phil Marriott, Sarah Rogers, Becky Nam and Amy Grocock. All our wonderful Year 13 musicians who continue to dedicate time to the department: Laurie Garner, Immy Pledge, Oli Johnson, Emma Van Rhee, Lizzie Wilde, Ella Cowan, Josh Eccles, Emily Smith, Phil Marriott, Ella Hart, Tim Neal and Nathan Gunaselvam. Well done to the Head Boy and Girl team for continuing to work hard in your roles and liaising with staff, students and the local community to make things happen. You are stars! Emma Van Rhee, Laurie Garner, Jess Burckhardt and Matt Wake. Well done to the Sixth Form Committee for all your work so far and for helping to organise the socials: Caleb Thompson, Maddie Humber, Tatiana Simpson, Josh O’Neill, Tegan Davis, Iona Tomkins, Jasmine Booth, Ella Dixon and Ollie Cullimore. Georgina Haddock, Library Ambassador for regularly assisting in the LRC at lunchtime. All your efforts are very much appreciated.

Community Hours Tring School is keen to develop active citizenship and community cohesion. All students are required to complete at least 20 hours of community help within the school and/or the community during their time in Sixth Form. In so doing students use their skills to contribute to the wider community and gain valuable experience that will also benefit them in the future. There are many opportunities highlighted to students throughout the year, including helping in lessons with younger students, volunteering at local charities, helping at school events, peer mentoring, litter picking etc. Students work towards their Bronze (20 hours), Silver (35), Gold (50) and Platinum (100+) awards. Students log the hours that they have worked on their community hours card and hand them into the Sixth Form office once completed, when another card is issued. We also run a Year 12 Active Citizenship programme which runs during COOL time. Students form working groups and devise a project to collaborate on, with the support of a link tutor. Over eight weeks students plan and implement their project, culminating in a final display of all the year group’s projects. Students are currently working on their projects and we look forward to updating you on their activities. Well done to all the students who are working hard to ensure they put something back into the community, in particular: Platinum Award—Sarah Griffiths, Catriona Openshaw and Vicky Tuff Gold Award—Jemma Davies Silver Award—Jimmy Andrews, Jacob Matthews and Ben Woods

Sixth Form Team Awards We finished the assembly with some light-hearted fun awards, which included; The Bouncer the Dog award— Anne-Marie McArdle and Lizzie Wilde, with thanks for their infectious cheeriness and bounce. The Buddy the Elf award—Tim Neal & Rowan McIntosh, who everyone loves, because they are so cheerful, polite and generally wonderful! The Mrs Claus award for the best dressed students—Natalia Cox and Jack Mustill. The Kevin the Carrot award for perseverance—Katie Pert and Ben Scranage-Harrison. So many of our students are willing to volunteer to be school tour guides, come to evening events and generally be helpful. Our Santa’s Little Helpers award went to the particularly helpful Adam Coombs, Chloe Randall, Nathan Gunaselvam and Izzy Kirwan. The Persevering Penguins award went to Reid Davis, India Gerrard, Catriona Openshaw, Taylor Phillips, Ben Sansbury and Caleb Thompson, for continually just getting on and doing what is expected of them. Well done to you all.

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Outstanding Attendance—Students with over 99% Lesson Attendance Daisy Austin

Paddy Dunphy

Alex Lashley

Tom Baldwin

Bradley Elson

Matt Lindars

Marcel Boswall

Harry Fox

Jacob Matthews

Oliver Beeny

Jennifer Fox

Simon May

Joe Bowman

Sophie Freestone

Callum Brooks

Samuel Gough

Anne-Marie McArdle

Oliver Southam

Curtis Green

Naveen Mehta

Jak Spencer-Williams

Phoebe Greenstreet

Tristan Murrell

Caleb Thompson

Sarah Griffiths

Caleb Murrell-Smith

Scarlett Wager-Leigh

Katy Colwell

Georgina Haddock

Toby O’Gorman

Lucy Weston

Samuel Copleston

Jonathan Hudson

Joshua O’Neill

Michael Winn

Reid Davis

Jakob Hurkett

Owen Payne

Thomas Dawson

Clare Inglis

Michael Renkel

Oliver Dimes

Iain James

Molly Renshaw

Adam Dixon

Helen Jennings

Catriona Scott

Ella Dixon

Oliver Johnson

Callum Smith

Eve Bullard Isaac Burnett Rachel Christie

Attendance is monitored closely throughout the year and has a direct effect on academic achievement. Our expectation is 95% attendance, or above. Please could we politely remind parents that the school should be contacted on the morning of any absence. You can contact us by phone, text or email: Sickness line: 01442 821052 Absence alert text: 07860 027724 Email: [email protected] N.B. These phone numbers have recently changed. Please ensure that you have made a note of the updated numbers. Thank you. Students should try, wherever possible, to arrange any necessary appointments for when they do not have lessons. If this is not possible, they need to complete a yellow “Leave of Absence Form”, which are available from the Sixth Form Office. This must be signed by their parent/ carer, Form Tutor, teaching staff and returned to the Sixth Form Office. Students must ensure that they sign out at the Sixth Form Office. Driving lessons should not be arranged in school hours, they may be taken after 1:20pm if the student has home study that day for period 5. We appreciate that with driving theory and the actual test that students may have to take time off during the school day. Holidays should not be arranged in term time. Students play a vital role in vertical tutoring and are also role models to the rest of the student body. It is therefore vital that students are in tutor time every day. Students must also be on time to school every morning. If students have no period 1 lesson, they must be on site by 8:35am and signed in by 8:40am. This is excellent preparation for the workplace. Students who arrive late will receive a lunch time detention, in line with the lower school.

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Work Ethic There are a number of strategies that students need to be applying to their daily and weekly study habits to ensure long term success. Most fundamental changes are made by small increments. In the Sixth Form we use the motto of success coming from "The aggregation of marginal gains". All students can benefit from thinking that all the small changes they make to their study will make a big difference in the end. Here is our top 10 list of tips, which all students should be embedding into their weekly academic work: 1. Ensure they have a planner or reliable electronic device to record all homework and coursework. Logging work should obviously include hand in dates. Use “Show My Homework” to help support organisation. 2. Students should have a study timetable, which should outline when they plan to work and what subject they will be studying. 15 -20 hours study a week does not just happen, it should be planned for! 3. Ensure that they have a file for each subject, with dividers to separate work for different teachers or topics. 4. At the front of each file should be the subject specification, which can be downloaded from the exam board website. Students should check with their teachers that they have the correct one! With the changes to A levels, it is imperative that students have a copy of this. 5. Students should highlight topics on the specification as they complete them. Ideally three different coloured highlighters should be used, green for topics they understand, amber for topics they are a little unsure of and red for the areas they really struggle with. 6. Complete all set homework, in a quiet, uninterrupted study area (yes—turn off your mobiles /facebook /twitter etc!) 7. Read around topic areas covered in the text book as you go along. This should be part of your homework. 8. Make revision resources from lesson notes and wider reading (mind maps/post it notes) – these should include trigger words. Again this should be done on a weekly basis. 9. Completion of past papers (use mark schemes to self-assess strengths and weaknesses). Again this should be a weekly activity, not necessarily completing a whole paper but picking particular sections/topics to answer and mark. Ideally keep a box of all past papers and mark schemes that you download from the exam board website. Those students in Y13 who are retaking exams should have a regular slot to revise for these on a weekly basis. 10. Students must see their teachers independently to seek help if they are unsure or struggling. Our Sixth Form summary of marginal gains is:

Consistency Hard work Organisation Responsibility Resilience If students can apply these to both their daily and weekly work they will increase their chances of success.

Sixth Form Study Hours We would like to reiterate the study hours to remind parents and students of the expectations for successful Sixth Form study. The most important thing a student can do is put in the required amount of study. This sounds very simple but it is surprising how many students fail to meet this expectation. On average a student should complete 5 hours per week per subject. For most students, this is 15-20 hours per week. Students SHOULD be making revision resources on a weekly basis in order to be successful in the summer. The extra study may include; coursework, homework, extended reading, revision or past examination papers. Many students may have free periods on their timetable which allow them to complete some of these hours at school. The rest should be completed outside of school. Please note that our two week school timetable totals 50 hours per fortnight. If a student is taking 4 subjects, plus COOL, they will only get approximately 7 hours per fortnight free (each A level = 8 hours teaching). No student should be going home and saying that they have “No work to do” or “Have completed their work at school”. We actively encourage our students to become independent learners and to manage their time effectively. Not all students find time management easy and we work in small groups with those students, to help them create a study timetable for both in and out of school. If you would like your son or daughter to access this, please let us know.

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Tracking and Monitoring Achievement Year 12 students are aware of their ALIS target grades for their subjects. ALIS (Advanced Level Information System) is a well established system used by Durham University to generate reliable predictions for individual students in their post 16 study and is designed for both A level and BTEC qualifications. The targets are based on the performance of similar students nationally. Please note that ALIS grades are a minimum expected target. Alongside developing as an individual, the primary aim of most students is to leave the Sixth Form having reached their full academic potential. It is our aim to assist students in this process and we therefore have a comprehensive tracking and monitoring system. Our colour coded student photo board and individual files allow us to provide the necessary intervention for each student. All students have their own colour coded photo card for tracking and monitoring purposes. We keep a record of all formal assessment points and from this determine if they are on ‘red, amber or green’. Red is 3 grades below their potential across 3 or 4 subjects, amber 2 grades below and green within 1 grade. We also have ‘super green’ for those students overachieving by 3 or more grades. Students who are underachieving in just one subject will work with the relevant subject teacher. Students who are ‘red’ i.e. 3 or more grades below their potential across 3 or 4 subjects, will automatically become part of the Tracking and Monitoring group; meeting regularly with the Sixth Form team who will work closely with them to try to ensure that the student reaches their full potential. We operate a similar system for supporting ‘amber’ students. Our Parent Consultation Evenings are an opportunity for parents to talk directly to subject staff about how their son or daughter is performing. We time the release of our Achievement Trackers within a week of the Parent Consultation Evenings. This will provide you with relevant and up to date data to discuss with the subject teachers. Year 12 January Trackers issued — 13 January Parents Consultation Evening — 18 January Mock Exams — w/c 20 February March Trackers issued — 24 March

Year 13 December Trackers issued — 22 December Mock Exams — w/c 27 February Final Trackers issued — 31 March

Interventions Whilst we are keen to afford privileges where possible, not all students progress at the same rate and some students respond much better to tighter parameters. For this reason, we have a intervention study programme for those students either preferring more structure for their free periods, or who are already showing signs that they are struggling. All students who are on ‘red’ are required to follow our ‘intervention study’ programme. They will be required to sign in with the Sixth Form Team for each of their free periods and work either in the designated area in the Sixth Form Centre, within a subject area or in the Learning Resource Centre.

From running intervention programmes previously, the most significant feedback we received was the difference that working productively during free periods made. This system is a means of offering support and structure to help our students.

Bursary Fund—Financial Assistance The Bursary Fund is designed to help young people facing financial hardship stay in full time education replacing the previous scheme known as Education Maintenance Allowance or EMA. Sixth Form students whose household income is low may be eligible for financial assistance from this fund. We have run an assembly for students to make them aware of the support available. If you think you could benefit, please check for full details on the school website, where you will also find an application form. http://tring.herts.sch.uk/students/post-16/attendance-bursary-fund/

Driving on School Site During students’ time in the Sixth Form the majority will learn to drive and many will use their own cars to get to and from school. Another privilege afforded to Sixth Formers is that they are allowed to bring their cars onto school site for parking. Unfortunately, this could pose a potential risk to other students, should they not drive responsibly. We would like to make it very clear that at all times students must drive sensibly, adhering to the speed restrictions and one way system. Any student seen driving irresponsibly will be banned from bringing their vehicle onto the school site. We will not tolerate any reckless driving.

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Focus on—Careers Advice

All Year 11, 12 and 13 students have the opportunity to have an appointment with Sailesh Devani, an independent Careers Advisor who is working with us on Tuesdays this year. We chatted to him to find out more about his role and the support he can offer our students. Mr Devani has had an interesting and varied career. Starting as Careers Advisor in his twenties, he went on to work in a number of management roles, including managing a team of careers advisors, working as a procurement manager for a local council, setting up and running his own nursery day care business, before returning to careers advice. He currently works with four schools, supporting students in Key Stages 4 / 5. What sort of students does he see? Some students have a very clear idea of their career path and Mr Devani can help them to ensure that they maximise their chances of success in their chosen field. Mr Devani sometimes finds that students with a very fixed view of their future may end up slightly adjusting this view following a detailed discussion about their chosen career and may take steps to ensure that they do not limit their future chances by narrowing their options too early. Other students have no idea what to do in the future. Mr Devani gets to know the individual students and often works up a number of choices for students by considering their strengths and preferences and then going through a process of eliminating options to come up with a series of career alternatives. What are the most unusual careers that Mr Devani has been asked for advice on? He has advised a student who wished to become a taxidermist. A couple of years ago, he met with a student who wanted to pursue a career in the Secret Service. He gave her advice on her degree choice and she was interested to find out from him that MI5 recruit graduates straight from university. What are Mr Devani’s top tips? Stay open minded, do what you enjoy and what you are best at. Many students choose subjects that they think would be a “better choice” for certain careers, only to find that they jeopardise their chances by choosing subjects that they then struggle with. An example would be a student wishing to study medicine, who loves Chemistry and Biology and would really enjoy History as a third choice of A level. They think that Maths would look better on their CV, so they take Maths as their third choice. Their uni offer is for A A A. They achieve As in their sciences, but only get a C in Maths, as they have struggled with it and not enjoyed it. Mr Devani’s other top tip is to start to really focus on extra curricular activities and work experience from Year 10 onwards. Having a good university degree is no longer enough for many employers and students are strongly advised to gain relevant experience for their chosen career. If students would like to book an appointment with Mr Devani, they should email Miss Moore [email protected]

Mrs Griffiths in Connexions has provided students with the opportunity to have ‘mock interviews’. Some of our students signed up for this valuable opportunity. The students are matched with an interviewer who will interview them and then provide feedback on the interview, the student’s Personal Statement or their CV. This programme has now closed, but our thanks go to those who volunteer to interview our students – you add so much value and your time is appreciated enormously by both us and the students. If parents and carers would like to volunteer to get involved in this programme next year and use their skills in interviewing our students, please contact Mrs Griffiths on [email protected] The programme runs during September – October If students have questions or queries they can call into Connexions at any time.

Sixth Form

Top Ten Skills for Business Confederation of British Industry (CBI) research has highlighted a lack of key workplace skills in new recruits. So what are skills are employers looking for in school leavers and graduates? Research by the University of Kent has identified the top ten skills which are deemed most important by businesses: 1 – Verbal communication The top most sought after skill was good verbal communication. Almost every job will involve talking to colleagues or customers at some point and employees should be able to express themselves clearly, confidently and concisely, tailoring their style to their audience. Communication is not all about talking, the best employees will be able to listen to what people are saying, process it and act on it. However, despite communication being a highly-desired skill, 33% of companies think their workers are lacking it, according to a survey by HR Magazine. 2 – Teamwork Many companies ask people to work in groups on projects, or in less hierarchical organisations, in self-managed teams. To succeed in these environments, employees should be able to cooperate with their colleagues, taking their share of the responsibility and putting forward their ideas in a confident, rather than passive or aggressive manner. 3 – Commercial awareness If workers have a good understanding of the wider environment in which a business operates and knowledge of its customer base then they can demonstrate their commitment to that particular sector. A survey by CBI and Universities UK found that over a third of employers were dissatisfied with the business acumen and customer awareness graduates displayed. 4 – Analysing and investigating Problems crop up all the time and you need employees who are able to deal with them in a logical and analytical manner rather than getting into a panic or simply ignoring them. 5 – Self-motivation Managers can’t spend every minute of the day monitoring their staff, so it’s important that employees are self-motivated and able to use their initiative to prioritise their tasks, come up with better ways of working and take responsibility for their own projects. 6 – Drive Companies need employees who can get things done and are motivated to do the best job they possibly can. CBI research shows that over a third of employers felt that school-leavers lacked the right attitude towards work. 7 – Written communication Data from Skills for Life shows that 15% of adults don’t have basic literacy skills. It’s normally something which employers are made aware of straight away, as data from the Recruitment and Employment Commission highlights that around half of all CVs received by recruitment consultants contain spelling or grammatical errors. Being able to write emails, letters and reports with a clear structure and appropriate style and content is a valuable skill. 8 – Planning and organising For workers to be at their most productive, they need to be able to organise their workload and plan their daily tasks effectively. Being able to work to deadlines and set themselves achievable targets is a beneficial skill. 9 – Flexibility The workplace is constantly changing and the best workers can adapt to new circumstances and environments. Good employees should be able to take on new challenges at short notice and deal with altering priorities and shifting workloads. 10 – Time management Rounding off the top ten and edging out skills such as leadership, negotiation, creativity and stress tolerance is time management. Businesses want employees to be able to cope with the conflicting demands on their time, make the most of their hours at work and prioritise certain tasks.

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Career and Apprenticeship opportunities

UCAS Apprenticeship Information Not all students are interested in higher education. In fact, a growing number of 16-18 year olds are looking for more vocational opportunities, which is one of the main reasons that UCAS’ support for apprenticeships is growing. UCAS have recently launched an Apprenticeship Section https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/ getting-started/apprenticeships-uk which gives invaluable information about the types of apprenticeships, and what is involved. They also have a dedicated search tool, which lists opportunities for both higher and degree apprenticeships – a helpful resource for students to see what’s available. Employers and education providers are also driving demand: they want to recruit the best talent out there as early as possible. And it’s not just small companies – large organisations like Ernst and Young (EY) are taking on apprentices too.

Network Rail are now advertising their third year of the Finance Apprenticeship. The scheme will begin in September 2017 and they are looking for three more apprentices. The role will be based in Milton Keynes where the apprentices will be placed on rotational placements across our varied Finance teams. After two years in Milton Keynes the apprentices will then have the opportunity to extend their placements nationally. This will run alongside day release to Kaplan College where they will study for their AAT qualification. At the end of four years the apprentices will have completed AAT, completed CIMA to therefore be a fully chartered accountant, all while earning valuable work experience as well as a competitive salary. They can then assess which areas of the business they preferred working in and apply for their permanent position. For more information visit the Network Rail website using this link Closing date 3 February 2017

Morgan Stanley is one of the world's leading investment banks, and they have asked Pure Potential to invite bright, female sixth formers to apply to their 3day Insight Programme this February. The Programme comprises of many elements including case studies, group presentations, interactive workshops and networking opportunities. Successful candidates will also have the unique chance to take a tour of the trading floor and understand the range of roles across the Bank. If you are interested in finding out more about the banking sector, this is the perfect opportunity! Having a prestigious firm such as Morgan Stanley on your personal statement or CV will be hugely beneficial when it comes to applying to university and looking for work experience when you are an undergraduate. For more information about Programme, please visit this page on the Morgan Stanley website. When applying, please mention Pure Potential in your covering letter. The application deadline is 2nd January 2017.

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University Advice Year 12 It is never too early in Year 12 to start looking at future options. We will be talking to all the students in up coming assemblies about opportunities available to them. Many universities run taster courses on some subjects for Year 12 students and details of these are displayed in the Sixth Form Centre. The UCAS website also shows details of these opportunities. https://www.ucas.com/events/exploringuniversity Our programme of university support for Year 12 students will begin in March 2017 with a Higher Education Convention on 16 March and Higher Education evening on 14 March. However, students can begin their research now! The school has made available to the Year 12 students a fantastic tool called Unifrog. Unifrog helps students choose the best universities and apprenticeships, pulling data from many sources including UCAS, Unistats, HEFCE and HESA. Key benefits include:  Widening students horizons through its course suggestion tool  It will match university entry requirements to students likely performance and encourages students to consider universities which are in the top, middle and bottom of their range  Compares everything from fees to distance from home, accommodation costs to % graduate jobs and much more All Year 12 students can log on to the Unifrog tool by going to www.unifrog.org/code then entering the code: (form name)tring17. So for instance if the student is in form C12 their code will be c12tring17 Our Careers Corner is a wonderful resource available in the Sixth Form Centre for all our Sixth Form students; it complements the resources in Connexions and the Learning Resource Centre. There is information available on universities, gap years, further education, careers and job opportunities. If parents wish to use the resources at any time they are very welcome.

Year 13 and Year 12 should bear this in mind for next year This has been a vital and sometimes stressful term for our Year 13 students who have applied to university (and probably for their parents too). We began work on this process in March of Year 12, and the support continues until the students receive their exam results in the August of Year 13. We set a number of deadlines to assist the students in this process to ensure that they get the best possible chance of receiving offers. Our internal school deadlines were 25 September, 9 and 16 October, with the final deadline being 6 November. The reason for this is to ensure that Tring School applications are all in to UCAS and the students’ chosen universities before Christmas, to give our students the best possible opportunity to have their applications given the full attention of universities. To put this into context approximately 250,000 applications are submitted before Christmas and over 500,000 between Christmas and 15 January, so whilst all students should be given fair consideration if their application is in by the UCAS deadline, Admissions Tutors will have more time before that. We are delighted that so many of our students have already secured offers from university choices. Once offers are made they cannot be retracted by universities so we strongly advise students to take their time considering which will eventually be their Firm choice and which will be their Insurance choice. Firm and Insurance choices do not need to be made until the 5 May 2017, so we recommend that students make their choices in April when they have had time to review how they are doing in their subjects and potentially attend visit days and further open days. Mrs Hubble will be delivering a presentation in the Spring term on Replying to offers, UCAS Extra and UCAS Clearing. There will also be a session on Student Finance which will open for applications early in 2017. We would like to thank Mrs Hubble for the invaluable support that she has given our students this term in making their university applications. She rigorously checks every application and reference, which is extremely time consuming, but which ensures that students maximise their chances of a successful application to their university of choice.

Berkhamsted School—Law Day and Healthcare Insight Day for Potential Law Students and Medics If you are interested in pursuing a Law or Medicine degree then the 2 opportunities below, which are hosted by Berkhamsted School, are for you. Tring Students who have attended the events in the past have found the days invaluable and a very positive experience. They will also help support your UCAS application, when applying for the relevant subject. As per Mrs Hubble’s email sent to students on 15 December, please express your interest to her by Thursday 22 December, as places are limited to two students from Year 12 for each event. The Law Day is being held on Tuesday 17 January 2017. The Lawyer Portal, the company running the day, aim to help you understand the legal career options, with a particular focus on the practice of both barristers and solicitors. Items on the agenda include key information on UCAS, university selection, LNAT and writing an outstanding personal statement. You will also take a look at the new apprenticeship scheme and you will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive taster negotiation. The Healthcare Insight Day for Potential Medical Students is being held on Tuesday 31st January 2017.The Medic Portal will be running the programme. The day is intended for current Year 12 students who are intending to pursue medicine as their chosen career. Both events will take place at the Castle Campus. The day runs from 8.45am—3.45pm. Berkhamsted School will provide lunch and break-time snacks. The dress code for the day will be smart casual.

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University Events and Opportunities Brain Awareness at the University of Leicester – event for A-level students We would like to invite A-level students to join us at the University for the afternoon on Wednesday 15 March 2017, 12.30-3.30pm as part of Brain Awareness Week. Along with presentations there will be live demonstrations and the opportunity to meet PhD students. The afternoon will be relevant to anyone with an interest in studying brain research and neuroscience, including biology, cell physiology & pharmacology, genetics, health sciences, medicine and psychology. Your students are also welcome to attend the Brain Awareness Evening on 15th March 2017. We want to inspire the next generation of researchers to get involved and contribute to brain studies. How do we think, listen, what makes us move, feel, what is happening in our brain? The event is free to attend, however we ask that if you book with us but are unable to attend that you let us know, as there are limited spaces and this event is very popular. Spaces are limited, so register fast for this amazing day of science and knowledge! Please contact Michelle Bingham on [email protected] The full programme and further information can be found at http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/npb/news-1/baw

Year 12 Sutton Trust US Programme: Applications now open! The Sutton Trust and the US-UK Fulbright Commission are inviting applications from bright state school students for this once-in-a-lifetime higher education experience in the USA. We have over 200 alumni, accessing $50 million in funding from US universities. The Sutton Trust US Programme helps British state school students apply to American universities through support, advice and a one-week summer school in the USA. It is free to take part in the programme. To be eligible, students must:

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Be in Year 12 (England and Wales) Attend a state school of college Have excellent GCSEs or S4 qualifications Not hold US citizenship We welcome applications from students who are:

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Interested in US culture and higher education From a low income family In the first generation of their family to go to university The student application deadline is 11:59 pm on 22 January 2017, and school references must be submitted by 11:59 pm, 24 January 2017.

Visit the programme website for more information and to apply.

Improve Your Chances of Becoming a Doctor or Lawyer Epoc Careers organises careers conferences for students. Our next events are: Improve Your Chances of Becoming a Doctor— 28 January Improve Your Chances of Becoming a Lawyer—25 March These one-day careers conferences run on Saturdays, 10:00am to 4:30pm, at UCL in London. They are principally designed for students in years 11 and 12. Other students, staff and parents also attend, and find the events useful and enjoyable. For 2016/17 we have new sessions on preparing for university admissions tests: UKCAT, BMAT and LNAT. For full details, including costs and to book places, see http://www.epoc.org.uk/

Sixth Form

Head Boy and Girl Team

Random Acts of Kindness has moved to Halton this month and we’ve had some really lovely ideas including an Advent Calendar with a Random Act of Kindness for every day of December, some flowers and chocolate to cheer up Miss Keeley after a leak in the Geography office and thank you cards for students who felt like they weren’t being appreciated enough. This is going down so well in the school, spreading positivity and cheering people up. We can’t wait for next year for Waddesdon and Claydon to have their turn. A massive well done to everyone who has got involved in this.

Mentoring Club has begun. We have Sixth Formers running sessions for younger students each week, however if anyone else would be interested in getting involved, then drop us an email! [email protected] Each weekly session focuses on something different to talk to younger students about, offering them support and the opportunity to discuss different issues. Mentoring club has been running for two weeks now and will continue to run throughout the next term. Please let us know if you have any ideas or would like to contribute in any way. The mentoring scheme has also helped with encouraging less academic students to thrive in the school environment in creative subjects, which is another one of our initiatives as a team.

Current Affairs Sessions—The votes are in from Key Stage 3 and we can reveal that the first round of current affairs sessions will be on the US election! We're really looking forward to running these sessions in January and having some really interesting discussions on such an extraordinary topic. Sixth Formers - please let us know if you're interested in helping to run some of these sessions (especially politics students); this is something that will look really impressive in your personal statement!

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Student Achievement Abigail Tilston, who joined us as a new student in September, attended a red carpet event in Leicester Square in November. She had won an award at the Pauline Quirk Academy Film Festival for a 3 minute short film she which she had directed at her previous school. Well done Abigail!

Charity Events On 9th December, the Sixth Form Charity Captains organised for the whole school to take part in Elf day, an opportunity to support the Alzheimer's Society by raising money and awareness of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Using the fundraiser packs provided by the charity, the Charity Captains adapted their quiz to include more questions about Alzheimer’s. The quiz was done during form time, hopefully making people aware of the extent of these diseases and the importance of the charity around the UK. The students also sold boxes of candy canes at lunchtime to raise money for the charity. They were delighted to raise funds and awareness of this great charity - it also got everyone excited about Christmas! The students were shocked at some of the statistics they found about Dementia - Did you know that Dementia* (the umbrella term which includes Alzheimer’s) has overtaken heart disease to become the biggest killer in the England and Wales? Our thanks go to Georgia McEnery and Rebecca Nam for leading on the event, supported by the other Charity Captains, Tegan Davis, Elizabeth Wilde, Sarah Rogers, Becky Nam, Katie Crombie, Sammy Evans and Ellie Breakwell. Thanks also to Amber Hawes and Eleanor Barham who helped sell candy canes. *Definition of Dementia: The word dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or a series of strokes.

Trips On 6 December, Year 13 English Students took a trip to Stratford Upon Avon to see the acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company production of "The Tempest", starring Simon Russell Beale as Prospero. The use of cutting digital technology lived up to the reviews and it was a truly magical production.

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Key Dates : December—March 2016—17 Thursday 22 December

Year 13 Trackers issued Last day of term. School finishes 12:15pm

Monday 9 January

Start of spring term

Friday 13 January

Year 12 Trackers issued

Wednesday 18 January

Year 12 Parent Consultations

13—17 February

Half term break

w/c 20 February

Year 12 Mock Exams

w/c 27 February

Year 13 Mock Exams

Monday 27 February

Year 12 Work Experience Information Evening

Tuesday 14 March

Higher Education Evening for parents and students

Thursday 16 March

Year 12 UCAS Higher Education Convention—Brunel University

Tuesday 21 March

Extended Learning Day

Friday 24 March

Year 12 Trackers issued

Final Words Thank you for taking the time to read the newsletter and we hope you have found the content useful and enlightening. Christmas can be a stressful and busy time of year for all of us, and students have been encouraged this year to find the true meaning of Christmas by spending quality time with family and friends. We are fortunate to have a full week after New Year’s Eve where students can take the opportunity to complete lots of work and ensure they come back on January 9 feeling refreshed and on top of work. We would like to take this opportunity to thank parents and staff for their ongoing support of all of the students in the Sixth Form. Have a lovely Christmas and New Year. The Sixth Form Team. Sally Kay Head of Sixth Form

Jennah Alder Deputy Head of Sixth Form

Alison Moore Student Support Manager

Lucy Monger Strategic Lead for Sixth Form

Nicky Hubble UCAS Coordinator

Helen Holmes-Higgin Sixth Form Administrator