Sixth Form News
- Category: Sixth Form News
Application Process
Students should complete a sixth form application form, which is available at the main school office or on our website: www.wallingfordschool.com/index.php/admissions/sixth-form
There will be a chance to meet with the Head of Sixth Form or another senior member of staff for a short ‘guidance interview’. Letters of confirmation and offers will be sent out around May 2020. Applicants should attend our sixth form taster days which take place in June 2020. Finally, applicants should confirm their place on GCSE results day (Thursday 20th August) or at our options clinic (Friday 21st August).
Eligibility for Submitting an Application
All KS4 students, irrespective of previous school, location, personal circumstances or background, are welcome to apply for a place at Wallingford Sixth Form. We do not turn students away and work on the basis that there is a place in sixth form for everyone, if they believe it is the right place for them. We set entry requirements for sixth form courses to ensure that students have a fair chance of success whilst they are with us – students should complete qualifications that will allow them to move on to a positive destination after sixth form.
Key dates for Entry September 2020
- 10th February 2020 - External Applicant interviews begin
- May 2020 - Offers issued to students
- 22nd & 23rd June 2020 - Taster Days
- 20th August 2020 - GCSE Results
- 21st August 2020 - Options Clinic
- Thursday 3rd September 2020 - Year 12 Start Sixth Form
- Category: Sixth Form News
Sixth formers witnessed some history today, as they took part in the Court Sermon at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and enjoyed a law lecture by Sir Alan Moses PC. The lecture covered the role of the judiciary in the constitution, which complemented the recent studies of our A Level Politics students.
- Category: Sixth Form News
Some of our Sixth Form students visited the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford on Monday morning, where they got the chance to separate a mixture of organic and inorganic substances and then identify the components using: flame tests, thin layer chromatography, IR spectroscopy, melting point determination and proton-NMR. All bar one group identified the two components in their mixtures correctly!
- Category: Sixth Form News
Our Year 13 Geographers have been out all week completing fieldwork at Porthcawl, South Wales. Despite some wet and gloomy weather, they completed various tasks, including evaluating the coastal defences and exploring different techniques for their Geography NEA (Non-Exam Assessment).
- Category: Sixth Form News
This year we entered our largest ever cohort of students and achieved our best ever A Level and BTEC results. We also managed to sustain our commitment to giving a place at Wallingford Sixth Form to every one of our students who wanted one, and did not withdraw anyone because they were not heading towards impressive grades.
Two headlines that we are especially pleased with are:
- 66% of A Levels were at grade B or higher. That is the best result we have ever had and staff have delivered that with the harder reformed A Level courses.
- 100% of A Levels sat were passed, which was achieved without withdrawing any students either at the end of Year 12 or after the mock examinations. This is the first time we have ever managed this and shows a strong commitment to helping those who struggle with A Levels.
We have no departments in the bottom 25% for value-added nationally. 15 out of 18 are significantly above national average, with 10 subjects in the top 25%. Many departments have really excelled themselves.
It rather looks as if the students’ achievements will place them in the top 20% or so for value-added. That would be for the sixth year in a row.
A record this year is especially impressive. The students and their families always deserve considerable credit for the way they go about their studies and support students. This year, perhaps the staff deserve more of the plaudits. It would be easy in a year of significant change to take the foot off the accelerator. That the teachers put the students first and improved things still further speaks very highly of their care and professionalism.
For A Levels: 2018 2019
Number of pupils: 112 121
% of entries A* to A: 25 25
% entries A* to B: 56 66
% entries A* to E 99 100
Our vocational courses have done well also. There are no subjects with value-added in the bottom 25% with 6 of 9 adding considerable value compared to students on vocational courses elsewhere. Particular praise goes to Health and Social Care and Applied Science who have done an especially impressive job. Our vocational offer served 50 students who are not entirely suited to the way A Levels are learned.
