Sixth Form at The King Edward VI School

The new academic year got off to a great start this week with BBC Radio Newcastle dropping in to talk to our Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl about the value and importance of women’s right to vote.

The interview took place in our Advanced Study Centre with the girls ‘going live’ at 8:50 (link to the show https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p06hpvzb). Despite being nervous Claudia and Phoebe provided thoughtful comment on such an important issue. The girls were joined by Penny and Philippa Supporters and educators around the Women’s Suffrage movement. Penny is part of the Morpeth-based Emily Inspires group and Philippa, a third generation descendent of Emily Davison.

Whilst being interviewed live on local radio was both nerve wracking and exciting, it was a great opportunity to see and discuss modern broadcast media. Laura from Radio Newcastle discussed the importance of work experience within the journalism industry. Indeed, the technology that was used was surprising… and iPad and microphone!

Congratulations! We hope you are very pleased with your results, it was a tough exam season and you should be proud of your efforts.

If you have been offered a place to study with Sixth Form at King Edward’s please complete this online Enrolment Form to confirm your place. Here you are asked to confirm your subject choices, there is also an option to request a change of subject. Change of subjects will be done during induction through a one to one meeting with one of the Sixth Form team.

Students who no linger wish to take up their offer of a place with Sixth Form at King Edward’s should also formally decline their place via the  Enrolment Form If you require any further guidance an support please contact Janet who will be available Friday 24 August in school until 12 or from 3 September.

We look forward to welcoming you to the new term as a Sixth Form student. Induction will take place on 4 and 5 of September and the term officially starts on Monday 11 September.

2018 saw our last cohort of Year 12 students to sit AS exams and they have done brilliantly. Congratulations to the students!, 60% of the AS grades were A or B – a fantastic achievement for these students. We’re excited to work with them to continue their success at A Level.

For students studying Level 3 equivalent  qualifications such as BTEC or Cambridge Technical qualifications, over a third of the ‘AS’ grades were Distinction* or Distinction. A superb outcome.

The AS was optional this year, with fewer than half of the year group opting to study a stand alone AS qualification. This mirrors the national picture where AS entries are down over 50% on previous years, Instead, many of our students have opted for qualifications such as Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), where we had huge success well over half of all grades were A* or A!

The change comes in light of recent A Level reform and a move to linear 2-year A Level courses, where the AS Level content is ‘decoupled’ from the full A Level content and no longer carries marks towards the final A Level grade.

What a morning we’ve had in Sixth form so far! The overwhelming majority of students have been richly rewarded for their endeavour with an outstanding set of results.

The headline measures of 62% A*-B and 99.5% A*-E mean our class of 2018 make Sixth Form at King Edward’s one of the top performing Sixth Forms in the region. We’re especially proud that initial analysis indicates an exceptionally strong ‘value added’ score. This means students are performing at A Level half a grade higher than their GCSE attainment would expect them to do so. Effectively Sixth Form at King Edward’s are adding half a grade of progress to every student in every examination!

All in all we had 28 students who attained all A* or A grades and students are now heading off to a variety of destinations, including Higher Education, School Leaver Programmes, Higher Apprenticeships, employment and a gap year.

Sam achieved A*AA in English Literature, Classics and History and is heading to York to study English.

Tom, Rachel, Libby and Will are celebrating a string of A* and A grades. Tom, was our Head Boy, achieved four A* grades in Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths and Physics and is going to join the Ivy League in the USA to study at Princeton. Rachel and Libby gained A*A*A in Biology, Chemistry and Maths and they are heading to Sheffield and Surrey to study Medicine and Veterinary Medicine respectively. Will, who was leading man in our last school musical, achieved three A grades in Biology, Chemistry and Geography. Will is off to Nottingham to study International Environmental Science.

Emily is taking a gap year after Sixth Form and heading to Australia. She is planning on applying to study Neuroscience at a university in the United States. Emily achieved A* grades in Biology and Chemistry and an A grade in Maths.

Jena was our Deputy Head Girl and she successfully completed A Levels in Photography, Media Studies and Theatre & Drama. She attained outstanding grades of A*AA. An accomplished performer Jena is fulfilling her ambitions and going on to study Professional Dance and Musical Theatre at the University of Greenwich.

Layla was our Head Girl, continues the family tradition of straight A* grades! Layla is going on to study Medicine at Edinburgh after successfully achieving A* grades in Chemistry, Biology and Maths. Tim is going on to study Geography at Lancaster University after gaining A*BB in Economics, Geography and Psychology.

“We cannot express how proud we are of every single one of our outgoing Year Group. They have worked with tenacity and dedication thoughtout Sixth Form. They deserve all of the success that they have been rewarded with.” Fiona Long and Kate O’Neill, Year Team

Sixth Form at The King Edward VI School goes from strength to strength.

Mark Simpson states, “This year sees our best ever attainment figure for A* to B at 62% and our second best ever Value Added figure. This means that on average students in Sixth Form achieve half a grade higher at A level, than their GCSE performance would suggest.”

“This is an amazing achievement across 34 subjects, almost 200 students  and with over 600 exam entries, and is testament to the hugely positive work ethic of our Year 13 students and the dedication of our staff.”

Our overall pass rate of 99.5% is also unprecedented and shows that our inclusive entry policy, exclusive experiences and outstanding advice and guidance sets students up for success.  The staff at King Edward’s would like to congratulate this year group on a fantastic set of results, and we wish them every success in the future, whether moving into Higher Education, undertaking an Apprenticeship or entering employment.

Leanne Johnston, Head of Sixth Form stated, “Our results are especially pleasing given that this year represents the biggest change in A Level courses across the country. Furthermore, given the significant funding challenges faced by education, we are really pleased to still be able to offer a broad curriculum with music, arts, humanities, social sciences and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) equally represented.”

Kate O’Neill, Head of Year is impressed with the hard work, perseverance and determination with this year group to succeed. She is really proud of them and is looking forward to welcoming our new Year 12 in September.

We do still have places available for starting Year 12 in September 2018. Please contact [email protected] with any enquiries.

Should students be unhappy with an exam result there are a number of options. The post results services form is available here for AS / A Level and here for GCSE, this explains the services available, the associated costs and the deadlines.

Paper copies of these forms will be available in school on results days. Students are strongly advised to speak to their teacher, a member of the Year Team or a senior member of staff before submitting an enquiry about results.

We are delighted that the final edition of the academic year is ready to share. Hopefully lots of useful information as well as exciting updates. Click on the link below:

Sixth Form Newsletter

Enjoy reading and have an enjoyable Summer.