Your plans

You will spend seven periods per week - just less than 5 hours of classwork - on each subject. In addition you will be expected to devote between 2 and 3 hours per subject to prep and private study. Many pupils find that having reduced their programme to fewer key subjects, it becomes easier to juggle the confl icting demands. However, the pace and depth of the work increases signifi cantly from GCSE, and this can prove challenging. It is important that you adjust to this pace quickly, for those who fall significantly behind can fi nd it difficult to catch up.

You will also be expected to take part in a wide range of extra-curricular activities: sport, drama, music, debates, societies, expeditions. The list goes on. What is more, we hope that you will develop some responsibility for these activities and for initiating new ones.

The Futurewise Report, the Prelims and the Fifths Parents Evening are all important pointers for your future. You probably already have considerable plans about what that might hold. Nevertheless you should read through the rest of this guide carefully. Then consult the current Sixth and Seventh blocking scheme and fill in and return the choices form as requested. Remember that it is your commitment and sense of responsibility which will help you get the most from the opportunities which the Academy Sixth Form offers you.

Advice

There is a whole range of specialist advice available to you as you move into the 6th Form, and there is much time and emphasis placed on career education in the Personal and Social Development course. A range of speakers visit the school to describe their career paths and experiences, and workshops are delivered on CV writing and interview techniques, while mock interviews follow. Mr Saunders (6ths) and Dr Wightman (7ths), along with Dr Carr as Head of Girls, take an overview of the year groups; your Classtutor will pay individual attention to your progress and welfare; the Careers Department will offer advice about university options, open days etc; Mr Bonnyman will help if you are considering a year out between school and university. The Careers Library should, of course, be a constant source of information for you. Equally, individual Heads of Department will be able to add specialist knowledge in their own fi elds; but most important of all will be your Classtutor.

Each Classtutor has a class of about fourteen pupils drawn from a range of subject backgrounds. Your tutor will help you to plan your own future carefully and systematically. He or she will be on hand to guide you to set yourself sensible and attainable targets and to help you with the process of application to university, college or work. All of this, however, is something else for which you must take a great deal of responsibility. It forms another important part of your education.

Highers & A-Levels

The heart of your time in the Sixth Form is, of course, your academic study. Both the English and Scottish examination systems have been significantly modified recently.

We are committed at the Academy to continuing to offer both Higher and A-Level. In the majority of subjects those proceeding to A-Level will use Higher as their Sixth Form course and take most of their AS/A2 modules in the Sevenths. The nature of the syllabuses in Art, Design Technology and Music is such that we shall only offer AS and not Higher in these subjects.

The only cases in which pupils will have any choice about the level of study in their Sixths academic programme is in Maths and the three Sciences. In each of these subjects there will be two routes to A-Level. The AS/A2 route is available for those aiming single-mindedly for A-Levels while the Higher/A-Level route follows the pattern of the majority of other subjects in our curriculum.

Highers

Both the Higher and the A-Level systems have undergone signifi cant changes in recent years, most notably in the way in which they are assessed. All Higher subjects now carry a large portion of internal assessment. These Unit Assessments (NABs) are spread throughout the courses and vary in number from subject to subject. Whilst these NABs do not count towards the fi nal grade, in order to be certifi cated at Higher pupils must pass all NABs in that subject. Under normal circumstances they can be re-taken once in any given year if they are not passed at the fi rst attempt.

A-Levels

The bigger changes lie with A-Levels, and this year they are undergoing signifi cant revision. The aim is to provide greater “stretch and challenge” at the top end, and with this comes the introduction of the new A* grade at A-Level. This will apply to pupils entering our 6ths in August 2008, with the fi rst awards in 2010. Assessment is also being simplifi ed and streamlined. At A-Level, all courses are divided into either 4 (or in the cases of Music and the Sciences, 6) Units, half of which form the AS-Level course and half the A-Level. Taken together the AS-Level Units lead to an AS-Level award, broadly equivalent to a Higher, while the combined AS-Level and A-Level Unit marks are aggregated to give the full A-Level. Most Units can be retaken with the better result counting.

For all 6ths, there is a timetabled week of mock exams (prelims) in late January/early February. The public exams in both Higher and AS-Level take place at the end of the academic year in May/June. In the fi nal weeks of summer terms, class time in many subjects moves on to focus on the transitions from Higher to ALevel work. In 7ths, AS and A-Level Units will be taken in January and June. Those taking Highers will follow the 6ths pattern.

University entrance

In broad terms, Scottish Universities tend to make offers based on 4 (or possibly 5) Highers, or 3 A-Levels, while English Universities tend to make offers on A-Levels alone. Your choice of subjects might make it diffi cult to achieve a complete set of Highers in one sitting. A mixture of, say, 3 Highers and 2 AS-Levels in the 6ths may very well not initially satisfy the entrance requirements for some universities. Such candidates would need to modify their intended programme in the 7ths so that they fi nish with either 4/5 Highers or 3 A-Levels. A fi nal collection of, say 3 Highers with 2 A-Levels over the two years would be stronger than 5 Highers and would give a good range of options at Higher Education. Universities are becoming increasingly fl exible on entrance qualifi cations, and sensible planning of strategies tends to result in successful outcomes. What is absolutely clear is that increased competition for University places is making the grades achieved of paramount importance, whether these be at GCSE/Standard Grade, Higher or A-Level. The grades you achieve this year will count!

When you move on into the 7ths, there is a range of choice. You can:

• move on to a full A-Level programme (usually 3, but occasionally 4);
• try to improve on some Highers and possibly begin more;
• take a mixed programme with both Highers and A-Levels.

Please note that the Higher, AS-level and A-Level blocking (6ths and 7ths) will be merged as much as possible in order to allow pupils in the 7ths to study for a combination of these exams. However, it is an inevitable consequence of our timetabling that any pupil wishing to combine the study of Higher English in the 6ths block with A-Levels in the 7ths block will face at least some clashes in their timetable.

University Applications

Since competition is fierce it is always desirable to prepare and submit applications early in the Autumn Term of the final year at school. Assistance is provided by class teachers and Careers Department.

Preparation involves researching appropriate courses, considering finances (including any possible scholarship applications,) choosing preferred universities and sitting any necessary entrance tests. It is necessary to complete a UCAS application form, including the composition of a personal statement.

All of this means that the process must be begun early and carried through in a disciplined manner.