Matching sixth form subject choices to #university course ambitions

At this time of year many year 11 students are giving consideration to their future courses of study for sixth form as this is an important part of preparing for entry to year 12 in Sept 2015, especially if you are embarking on a change of school at this stage of your education.

Sixth form study offers an opportunity to either continue the subjects you have already studied at GCSE or to embark on new subjects, previously un-studied and hence about which you know little. Hence choosing the right subjects in the right combination to ensure your ability to make a strong application to university or other pathway to higher education can be tricky. From Sept 2015 A levels are changing, so there are some important new factors to consider in the way your chosen subjects will be assessed over the two years of sixth form. If your school offers IB, choosing this Diploma qualification over A levels is also an important decision to make.

Firstly you need to enjoy and feel motivated and inspired by the subjects you choose in the sixth form. Review both the content and the academic skills you require for each of the subjects you are considering. You need to be interested in the course syllabus and feel confident that you have the required academic skills to do well in it. For example, some subjects require a lot of independent research and background reading, essay writing, creative thinking, attention to detail, project work. It’s crucial that your subjects match your strengths.

Secondly, your combination of subjects must fit your career aspirations. Review entry requirements for university courses that interest you via the UCAS website, to ensure you’re keeping your options open in the courses that lead to careers that interest you. If the subjects you need to study on route to your career aspiration don’t match your strongest academic skills and interests, meaning you are choosing a subject which you find very difficult, consider changing your career aspirations.

Seek guidance from your school and other advisors, but remember you are the one who has to have the motivation to work hard to achieve success in the sixth form, so be sure they’re your subject choices and not those of friends, relations and others who are offering you helpful advice.

Do you need some advice on planning your sixth form subject choices, choosing the right university course or completing your UCAS application? 

Start 2015 by giving our team of professional consultants a call to find our how they can help you.

Call us on 01865 522066 or email  consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk  

Visit our website for more details via the link below

http://independenteducationconsultants.co.uk/choosing-sixth-form-subjects-and-career-planning/

Are #school nativity plays relevant in the 21st Century?

It must be nearly Christmas as I found myself watching Love Actually on the TV this week. There’s nothing like a bit of rom. com. to set the mood for the forthcoming festivities. When it reached the part where they’re all off to the school Christmas play it started me wondering all over again why one of the children is dressed as an octopus, when the play depicts the story of the nativity?

Thinking of school nativity plays takes me back to my early school years when tea towels were the obligatory headwear of shepherds, blonde haired blue-eyed children were cast as angels, the school gate politics surrounding the casting of Mary and Joseph generated an atmosphere that was the polar opposite to a generous Christmas spirit and Tiny Tears did a great job in the starring role of baby Jesus.

Nevertheless, through the Nativity play, scripted along the lines of the Christmas story (plenty of sheep, goats and a donkey, but no octopi), we learnt core values from a young age. The importance of family, in whatever shape or form that may be, support for others in the community, to be grateful for what we have without always expecting more, considering the needs of others since there is always someone who is worse off than you are, showing compassion and humility without passing judgment and sharing with those who have fallen on tough times.

Of course schools are now much more multi-cultural and sensitivity towards embracing all faiths and beliefs is a very important part of delivering an inclusive curriculum. Cultural awareness and understanding is a crucial life-skill for the future. Many schools give year-round focus on their own core values which under-pin every part of the curriculum and define how their diverse school community lives and works together on a day-to-day basis.

However, it’s my view that tactfully embracing the message of the Christmas story through the traditional nativity play is part of raising a generation with both values and cultural understanding, emphasising what is meant by compassion, humility, tolerance and a sense of community.

Happy Christmas!

Some tips for preparing for #university interviews

Following on from last week’s advice about University offers through UCAS Track, as promised, here are a few tips on preparing for University interviews.

Which Universities and courses are more likely to invite you for interview is not an exact science as it varies year on year. However, you are most likely to be invited for interview, rather than receiving a conditional offer straight away, if you are applying to study for a professional training degree, such as dentistry, primary education, social work or nursing. It’s also likely you will be invited for interview for a talent-based degree such as music, acting, art and design.

Occasionally, though less likely, you could be interviewed for degrees in the sciences, engineering or computing. You’re least likely to be interviewed if your course involves the humanities or social sciences, for example English, Politics, History or Geography.

Some universities are known to interview candidates on a more regular basis such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Warwick and York, but this varies each year.

Here are some key points to prepare for University interviews.

• Be aware of the format the interview will take? Individual or group, face to face or Skype and is written work or testing required?
• Re-read your personal statement. Elaborating on key points you have made in it will be an important part of your interview.
• Research course content and be ready to give opinions as to why its core and optional modules of study appeal to you. Be prepared to demonstrate why you will be good at studying particular topics and what skills you have to ensure success on the course. Showing passion for the subject is essential.
• What are your key skills and prepare examples to demonstrate them?  Leadership - head of house, team captain in sport. Dedication - grade 7 piano, charity work for an extended period. Teamwork - Duke of Edinburgh, CCF, team sports or Young Enterprise. Be ready to sell yourself by emphasising these skills during your interview.
• Research the interviewer. What is their role and their career background? Understanding this will help you engage them in conversation by finding common ground.
• Ask relevant questions as this is your opportunity to impress the interviewer and to find out more about the course to help you decide if it’s right for you.
• Know why the university appeals and how you would contribute to university life as a whole. They are interested in the all-round you, not just your academics.

Do you need some help preparing for a university interview? Our team of education consultants are here to help. 

Please give us a call on 01865 522066 or send us an email via  consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

For more details visit our website  http://independenteducationconsultants.co.uk/applying-to-uk-university/

UCAS application to #university submitted - what next?

You can keep tabs on the progress of your University or College applications using the log in details for UCAS Track which are contained in the letter or email you received a few days after submitting your application. Here you will find details of offers made by the Universities or Colleges to which you applied, as and when they’re made. These offers are in no particular order and may take a bit of time to come through. Be patient, even if you are getting worried as your friends have heard and you haven’t. If you gave a valid email address on your application, you will receive an email letting you know when universities have made a decision on your application and you will then need to log in to Track for details.

Once you’ve received replies from all of your choices, you can make your decisions and reply through UCAS Track. If an offer is un-conditional, acceptance confirms your place on the course next Autumn, so you need to be certain this is what you want. If offers are conditional on exam results or other factors, you can accept two. One of your choices must be a firm acceptance, in other words first choice and you can also choose an insurance acceptance or back-up.

Think carefully about these decisions. Your first choice really does need to be just that. Be ambitious but realistic and listen to the advice of your subject teachers when it comes to deciding whether you can attain the grade requirements of the offer. Your back-up, whilst being conditional upon lower grades in case of a hiccup on results day, must still be on a course which inspires you towards your future career ambitions, at a university that you would be happy to attend.

Once you have decided on the offers you would like to accept, you need to then decline any others. If you do not receive any offers or decide to decline all the offers you receive, you may be able to use Extra to add more course choices later, usually if you have not already made applications to five. If this option is available to you, a button will appear when you log in to track your application. You also have the option to wait and see which courses become available during the Clearing process later on.

Instead of an offer, you may be invited to attend an interview in which case make sure you prepare well. Know in detail the course you have applied to study and think about why you wish to attend that university in particular. Get busy with background reading relevant for the subject you wish to study. Get up to speed with current affairs, particularly when it comes to issues which influence and affect thinking and opinion within your chosen subject or career field, in case you are asked to discuss them. Getting the inside view-point from someone already working within that field by arranging a practice interview beforehand can be very useful in calming nerves on the day.

If you would like some advice on last-minute UCAS applications, the process of accepting your offers or preparing and arranging practice interviews for university, please give our team of friendly, professional consultants a call on 01856 522066 or email  consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

For more information visit our website by clicking the following link  Applying to UK University through UCAS

Smart phones- friend or foe?

Access to smart phones means teenagers of today are subject to far more avenues for peer group teasing or bullying then we ever were. The challenge for parents and schools is teaching them how to access the positive benefits of technology to support their learning and social lives, while sticking to an acceptable code of conduct for their use. Taking photographs of homework, diagrams or other teaching resources written on the whiteboard, using Apps as a teaching resource or using What’s App to get advice from friends while completing homework, seems a positive change from the days of wrist-ache from taking copious notes from the blackboard.

Sadly, the news is not all positive. I’ve just had a conversation with a worried mum whose son had received a couple of nasty text messages from an un-known mobile number. Though pretty sure it was just one of his classmates being silly, she was unsure of the best way to prevent it happening again, without causing tricky on-going issues for him within his peer group.

My advice was to first contact the school. The tutor or form teacher is a good place to start, only escalating to the Head if initial conversations do not resolve the situation. Schools are able to investigate and resolve problems of this nature within peer groups without causing awkwardness by singling out any one individual as the victim or perpetrator. They can also make a judgement as to when to involve the police if investigations indicate things should escalate to this level. Community based police officers are often happy to go into schools to talk to groups about the law surrounding social interaction via technology, helping them to learn responsible use and the possible legal implications of improper use.

Avoiding parent to parent confrontation is paramount. It’s hard not to get emotional. The school will keep communication objective and constructive, whilst also ensuring both sets of parents are fully informed, reassured that the culprit has understood the error in their ways and the situation will not arise again.

Our consultants mentor a number of teenagers who are for a whole number of reasons finding life at school tricky. 

If you would like to find out more about this service, give us a call on 01865 522066 or email us consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk 

For more information about all our education consultancy services for parents, visit our website www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

10 reasons for #parents to consider a move of #school for sixth form

I have a strong belief that if nothing’s broken, why fix it, so would never encourage a move at 16+ unless there is a strong reason to do so. Settling into a new school environment with new teachers and teaching styles, at a time when your teenager only has two years to achieve the top grades they will need for entry to university, presents quite a challenge. Moving school at sixth form is therefore a huge decision and it is vital that it is being made for the right educational reasons and not just for a change of scene or for socialising!

Here are a few thoughts on why a move at sixth form could be beneficial.

1. You would like to study IB instead of A level, to keep more breadth of study.
2. Your current school doesn’t offer all of the sixth form subjects that you’d like to study.
3. If your teenager has acquired a ‘label’ which leads to certain expectations of their abilities and performance, moving school for a fresh start could be to their advantage.
4. Moving from independent into state education means no fees! However, bear in mind class sizes will be significantly larger meaning less individual support.
5. Moving from state into independent education can give access to a broader range of subjects and a more extensive extra-curricular programme offering diverse opportunities to strengthen a university application.
6. If your teenager has struggled to make friends at their current school, changing school offers new opportunities to make new friends and find new interests.
7. Moving from day to boarding will encourage responsibility and independence and is consequently an excellent stepping stone towards university life.
8. Moving from boarding to day may offer parents the opportunity to monitor more closely your teenager’s efforts towards their studies.
9. Some say moving from single sex to co-ed affords a better preparation for university life. However, be aware there may be more distractions if your teenager has a tendency to lose focus or finds it hard to plan their time effectively.
10. Some schools have no sixth form so a move at 16+ is un-avoidable. Start your school research in plenty of time, ideally in the autumn term of year 10. 

Moving school for sixth form can be a confusing process. Do you need some advice? Please give our team of professional, friendly consultants a call to talk through your queries. 01865 522066 or email consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk or visit our website www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

Is YouTube a useful tool for #learning?

I had to smile when accompanying a young man from Japan to his sixth form interview at a #boarding school this week. He explained that while at school in Japan and learning English through classes he attended in the evenings, he had worked hard to improve his English pronunciation by watching YouTube clips!

It led to an interesting discussion as to how effective YouTube might be in improving English? A subsequent brief search into what resources might be out there to support learning makes me think this learning strategy might not be as potty as it first sounds.

Browsing YouTube Education results in a seemingly exhaustive selection of videos on a plethora of topics from every field you can imagine. From medicine to climate change to teaching yourself to play guitar, it seems it’s possible via YouTube to learn how to do pretty much anything, as well as to find an answer or an opinion on pretty much any question it’s possible to ask. As a research tool, it seems YouTube ticks many boxes.

However, just as with all internet-based research to support learning, I’d say it’s important to check to make sure that the material viewed is from a credible source that can be trusted. With no quality control or vetting process, it’s important to question the origins of all opinions and information and to use a number of sources to get a balanced view.

One YouTube channel I particularly liked was the recently launched Hay Levels. These are 3 minute talks or discussions with leading academics across the whole field of education from English, Economics, and Maths to  Religion and History. With new material added every week, the topics are specially targeted at A level students and aim to inspire enquiring minds or answer key questions from the syllabus through access to the thinking of leading academics of today. Take a look via the following link https://www.youtube.com/user/HayLevels

Are you looking for advice on choosing the right school or making a strong application to university? Call our team of friendly, professional consultants on 01865 522066 or visit our website for more information www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk