Phone: 0121 444 2150
E-Mail: head@kechg.org.uk
Sixth Form
Tradition and Academic Excellence
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls has a reputation for academic excellence and a tradition of involvement with the local community.
Our Sixth Form students are from a range of backgrounds across the city and beyond. They are encouraged to fulfil their potential and achieve their goals and career aspirations.
The excellent working relationship between Sixth Formers and staff provides a stimulating and enjoyable environment in which to learn and develop. Our girls recognise that the Sixth Form provides a strong educational and social foundation from which they can take their next steps.
Sixth Form
It’s not all academic!
The Sixth Form is the transitional stage between School and a career or Higher Education. It is the gateway to the outside world. Developing a mature and responsible attitude involves our students acting as role models within and beyond the School community, through their involvement in other activities. Service to the School – and wider community – as well as academic success underpins our ethos of excellence and opportunity.
There are many opportunities for students in both years of the Sixth Form to demonstrate leadership through a variety of extra-curricular and other activities. We strongly encourage all girls to make a contribution in this way to enhance their own skills and experience, whilst helping others. We encourage new and established students to take on the role of Prefect. Every year, a Senior Prefect team of students in Year 13 is nominated by peers and staff and they fulfil roles ranging from the Head and Deputy Girls, House Captains, Year Prefects to School Council Chairs. In Year 12, Prefects work with lower years in supporting Form Tutors.
There are six houses in the School giving our students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, and numerous house activities are organised by Sixth Formers throughout the year. These include dance, drama and sporting competitions and the annual House Festival. Many charitable fund-raising events are also organised by House Captains and their teams.
The sixth form offers a variety of opportunities for intellectual enquiry and exploration, often beyond the confines of the A Level syllabus and wider curriculum. As well as attending university lectures, conferences and summer schools, students can choose from a range of highly regarded academic qualifications to supplement their A Level programme.
Sixth Formers organise and run clubs and societies for themselves and younger students. Examples of these include Amnesty International, Intermediate and Senior Debating, Drama and Dance clubs and also Reading and Creative Writing groups. There are also mentoring schemes for the Sixth Form to help the younger years. Every year, Sixth Formers also set up and lead new clubs such as the Medical Ethics Society, the Law Society and the Philosophy Society to help other members of Years 12 and 13 to prepare for their university applications. Whatever a student’s interests, there will be a club to which they can belong. If there isn’t, they can set one up themselves with like-minded individuals.
The Engineering in Education Scheme enables teams of Year12 students to experience the world of industry and business through work-related projects and interactive workshops. There is also a huge variety of music ensembles and groups which cater for every level of musical competency; these include choirs, orchestras and wind bands as well as instrument specific ensembles
Community and Primary Enrichment
Each year our Year 13 students commit to a weekly session at a community project or in a link primary school. These activities form a very important part of our pupils’ journey of personal development in the Sixth Form. Placements in the community are sought out by pupils themselves and will very often reflect a student’s particular interests or pre-empt their chosen course of study at university, for example a placement in a care home for the elderly or a medical centre for a student considering medicine. Other popular choices include voluntary work for a local or international charity and assisting in a charity shop or local housing association.
As a direct result of their curriculum enrichment, our pupils return to school invigorated and with a deeper appreciation of the merits of community involvement, along with an enhanced understanding of the roles played by flexibility, organisation, social responsibility, self-development and goodwill in adult life.
In addition to the Community and Primary Enrichment packages, students in the Sixth Form are given the opportunity to take part in regular taught games sessions, which allow students to participate in a range of sporting activities.
Admissions
We welcome applications from new students who share our high expectations and want to get actively involved in the wider life of the School and Sixth Form. Every year, we offer places to a number of students from outside the School, wishing to join our community. Applicants from outside the School will need to complete an application form and are strongly recommended to attend the November Open Evening and to apply early. Students may be invited into School to discuss their subject choices. Existing Year 11 in Camp Hill Girls will receive advice about courses throughout the year, and an individual interview with senior staff.
Almost all of our Year 11 students choose to take their A Levels at Camp Hill and entry to the Sixth Form is based upon an assessment of the student’s potential to benefit from the curriculum and facilities offered by the school at Key Stage 5. A student’s educational record to date, and the outcomes of a discussion with a senior member of staff are all taken into consideration during the admission process, including actual or anticipated examination results, with particular reference to achievement in the intended and related areas of study.
The minimum qualifications for entry to King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls’ Sixth Form are normally six GCSEs at grade B or above, which include English and Mathematics. A*/A grades are expected in the subjects students wish to study at A level; subject to availability of places on specific courses a B grade may be considered. Where a student wishes to study a new subject that they have not previously studied, an A*/A grade is expected in an associated subject. Offers of places in the Sixth Form will be conditional on achievement of these results and capacity on chosen courses. In the event of oversubscription preference will be given to: existing pupils; and then “looked after children” (in public care); and then those who live nearest to the School (according to straight-line distance between home and School).
Our main wish, is that students come with the intention of working hard and taking good advantage of the range of academic, extra-curricular and social activities that we offer.
The Curriculum at Key Stage 5 is currently undergoing a period of considerable change, and the government is in the process of implementing the reform of AS and A Levels, with the first teaching of Phase 1 subjects commencing from September 2015. Phase 2 subjects will reform from September 2016, and Phase 3 subjects from September 2017.
PHASE 1
Subjects reforming from September 2015 are:
- Art
- Economics
- Computer Science
- English Literature
- History
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Psychology
PHASE 2
Subjects reforming from September 2016 are:
- Mathematics
- Further Mathematics
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Geography
- Drama
- Music
- RS
PHASE 3
Subjects reforming from September 2017 are:
- Government and Politics