Sixth Form
Support

Financial Support

16-19 Bursary

The Bursary exists to address barriers to education. Eligible students can use the Bursary to fund travel to school, school dress, travel to university and other open days, learning resources and more. Each student will have a 1:1 meeting with a member of staff in the Autumn Term to make a plan for using this additional funding to improve their specific circumstances. It is really important that school is made aware as early as possible if students are eligible for the Bursary.

Parents’ first point of contact is Miss Malik (Operational Administrator ) smalik@kingedwardvi.bham.sch.uk

Click here to view the 16-19 Bursary Policy Statement (currently being reviewed)

Pastoral Support

Around each student we have a strong team of adults who have girls’ best interests at heart:

Each student is allocated a Form Tutor, in a group of around 24 students. This is your first point of contact every day, and the person who will know you best. Twice each week there are form activities before lessons begin, and there are regular opportunities to meet with your form tutor for an informal 1:1 chat about how things are going.

There are Pastoral Leaders for each year group, who oversee well-being and academic progress. If we have a pastoral concern, the Pastoral Leaders will generally be the people who will contact home. Pastoral Leaders hold assemblies, contact teachers if you are having a difficult time and be the people who sees the big picture in relation to your well-being and progress. There is both a Teaching Pastoral Leader and a Non-Teaching Pastoral Leader, so that there is always someone available to speak to.

We also have a Pastoral Administrator for Years 11 to 13, Mrs S Bains, who is available to see students in their study periods if they have a particular pastoral matter that needs sorting out. She also communicates with students about events in school.

The Wellbeing Crew is a professional counselling service which comes to school once a week. Students who would benefit from this are scheduled for 1:1 appointments. A group of students are trained as Well-being Leads, and we often link them up with girls who may be experiencing personal difficulty. In addition, we are happy to make referrals to other external agencies for individual and family support.

Academic Support

Teachers are very generous in giving up their time to respond to requests for help, and many departments run regular lunchtime clinics. In addition we have a Learning Support team to help students more generally with their academic work. We have a Learning Hub where students can work during study periods if this is more suitable than the Library, and we also offer language support and some support within lessons, in addition to working closely with external agencies such as the Communication and Autism Team.

Our SENCO, is the person to contact to discuss girls’ additional needs, particularly for girls joining us in Year 12. It is very helpful for us to know if students have had access arrangements for their GCSE exams (extra time, separate room, etc), so that we can put these in place from the beginning of the 6^th Form.

Careers and Destinations Support

Students receive support for a wide range of Post-18 destinations, and we are clear that university is not the default option which all students are expected to take. Staff are trained in supporting higher and degree apprenticeships, through information sessions and individual coaching. Several students each year take a Gap Year, and we provide help with applications during that time as well as bringing in companies and charities looking for Gap Year volunteers. All 6^th Form students will be offered at least one careers interview with our impartial adviser, who is in school on alternate Fridays for 1:1 appointments and a lunchtime drop-in.

We use Unifrog [ www.unifrog.org] as our key platform for all careers information, shortlisting and applications. Students have their own accounts, which they add to during careers lessons and form tutor time. Students have 1:1 meetings with their tutor near the end of Year 12 to discuss their applications and develop their personal statements. In Year 13 all students are assigned a member of senior staff for further 1:1 meetings to complete applications.

We have excellent links with universities including Southampton, Oxford, Leeds, Birmingham and Aston, who visit each year to give information talks on their courses, entry requirements and enrichment opportunities. There is an ongoing programme for Oxbridge applications, and we also work with the Sutton Trust to support girls who apply to US universities. We also ensure that students joining our 6^th Form from non-selective schools are aware of the access schemes offered by Universities of Birmingham and Aston, the Sutton Trust, the Social Mobility Foundation and Target Oxbridge.