Welcome!
Thank you for choosing to join Park View Sixth Form. You will find guidance in this booklet on the main aspects
of Sixth Form life though this is just a short document and is not exhaustive!
There are five key personnel in the Sixth Form 
•    Your form tutor (see below)
•    Your Learning Co-ordinator (Year 12: Mrs Middleton; Year 13: Miss Thompson) and both are based on
the main    corridor of the Sixth Form block. They are available for all your educational needs!
Emails: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
•    The 14-19 mentor, Ms Thoms, who is based in the study room. She is the person to see for issues
such as EMA, absence notes, administration and general queries and concerns. As Ms Thoms has
fewer classroom commitments, she is often the easiest person to find!
•    The Director of Learning (14-19), Mr Nisbet, who has overall responsibility for the Sixth Form and is
there for any issues that you have! Mr Nisbet is also based on the main corridor of the Sixth Form block.

Download here

Form groups

The form groups for Years 12 and 13 are shown below with room bases indicated:

Please note that you must be in registration by 0855 where messages will be displayed, the register taken and
mentoring and guidance will take place. In the case of Year 13, they may nominate one day where they choose
not to attend registration (not Mondays) but this must be done using the official Free Registration form. This
option is not available to Year 12 students.  Assembly is not an option and must be attended. These take place
on Mondays (Year 13) and Tuesdays (Year 12) in the theatre. Students sit in form groups but do not need to sit
alphabetically.

Communication in Sixth Form

Please note that posters and notices are not permitted on the walls of Sixth Form – by staff or students. Instead,
all notices are posted on the appropriate gateway sites. If you would like to be one of the students with access
to the electronic noticeboard, see your Head of Year.
 
What to wear in Sixth Form

The basic dress code for Sixth Form is “smart casual” and is among the most relaxed in the County. Trousers
and jeans must be full length and tops must cover enough flesh to avoid embarrassing others and must not offend
in any way. Football tops and muscle tops are not permitted. Skirts must be at the knee or below. Shorts,
three-quarter lengths and hot pants are not permitted. Should you choose to wear leggings, they must be covered
by a skirt or dress that reaches the knees. Tops must also meet bottoms – so no flesh showing round the belly
button area. The simple fact is that there are impressionable lower school students around – if you make them
drool or make them feel embarrassed, then your dress code needs to change. While we will give a friendly warning
to year 12 initially, the general rule is we send you home if you do not adhere to the policy. The items outlined
above are not exhaustive! While on the subject, please do not use your phone or listen to music on main
site – again it sets the wrong example to those further down the school. Please take your hats off in main school
and when arriving to lessons in the Sixth Form block.  We don’t mind you having piercings – just not big loops
that could get ripped out by an excited Year 9 running past you – so please be sensible and smart/casual in this
respect. However, you will be instructed to remove a piercing if it causes a health and safety problem.
 
Where to go in Sixth Form

Most of the time you will be in lessons.  A Level students in Year 12 will have 20 hours in the classroom with
BTEC/National Year 12s having 13 hours of contact (they need a lot more time to work on assignments). 
A Level students in Year 13 drop a subject (using the appropriate form), making up five more hours for study.
They do not need to wait outside a room (unless locked)
During non-contact time, there are a variety of places for you to go. The new common room is on the ground
floor of the Sixth Form block. This is your generally chilling area but please avoid playing loud music and
generally making the atmosphere unpleasant for others. As a rule of thumb, the noise level should be low
enough to allow people to work if they wanted to.  Please, please use the bins and avoid eating really smelly
food!  There are a number of places to study. The Learning Resource Centre houses about 10 computers
plus five in the conference room which you are welcome to use when it is not booked. The new study room
has a further 15 computers, but the nature of their design means that you cannot use memory sticks
(you’d only lose them anyway). You therefore need to email work to yourself or save work on the gateway.
Room 115 is all yours when it is free (with over 30 computers) and many Vocational Faculty teachers will let
you use a spare computer in their lesson. However, they may say no if they have a really challenging
class or are in full flow delivering a lesson. Vocational teachers are generally based in rooms 51 to 53 as well
as rooms 95, 96 and 115.  You also have free reign of the Hub area which becomes the Sixth Form refectory
during lesson times. This is by far the best place to eat within school and food is served all morning just for
you. However, at lunch and breaks you share this area with the rest of the school!  Please note that smoking
is not permitted anywhere within the buildings, the grounds or within 20 metres of the Sixth Form gates.
 
Parking

We understand that many students pass their tests during Sixth Form and become keen to drive their cars toschool. However the car parks in school are too small even to accommodate the staff so we cannot allow youonsite with your car. If you are being picked up or dropped off during the normal teaching day, please ask tobe dropped at the gate – students are always moving to and from the field and tend not to look where they aregoing! We have a very limited space for motorbikes. See Ms Thoms if you wish to use this facility.Many of the streets around the school allow for parking but please do this in a sensible way avoiding blockingpeoples’ drives or giving them very little space to move their car. While you have every right to park there,remember residents have the right to use their drives. If a resident challenges you, please politely move yourcar elsewhere.

Help when you need it

Sixth Form is a big move even for those who have been at Park View for years. If you find the workload a
struggle or feel a need to share your concerns, speak to anyone within the Sixth Form team. If you need a
long chat, it may be best to make an appointment but if you are fizzing with rage or highly emotional we
understand you may need to vent your spleen briefly in the first instance! Normal confidentiality rules apply.

Help when we think you need it

Your teachers will tell us how you are doing. If we think you need extra support, it will be given to you.
This could include electronic monitoring (which is not the same as electronic tagging!) or supervised study
time. We expect you to respond to this support. Students who do not follow our rules may end up being
placed on a firm contract; failing this will result in you being asked to leave our Sixth Form.
 
Attendance

If you are absent we would appreciate you telling us on the day (or someone doing this for you). We need
a parent or guardian to confirm your absence by letter when you return.  Requests for absence e.g.
holidays require the official absence form to be completed otherwise it may be treated as unauthorised.
Please let Ms Thoms know in advance if you plan to visit any university open days. Work experience
requests must be made through an appointment with Mr Nisbet. You can do this with Mr Nisbet
directly or through Lisa in the main school office.  Please note that absence will be declared on all
references and will affect EMA payments. However, authorised absence does not result in your EMA
payment being taken away.  Driving lessons may not be taken during lesson time in school though the
tests themselves can take place if you let us know first.  Avoid dental and medical appointments during
lesson time where possible. We may ask to see your appointment card to prove you were actually there.
It is your responsibility to catch up with work and in the event of known absence, you must ask for work
in advance.

Homework, part-time work and switching year group

For every hour in the classroom, you should expect to have a further hour of study. Some subjects need
more than this.  We appreciate that many students want to have jobs but there is strong evidence that
working more than 8 hours per week can damage your grades. Ultimately if you fail your subjects, you run
the risk of not being allowed to continue from Year 12 to Year 13. Those wishing to resit Year 12 must
have shown strong commitment in the lower Sixth year and be prepared to be on a contract to be
considered for a resit. Students must be studying the equivalent to three full A2 subjects in Year 13;
you cannot proceed to the A2 course if you do not secure at least an E grade for your AS in the subject.

Student Council

The student council is very active in Sixth Form and representatives should be approached with any ideas
about how to improve Sixth Form life. Students elect a president and vice-president each year who then
automatically become members of the governing body.
 
Complaints

Should you wish to raise a concern or complaint, please raise this with a student council rep. Alternativelyan appointment can be made to see Mr Nisbet via Mrs Gerrett in the main school office. If the complaint isabout Mr Nisbet, then you may wish to discuss this with his line manager – Mr Veitch! Appointments mustbe made to see Mr Veitch, via Ms Bolton in the main school office.

Exams

The same rules apply for examinations as further down the school. Do bear in mind that A Level exams
lead to employment and university places – if you do not adhere to the rules set down by the examinations
officer, you risk penalties such as zero marks or being withdrawn from examinations altogether.
Your are entitled to resit your examinations. Teachers will guide you as to the best time to do this but
ultimately, you make the final decision. If you wish to resit an examination, you can do this through the
appropriate Head of Faculty or through Mrs Carr in the examinations office. You pay for resits.

Parents Evenings and Surgeries

Parents evening for Year 13 is on Wednesday 18 November; Year 12’s is on Wednesday 25 November.
You will be given a sheet to record appointment times for your parent/carer. You do not need attend this
event though you are encouraged to do so. Surgeries are also available for parents/carers to attend. They
simply contact the relevant Head of Year or Mr Nisbet (via Mrs Gerrett in the main school office) to make
an appointment.

When a teacher is absent

If a teacher knows they will be absent they will set you work which should be completed in their absence.
In the event of unexpected absence, we will try to tell you via the gateway. Do not take the word of others
that your teacher is absent and do not rely on looking at the absence list issued each day – it may not be
accurate as the day progresses. Should you have any concerns about staff absence, speak to Mr Nisbet.

Thanks
Well done for reading all this information. May your time with us be a happy and productive one – welcome
once again to Park View Sixth Form.