CCA Sixth: Key Information for Students

The CCA Sixth Curriculum Intent

The sixth form curriculum is designed to prepare students for remarkable destinations by developing them as independent, confident, resilient learners with high aspirations.

Our students will leave CCA Sixth with the skills they will need to be successful and qualifications to demonstrate they gave their personal best to their studies, community and the wider society.

The curriculum offer ensures that we address the needs of our local labour market, meet the needs of all groups of learners and build upon the strengths that we have within the Academy.

We have 6 key drivers in our curriculum to ensure students are able to progress onto the highest quality and widest range of destinations:

Leadership skills to progress to the highest level in your chosen career.
Experience of teamwork to get the best out of working with others.
Communication skills you need to be able to clearly articulate your ideas.
The ability to use your initiative to build your personal brand.
Organisation skills to successfully plan for your future.
The resilience to tackle any challenge you may face in an ever-changing world.

Your Study Programme

Your study programme will be made up of a number of blocks, including:

Your core subject studies
Supervised study periods
A full tutor programme, including PSHE, RSE and RE.
Work experience [dependent on core subject]

All students will have a minimum of 20 hours of core subject content/work experience and supervised study every week, plus at least 2 hours of tutor support and personal development.

Assessment and Target Setting

You will be assessed in different ways throughout year 12 and 13.

Informal class-based assessment: this will include, but is not limited to, multiple choice tests, exam-style questions and competitive individual or group quizzes.

Formal internal assessment: There are two mock-exam periods in term 1 b and term 2b. Exams will be based on past papers/briefs and completed under full exam conditions.

Formal external assessment: Dates of all public exams will be shared with you by letter to confirm your entry. Vocational qualifications will have external assessments throughout the academic year; some assessments will allow students to see the 'brief' and prepare materials before entering the formal period of assessment. Please speak to your subject teacher to find out more.

The latest JCQ guidance for students is published annually via your CCA Sixth Google Classroom.

All A-Levels are worth '1 A-Level', however, we offer BTEC and NCFE Qualifications that are the equivilent of up to 3 A-Levels, as outlined below. You can convert your qualifications to UCAS points by visiting the UCAS tariff website

You will recieve your minimum target grades for all the subjects you are studying in term 1a. These targets are based on your prior attainment in Key Stage 4 and are pitched to perform at least in line with the top 25% of students nationally with the same prior attainment. Many of your will go on to exceed these targets and perform in the top 10% of students nationally.

Progress in English and Maths

Will I need to continue to study Maths and English?

All students who have not yet obtained a Grade 4 in English and/or Maths will have resit lessons built into their timetable. Mrs Turner leads the English resit programme and Mr Groenwald leads the Maths resit programme.

How many lessons will I recieve?

You will recieve between 2 and 4 hours a week, depending on your programme of study.

When will I sit the exam?

Resit entries are made for the November and summer exam season. You will be advised on which exams you have been entered for in consultation with your English/Maths teacher(s).

What about Functional Skills?

Students who achieved a Grade 1 or 2 will be entered for the Level 2 Functional Skills qualification in English and/or Maths. These are comprehensive qualifications that equip learners with the practical skills needed to live, learn and work successfully. The exam is graded as a 'Pass' or 'Fail'. This Functional Skills course at Level 2 is equivalent to a GCSE Grade 4. Students will be assessed throughout the year based on their mastery of the core skills as there is no exams 'season' as there is with GCSE subjects.

Tutor Time

All CCA Sixth students have tutor time in the morning for 40 minutes. You will have a dedicated tutor room located in the sixth form block, including a tutor board to keep a record of your achievements.

We have a team of experienced sixth-form trained tutors who are able to support with your applications, aspirations and general sixth form questions, as well as delivering the core wellbeing/PSHE/destinations sessions that are essential for successful progression into the wider world.

Please see the example focus areas opposite - this will vary from tutor group to tutor group. Each session will also include 20 minutes of reading for pleasure.

Key Staff

Miss Leatherby

Assistant Vice Principal for KS5

Miss Beach

Achievement Director

Miss Bee

KS5 Lead Practitioner

Miss Shuter

Study Mentor

Based in: Study Hub

Mrs Wallace

Pastoral Support

Based in: EG093

Mrs Young

Careers Advisor

Based in: The Career Zone

Mrs Sutton

Work-Related Learning Coordinator

Based in: The Career Zone

The Sixth Form Block

The majority of your lessons will be based in the dedicated sixth form block, which should be accessed via the Thomas Road entrance. All Sixth Form students are issued with an ID badge with a chip in that allows you to activate the maglcoked doors. You will also be required to use this card to sign in and out if you are entering or leaving the academy at any point outside your normal arrival [8:25] and departure [3pm] times. You have your own canteen, IT/Media facilities and study area.

Media Suite with 20 iMacs

TV Studio

Radio Studio

Career Zone and university prospectus library

Gym and cloakroom

8 dedicated sixth form teaching rooms - 5 with 75 inch touchscreen displays

Dedicated sixth form canteen and coffee shop

Collaborative and silent study spaces

Study Support and the Super-Curriculum

All CCA Sixth students will have access to supervised independent study sessions; you will be required to bring in your Chromebook and any necessary textbooks. Pens, paper, folder and revision cards are provided for free in the Sixth Form stationery store. During this time, you will be required to organise your study session to include the folowing:

Coursework [access to specialist teaching facilities and equipment is permitted at this time. Please sign in with Miss Shuter].
Directed study tasks
UCAS/job applications
Homework

In addition to this, you will have access to a variety of 'Super-Curriculum' activities. Details of these are published via the CCA Sixth Google Classroom and include:

You will also have the opportunity to take place in workshops, external speakers and trips that will help boost your UCAS applcication / CV throughout the year.

Attendance and Punctuality

100% attendance and punctuality is required to ensure you are accessing your study programme to the full. Letters will be sent home half-termly with your current attendance and prviledges, such as your lunch pass, will be withdraw for sustained periods of absence with no medical evidence or persistent lateness.

Life after CCA Sixth

The over-arching goal of your sixth form study programme is to prepare you for your next step destination through a combination of high-quality qualifications and employability / life skills. Your next step might be:

University - usually a 3 year undergraduate degree in a single or joint area of study.
College - for more specialist training or to gain a specific qualification for your next-step career.
Apprenticeship - learn and earn on the job.
Full-time employment

Visit the Career Zone to discuss your options further. You can start your UCAS journey by clicking on the widget on the right or visiting www.ucas.com

Don't know where to start? Use the Careerometer tool below to explore and compare key information about occupations, help you learn about different occupations and identify potential careers. It provides access to a selection of UK headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects for different occupations, as well as description of the occupation.

Simply type in the title of the job you are interested in and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you. You can then look up another two occupations and compare. You can also select ‘display the UK average’ and compare the information with the occupation you have selected.

Important Information

16 - 19 Tuition Fund

16 - 19 Bursary Policy

Link to Bursary Application Form

Attendance Policy

Dress Code

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