Sixth Form Life

Blended Pathway (A-Level and BTEC) 

I aspire to work in Primary Education. I take BTEC Health and Social Care, A Level English Literature and Media Studies. Following a blended pathway enables me to focus on all of my subjects as well as allowing me to develop my skills in order to achieve the best I can in my A-levels and my BTEC subject. Doing a blended pathway is helpful as it helps me to acquire exam skills but also coursework skills. It is easy to manage and keep up with all the work I am given. 

Blended Pathway (A-Level and BTEC)

I am currently studying A-level Psychology and English Literature, and BTEC Business. I chose these subjects because they compliment each other well and help me enter the career path I hopefully plan on continuing into after school, which is Accounting and Finance. These subjects allow me to get an insight into the work of economics and fiscal matters with skills including problem solving,critical thinking and analysis. I chose to do 2 A-levels and a BTEC as the two offer a wider range of transferable skills covering both academic theory and hands-on experience, BTECs give you working experience, and A-Levels give you academic merit.Furthermore,the combination of both means more than just exams and I am able to complete coursework on the side which isn’t overwhelming and allows me to be able to focus on areas in my other A-levels where I might be struggling or not understanding, which relieves exam pressure.

A-Level Pathway

I am currently studying Art, Product Design, Maths, and an EPQ. I chose these subjects as I thought they fit my pathway quite nicely as I want to go into Engineering in the future. Art is a subject I believe is similar to GCSE but on a larger scale. It allows you to explore your artistic skills in more depth as well as finding artists you like, and finding your own style of work, however it also requires organisation and motivation. I would say that Product Design is a great subject to choose if you want a mix between coursework and exam papers. It is a fun subject that requires creativity, motivation but also problem solving. I liked Maths more than English at GCSE, however, I still enjoyed writing and as I am quite an opinionated person, I found that writing an EPQ was perfect for me as it allows me to debate an argument of my choice and prove why I am correct. I will say that the jump from GCSE to A levels was a bit intimidating at first, especially for Maths so I would recommend looking into the subject of your choice in the summer. However, I can assure you that the teachers understand that A levels can be quite different to GCSEs and are more than willing to aid you in any way, in which they did for me as I did struggle with algebra.  Furthermore, if you are resilient and determined this should not be an issue - it also helps to like your subject.  One thing that I'm sure everybody will enjoy is the freedom of sixth form. You never have 5 lessons a day anymore as you have free periods, and you are allowed to go out at break and lunch, maybe just to walk or buy food from outside. 

BTEC Pathway 

I’m a Career aAbassador and also part of the Learning & Teaching Group at St Philomenas and I chose all BTEC Courses (Health & Social Care,Travel & Tourism, and Business).I chose these subjects as I prefer coursework over exams.In my opinion, choosing BTEC courses was the best option for me as it is a well balanced course.We had our written exams in the first year and then we worked towards our coursework starting from the end of the first year to the second year.If you are someone who does prefer coursework more than written exams,then I would highly recommend this for you as most of the overall grade is based mostly on the  performance you have made in your coursework,however your grade for your exams are very important for the overall grade at the same time.For anyone who thinks that BTEC is a lower qualification than A levels,i would like to say that they are not as BTECs are equivalent to A levels and that you can still get into a good university with these results.From my personal experience,BTECs are less stressful and you could discover many new topics through this subject.You also get to go on many fun trips that are related to these subjects.

T-Level Pathway 

I chose this course as it was mainly focused on healthcare professionals. All exams were in Year 1 of Sixth Form which meant we were able to focus on practical-based experiences within Year 2. Throughout the two years, you will be going out of school on placements and this gives you a chance to have an overview of what working in a health sector is like. You learn a lot of knowledge about different healthcare professionals and this helps you decide on what role you would like to do in the future. The content you learn in this course will be extremely helpful in your future career and this includes university, apprenticeships and any other needs. Within this course I would advise you to always start your revision from the beginning, as you complete your exam in the first year,l it will definitely benefit you if you start revising and learning your content from the beginning instead of leaving it until the last minute. Taking this course was a huge advantage as throughout this year I have gained knowledge on many healthcare sectors and I have also gained experience in hospitals to receive an overview of how working would be. Overall, Sixth Form allows you to have independence and control over what you would like to do and how you would like things to be.