The Sixth Form School Day and Expectations
Expectations of Sixth Form
Sixth Form is an important time in your life, and we aim to prepare you as much as possible to develop into a well-rounded citizen able to flourish in the world. In order to fulfill this, we have high expectations for our Sixth Form, embedded and supported by all staff. Students in the Sixth Form are role models and leaders for pupils in younger years. As Sixth Form students at University of Birmingham School, you are expected set a positive example in your conduct, attendance, approaches to learning and appearance.
Sixth Form Dress Code
Our Sixth Form dress code is designed to meet the requirements of a professional office environment.
Please ensure you read and follow the School’s Dress Code, the key highlights are:
| A Suit Jacket or Blazer | Suit style and plain. No outside wear is to be worn inside the school building |
| with | |
| Shirt and tie or Open necked blouse or Dress |
Shirts must be tucked in and ties done up to the neck Blouse should not be low cut or tightly-fitted and must cover the shoulders Dress should be plain and cover the shoulders |
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And |
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| Trousers or skirt (unless wearing a dress) |
Trousers must be full length Skirts must be appropriate for an office environment and approximately knee length Both should be plain, no denim, no leggings, no extra pockets |
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And |
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| Shoes / boots | Must be leather or leather style |
| School Lanyard and ID card | Must be worn around the neck |
Optional
Students can choose to wear:
| Jumper | Must be V neck with a collar visible Plain and not sweatshirt or sports style. No zips, no hoods, no pockets |
| Cardigan | Plain, no zips or hoods |
| Jewellery | Must be small and kept to a minimum |
| The wearing of religious garments is allowed | Must be plain |
Dress Code
The School Day
For sixth form students, the typical School Day runs from 08.50 until 15.45 with optional stusy support sessions after School. Students are expected to remain on-site for the full timetabled day.
Timings
08.50 – 09.00 AM Registration
09.00 – 09.55 Period 1
09.55 – 10.50 Period 2
10.50 – 11.05 Break
11.05 – 12.00 Period 3
12.00 – 12.55 Period 4 (or early lunch on Friday)
12.55 – 13.55 Lunch & PM Registration (or Enrichment on Friday, 13.00 – 15.00)
13.55 – 14.50 Period 5 (or Enrichment on Friday)
14.50 – 15.45 Period 6 (No P6 on Monday or Friday)
The typical weekly sixth form timetable is a mixed schedule of subject lessons, study periods, enrichment and Learning 4 Life sessions.
Each week a student may expect;
- 15 hours of taught lessons (5 hours per subject)
- 10 hours of independent study periods
- 2 hours of Enrichment
- 3.5 hours of Learning 4 Life / academic support sessions
plus additional opportunities for mentoring, subject interventions and careers advice.
Punctuality
School starts at 08.50 every day. All Sixth Form students are expected to be in school at 08.50 regardless of when their first lesson is, registering by ensuring they tap their ID card against a reader as they enter School.
Attendance
The high-level learning that goes on in lessons cannot be replicated by borrowing notes. Catching-up is hard to do. It is therefore vital that you attend all lessons. At the University of Birmingham School we expect students to maintain at least a 96% attendance rate. In some cases the School will consider an absence to be ‘authorised’ such as for medical appointments. You must not miss School for driving lessons or paid work.
Independent Study
In addition to any homework set by teachers in-class, students should expect to spend at least 5 hours (per week) undertaking their own independent research, revision and study in each of their A-Level subjects.
This is a considerable amount of time and therefore, to enable our students to develop a stable work/life balance at home, we expect our sixth form students to use their timetabled study periods in school productively. There are no such things as free periods at UoBSchool!
We support students to begin or continue developing effective study habits as soon as they arrive in Sixth Form. Students often find that the jump from GCSE to A Level is considerable and that they need to practice character virtues in order to create the conditions for success as early as possible.
Facilities
During study periods there are a range of facilities and spaces open for Sixth Form students.
The Atrium
The desks in the atrium are available for students to use to work quietly at any time during the day.
The Library
There is a well-resourced library with librarian support and is for silent working.
Clusters
There are clusters of desks in subject areas which are open for Sixth Formers to use for study, this is especially useful if you would like help from your teachers.
Sixth Form Computer suite
The computer room is open all day for Sixth Form students to use.
Sixth Form Centre Common Room
The Common Room is a work space and can be used to study during study periods.
Additional Information
All Sixth Form students and their families sign a Home-School agreement when they enrol. Please read this fully to ensure you understand the expectations of all of our learners.
The Home-School agreement for the Sixth Form states that you will:
- Attend school every day, when fit to do so. Students are expected to maintain at least 96% attendance
- Arrive at school no later than 8.50am every day
- Attend all timetabled lessons
- Attend all enrichment lessons
- Attend all Learning 4 Life lessons
- Follow the correct procedure for signing in and out of the school building
- Wear a lanyard and ID card at all times
- Not use a mobile phone during lessons unless given specific permission by a teacher
- Not bring takeaway food into the school building
- Follow the School’s dress code at all times
- Use study periods productively for work
- Treat the Sixth Form Centre and the wider school building with respect
