The curriculum in our Sixth Form is designed to allow you to choose from a wide range of subjects. This can promote diversity in terms of your subject selections or allow you to specialise. Flexibility is the great strength of our academic provision.
We expect the majority of our Sixth Form Students to follow a programme starting with three subjects in Year 12 and continuing with these subjects in Year 13. For the highest attaining students at GCSE, there is a possibility of studying four subjects in Year 12 and then dropping down to three in Year 13. Sixth Form students will also have the opportunity to broaden their learning through the Extended Project Qualification.
A-Levels are academic qualifications that require a rigorous approach no matter where they are taken. At William Hulme’s Grammar School, you will be expected to commit to your studies both in and out of the classroom.
Each subject in the Sixth Form is allocated 10 hours of teaching time over a two week period. In addition to contact time, you will be expected to work during private study periods in the Sixth Form Centre, the Learning Resource Centre or other free classrooms.
Independent learning is a key ingredient to success at A-Level, and you will be set challenging homework tasks designed to supplement and extend the learning that takes place in the classroom. If you want to be a successful A-Level student, you should expect to complete one hour of private study for every hour spent in the classroom for each subject.
Student Support
Effective pastoral care should be immediate, personalised and sustained.
We regard ensuring our students’ happiness and well-being as our most important responsibility. The role of the Sixth Form tutor is absolutely essential in this. Students will see their tutor at least once every two weeks and will have the opportunity for individual interviews on a regular basis when necessary. We have two talented Head of Year who operate an open door policy and are available for students to meet when the need arises. Miss Kaufman (Head of Sixth Form) and Miss Smith (Deputy Head of Sixth Form), both work closely with Tutors and the Heads of Year to ensure that students maximise the opportunities available to make the most of their talents and realise their ambitions.
A-Level Study
A-Levels are academic qualifications that require a rigorous approach no matter where they are taken. At William Hulme’s Grammar School, you will be expected to commit to your studies both in and out of the classroom.
Each subject in the Sixth Form is allocated 10 hours of teaching time over a two week period. In addition to contact time, you will be expected to work during private study periods in the Sixth Form Centre, the Learning Resource Centre or other free classrooms.
Independent learning is a key ingredient to success at A-Level, and you will be set challenging homework tasks designed to supplement and extend the learning that takes place in the classroom. If you want to be a successful A-Level student, you should expect to complete one hour of private study for every hour spent in the classroom for each subject.
Academic Support
We provide a wide range of academic support to ensure that students are making the most of their time in the Sixth Form. At William Hulme’s you can expect to be in classes that are smaller than Sixth Form colleges, thus getting plenty of support from subject teachers. In addition to this, most subjects provide after school support sessions to enhance learning.
Alongside support from teaching staff, we run an Academic Mentoring scheme that allows Sixth Form students to work with fellow Sixth Formers in a less formal setting.
Academic Monitoring
We take our responsibility of providing the best educational experience for our Sixth Formers very seriously, and part of that is monitoring the academic performance of individual students. This is done regularly and involves collaboration with teaching staff and, where necessary, parents or carers.
As well as Form Tutors, there are two Heads of Year in the Sixth Form with specific responsibility for providing academic support for students. We do all this in an encouraging and supportive atmosphere that is designed to get the best out of our students.
Higher Education Advice for Parents of Applicants
UCAS is the organisation that processes all full-time applications to UK universities and colleges. It is there to support you – as well as your son or daughter – through every step of the application process. UCAS sends all applicants a monthly newsletter, full of useful information, reminders, advice and competitions. But did you know you can get information from UCAS too?
You can sign up to monthly parent newsletters quickly and simply online. They’re completely FREE and contain timely information and advice about your son or daughter’s journey to higher education and what you can do to support them.
For further information about the UCAS process, take a look at the advice for parents on ucas.com.