Sixth Form General Information
Click on the links below for course details in pdf format.
Sixth Form Prospectus
The Sixth Form Prospectus is available for download below in Adobe Acrobat format. Due to a large number of photographs the file size is rather large and may take a long time to download if you do not have a broadband Internet connection. Alternatively, email enquiries@smrt.bristol.sch.uk or call 0117 377 2100 and we'll be able to send you a copy in the post.
Sixth Form Prospectus pdf format download (approx 3.4mb)
Sixth Form Application Form
2007 Application Form (Acrobat pdf)
Sixth Form Handbook
Welcome to the Sixth Form at St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School. We have no doubts that you have made a wise choice and will not regret it!
You have chosen to come to an institution which we believe does far more than simply filling your head with as much knowledge as possible before putting you through yet another series of tests and exams and then releasing you into an unsuspecting world. There is so much more on offer in the Sixth Form than that!
We hope to encourage you to take responsibility for your own learning, to think about what it is you are doing with us and where it will lead you, to extend yourself, to explore all sorts of new knowledge and discover skills that you didn’t even know were there. Our aim is to help you to develop as a person in your own right, to enable you to take with you when you leave high moral and spiritual values which will serve both you and others well in later life, as well as some excellent academic qualifications which will open many doors.
Things will be very different from what you will have experienced at school so far. You will have far more freedom, but at the same time you will have more responsibility and much more will be expected of you in many ways. You will need to manage your time at home and in school very carefully to keep up with the workload. You will be treated more like adults and, in return, we expect you to respond like adults. Believe it or not, you will be the role models for the younger pupils in school, so the example you set is important.
Remember too that there is always someone to help you - your tutor will be the first point of contact for guidance and behind the tutors are others with more specialist advice. I have no doubt at all that you will enjoy your time in the 6th Form and those of you who approach it positively, work hard and really push yourselves will benefit tremendously from the experience.
The Sixth Form years should be exciting and challenging - I hope that you really will take full advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to mature, develop and then move on to the next phase of your life with confidence.
I wish you well with your efforts.
Adrian Champion
Director of Sixth Form
Sixth Form Contract
Click here to see the standard contract as appears in the Sixth Form Handbook
European Computer Driving License
All students are required to attend one lesson per fortnight developing their ICT skills. This year we have moved away from the Key Skills qualification and to provide a Business and Industry standard training experience and qualification.
The European Computer Driving license (and the related International Computer Driving License) is used around the world in companies, universities and public services including the Army, the NHS, national & local government, the Learning and Skills Council, and many more.
The course provides 7 separate modules which you can do in any order, depending on the areas of skill which you particularly want to develop. We have bought interactive training materials for all lessons, which can be accessed from any network machine at any time, meaning that students who wish to progress further and faster through the course can spend more than the allocated one hour per fortnight doing so. Testing is also on-screen, automated and self-marking so that they can be done as soon as you have finished the training for a particular module and with instant feed-back. You can resit as many times as you like but at your own cost.
The ECDL modules are –
1. Basic Concepts of IT
2. Using the Computer and Managing Files
3. Word-processing
4. Spreadsheets (i.e. EXCEL)
5. Databases (i.e. ACCESS)
6. Making Presentations (i.e. POWERPOINT)
7. Information and Communications (i.e. Internet & e-mail)
The amount of time spent using the training software and progress through the modules is recorded on the course-tracking software administered by the ICT department. It is also recorded in your official ECDL Log-book, provided by the British Computer Society, which can be taken with you to any future employer or university/college to complete the qualification.
In addition to the cost of the training software, the school is paying for your ECDL log-book and for up to 7 module’s testing fees – about £70 per person if you manage this. We do not expect all students to complete 7 modules in the time allocated but everybody should manage at least two.
Key Skills
There are Six Key Skills which have been identified by Universities and Employers as the most valuable transferable skills for their recruits to have. These are –
Communication IT Application of Number
Working with others Problem Solving Improving your own performance
All Key Skills can be assessed and certified at 5 levels, level 3 being the most appropriate for Advanced level students but level 2 being appropriate for a good number.
At St Mary Redcliffe we deliver IT through the European Computer Driving License, which is a compulsory programme for all students and enables basic and advanced level modules.
We do not assess application of number but require any Advanced level student without a GCSE grade C in Maths to resit the subject.
We actively develop all students Communication skills through subject lessons and the core programme, assessing progress at three levels and recommending that students attempt to gain the Communication Key Skills certificate if their AS subjects are predominantly scientific / technical or they would benefit from the additional UCAS points. This is achieved by the collection of a portfolio of evidence and by sitting an externally set Test after the AS exams in the summer.
We actively develop the “wider” Key Skill of Improving Your Own Learning through a programme of personal tutorials and action-planning. The other wider key skills of Working With Others and Problem Solving are developed through compulsory involvement in our enrichment programme and can optionally be assessed through the ASDAN Universities Award, which generates an additional 60 UCAS points for those who pass it.
Why Develop Key Skills?
Key Skills - contribute to your achievement, motivation, progression, employability.
are an important part of many employers selection and training procedures.
are being explicitly built in to many University programmes.
now attract additional UCAS points to assist University application.
Key Skills help you to :
1. Reflect on the quality of your work and improve your learning.
2. Transfer your abilities into other contexts in life, work or further learning.
3. Become better communicators and work effectively with computers.
4. Develop team-working and decision-making skills.
5. Enhance applications to HE, further training & employment.
Downloadable Adobe Acrobat Reader resources for documenting key skills
Enrichment / Community Service Opportunities
The Go Make a Difference scheme enables us to monitor your progress in some kind of community work. We are not asking you to commit to a whole year of an activity merely a terms worth. You will have 10 hours ticked off on the passport on the following page (which could be once a week for 10 weeks or a smaller number of longer sessions).
All of you will receive a Go MAD reference at the end of your service from your supervisor, which will be signed off by your tutor.
This reference will go into your UCAS Tutor statement, making your reference from us even better.
Not only does the Go MAD scheme help your progression but also at the same time we will be giving something back to the community.
Those of you who do not achieve your passport will have to carry on and complete it in Year 13. We want everybody to be involved at some point during his or her SMRT sixth form experience.
Those of you who complete it can progress to the higher levels of commitment and responsibility which can gain you the ASDAN Universities Award, and 60 extra UCAS points.
Possible areas to gain your passport:
Nursery Helper
Primary School In-class Support
OAP home visits and Zoo Trip
Millennium Volunteers
General Hospital – Music, Art, Visits, Working with Chaplaincy
Methodist Church OAP Lunch Club
Planning and running a Christmas Party for local OAPs
Year 7 Learning Mentor
Year 8 Classroom helper
Year 8 or 10 Mentor
Day Care Centre help
Leading Youth Group
Leading Church group / Sunday school
Church-based volunteering
Local charity work
Guides
Sea Cadets
Cadets
Or indeed anything else which involves working with and for others
Some of these you will be doing already, that is ok. All you need to do is take the passport with you and get it signed off by whomever is your supervisor after 10 weeks!!!! Please note that some of these areas require a commitment of more than 10 weeks – contact Ms Hatton for advice.
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