Why are Open Days worth attending?

It's Open Day season for schools and colleges up and down the country. Some are on Saturdays, some on weekdays; some during the day and some in the evenings and there are so many of them! You're probably thinking you have better things to do with your time, but this blog is urging you to get to as many open days as possible!

The Sixth Form College, Solihull is holding two events this term and they are as follows:

Open Day - Saturday 11 October 2014 (9.30am - 3.30pm, last entry at 2.30pm)

Open Evening - Thursday 13 November 2014 (5.00 - 8.00pm, last entry at 7.30pm)

Although on two different days, these events are essentially the same. Both give you the chance to hear from the Principal Paul Ashdown. At the October event, he is giving talks at 10.00am, 10.45am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.15pm and 2.00pm. At the November event those talks are at 5.30pm, 6.15pm and 7.00pm. He will talk about what you can expect from the College and explain the nationwide changes happening to A levels.

Open Days also give you the opportunity to talk to curriculum specific teachers and students studying courses that you are interested in. The teachers can give you expert advice, because they are specialists in what they teach; not only in terms of the content of the course, but also this level of education because they do not teach other year groups. Meanwhile, the current students can tell you what studying these A level and BTEC courses is really like.

Attending open days is all about setting your expectations. You will doubtless visit with an idea of what a school or college is like already, but visiting gives you the chance to put those expectations to the test. Not only can you see the facilities and meet the staff, but you will get a feel for the campus as a whole and whether students currently studying there are happy or not. It will help you to decide if it's a place you will fit in.

Expectation are not only important about the College as a whole, but also about the courses on offer. You may have a clear idea of what you want to do for a career or what course you want to study at university. You may have no idea at all, but just think that certain subjects sound interesting. Whatever your situation in, it's important that you know what you are getting yourself into. This means doing your homework and finding out a bit about what the courses involve.

When you come to one of our open days, we will give you a prospectus and a few other marketing leaflets. You can read up about our courses on the website at www.solihullsfc.ac.uk/courses, but you can also pick up subject leaflets at open day too. This details what is taught on the course, how it is assessed and what entry requirements we ask for. This is important, because you need to make sure that the course is what you expect it to be and you need to know what grades you need to get to achieve a place at sixth form.

Of course, college life is more than just the courses you study. Our support services will also be showcased at open days. This means you can talk to staff about the careers support we offer. You can also find out more about the additional learning support we offer, which helps students with dyslexia, dyspraxia, Aspergers and many other additional support needs. You can also talk to staff about our academic coaching programme, which is the support we offer to every student at the college (a bit like a tutor). With information available about enrichment too, you can find out whjat a varied and rounded experience college life can be.

Moving on from school to College is about growing up. Come to our Open Day or Open Evening and find out how we treat our students like adults and encourage them to embrace our learning culture. We try to help students to develop into independent thinkers, who can leave college for university, training or employment not only with the knowledge their courses have given them, but also the skills and confidence to think for themselves and flourish in the big wide world.

In the end, your choice of school or college after Year 11 is up to you! All we ask is that you make sure you understand all the options open to you and one of the very best ways to do that is to go to as many open days as you can. In the long run it will be worth your while.

Pre-registration is open for the October Open Day from now until Friday 10 October at https://apps.bigtopapp.com/solihullsixthform. Pre-registration for the November Open Evening will open from Thursday 16 October. Go to http://www.solihullsfc.ac.uk/open-days then for more information.

A levels are changing

There are big changes taking place nationally in education, designed to raise standards.  This means that the A Level and BTEC Extended Diploma courses we offer are undergoing reforms.  Not all the changes are coming in all at once, but they will be phased in over the coming three years.  This page provides an overview of the changes, but we have included more information on our website, which we would urge you to take the time to read.

The Department for Education is introducing new-style A Levels in three stages:  in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  The first phase of changes will affect students applying to start their post-16 education in September 2015.  All our courses are listed to the right and the schedule of changes is detailed below.

What are these changes?
A Levels are becoming linear two-year courses.  This means you need to study for the full two years to obtain the qualification.  We will ask A Level students to choose three subjects to study, although very able students may do four subjects. Hand-in-hand with this, we will be dedicating more teaching time to our A Levels in the first year, thus giving students more time with teachers to boost their learning experience.  As most universities and employers make offers based on a three A Level programme, we believe that the extra teaching time will help students achieve the best possible grades.

There will also be changes to the content of specific A Level courses, the amount of coursework, and to A Level examinations, not to mention more rigorous assessment for BTEC courses.  These changes are explained in more detail on our website.  “Old style” courses are still assessed using AS and A2 examinations and you can opt for a mix of old and new subjects.

What is changing?
• A levels are becoming linear 2-year courses – this means you need to study for the full two years to get the qualification.
• Coursework is being removed in all but exceptional cases and those courses that retain a coursework element will see it reduced from 40% to 20% of the final mark. In Sciences, assessment of practical work will not contribute to the final A level grade, but will receive a separate certificate of endorsement.
• A levels will include more synoptic assessment and more variety of questions will be asked.
• Examinations will be sat at the end of the two year course, not spread out over both years. Because of this, we cannot guarantee that re-takes will be available, as students will have to re-sit as external students, but we will try to support students who wish to re-take exams as much as we can. Please note that exam boards charge re-sit fees for each exam.
• There will also be changes to the content of specific A level courses and these are explained on our website on the specific course pages.

When are courses changing?
These changes will be phased in over three years, as follows:

Phase 1 – Students starting their studies in September 2015 should note that new-style A levels will be introduced for the following subjects:
English
History
Sciences
Art & Design
Business
Computer Science
Economics
Psychology
Sociology

Phase 2 – In September 2016, the following subjects will follow suit:
Mathematics
Further Maths
Modern Foreign Languages
Ancient Languages
Geography
Design & Technology
Physical Education
Dance
Drama
Music
Religious Studies

Phase 3 – In September 2017, the final round of changes will affect the following courses:
Classical Civilisation
Film Studies
Politics
Health & Social Care
 ICT
Law
Media Studies
Music Technology
Statistics

Don’t worry! Only the changes in September 2015 will affect you if you are starting your studies in that year. In other words, if you pick a course that is changing in 2016 (such as Mathematics), you will not find you are studying the old format in the first year and then suddenly change to the new format in your second year. The changes in 2016 and 2017 will only affect those students starting their A level studies in those years.

Why are these changes happening?
The Department for Education is aiming to raise standards by changing A level and BTEC qualifications. Changes are also happening to GCSEs from 2017, with this same aim in mind.  These new qualifications should better enable our young people to attain skills, knowledge and understanding comparable to the standards reached by the best of the rest of the world.