At this time of year, Year 11 students are coming to the final weeks of their GCSE courses and thinking about their next steps and this year we have been very glad to welcome limited numbers to visit us as part of the Sixth Form Open Week here at heart of England.
The evening started at 4.30pm on Thursday 10 December and began with a tour of the Sixth Form (Leveson) block which included teaching, study and social spaces which the students use during their time in Sixth Form.
After each tour of up to 24 people consisting of at least eight prospective students, there was an opportunity to visit the courses fair in the main school hall. Here, course tutors we on hand at displays and resources to talk about their subjects, ready to answer questions from the future students.
“The atmosphere was calm and purposeful as students and their parents/carers spoke to staff to help them make decisions on the next stage of their journey with us at Heart of England School,” said Mrs Theay, Head of Post 16. “Our current students gave tours of Leveson block, and many parents commented on their honesty in these tours, and felt they were genuine when they spoke about how happy they were to have made the choice to stay with us.”
All through the week online content featured various aspects of essential and useful information for students and their families. At the start of the week, we launched our new 2022 Sixth Form Prospectus which gives a good overview of what we offer post-16 as well as areas of study and our entry criteria.
On Tuesday the focus was on the courses on offer with feature videos on the Courses Video Profiles page – great way to get an overview of the subjects available. They have been very popular with plenty of views on our YouTube channel playlist.
The following day there were further promotions of Videos Presentations from Head of Post 16 Mrs Theay, the Head Students and the Principal Miss Hughes-Williams.
Mrs Theay talks about how we support Heart of England students during their studies with us and on for their onwards journeys after Sixth Form. “Our strapline is valid,” she says, “we do create futures.”
The Principal, in her presentation says “A key statement from our latest Ofsted report says, ‘The Head of Sixth Form prepares students will for their futures beyond school.’ That external view reflects my own judgement of our head of Sixth Form.”
The final day of the Open Week event we opened the application process with the publication of the Application Forms links for those wishing to join us for Sixth Form in September 2022. We hope that all applicants find our Open Week material useful and please contact us if you have any further questions.
“The combination of our virtual and face to face open evening meant that we can give prospective students as much information as possible, so they can make the most informed choice as to their future destination,” said Mrs Theay.
In her closing remarks of her presentation Ms Hughes-Williams said: “Our Sixth Form is class-leading. The choice to join us is yours.” We hope to see many of you next year!