The Trowbridge Sixth Form Centre - Text Only page

Transition from Year 11 to Sixth Form

At the Trowbridge Sixth Form Centre we work in partnership with students and parents to make the transition to post 16 education as straightforward and stress free as possible. Our intention is to ensure that your son or daughter is provided with the information they need to make the correct choice about their pathway through Sixth Form. This means we offer advice and are available for consultation about the best courses for an individual student's aspirations at a variety of points throughout Year 11. We want students to register on courses that are 'right' for them and which they can access at a level which is also appropriate for them. Ultimately we want students to take the next step beyond Sixth Form with qualifications that reflect their potential and memories of a rich learning experience from their 1, 2 or 3 years in the Sixth Form.

Advice and Consultation

We start this process in Year 10 for our own students, giving a broad picture of the choices available to young people in the area post 16. To this end we work closely with Wiltshire College and the Connexions service as well as our partners in The Trowbridge Sixth Form Centre. This event is followed up in November of each year with our combined Sixth Form Open Evening which is open for all who are interested to attend. The Clarendon College and The John of Gaunt School share staff and students between the simultaneous evenings run at the two Trowbridge sites. Parents and students receive a presentation about The Trowbridge Sixth Form Centre and are then able to tour the subject exhibitions, question teachers about subject content and opportunities related to specific subjects and qualifications as well as look at samples of students' work. You will also be able to meet students studying the subjects we deliver and get their perspective on the subjects we offer. The Open Evening is followed, at the end of November or start of December, with each centre's Open Day. All Year 11 students - from any school - are invited to sample Sixth Form lessons and to attend a plenary session run by the Head of Sixth Form which aims to provide responses to any unanswered questions that have been raised during the day.

We ask students to complete an application using a downloaded application form from this website and submit this by the end of the February half term in the year they would like to start Sixth Form. Please see further details in 'Applying for a Course'. We acknowledge receipt of applications. The Clarendon School aims to interview all applicants by March of the year in which they intend to start Sixth Form. At The John of Gaunt School all applicants will be interviewed in March.

There is a hiatus after this because it is our belief that Year 11 students should be focusing on their GCSEs and we wait until the GCSE exam season has finished before inviting students back into school for 2 further induction days. An advantage of timetabling this event at the end of June is that we are able to use the Year 13 timetable for the 2 days giving applicants a real sense of what being a Sixth Former is truly like.

Further Guidance

For students used to an options list of 5 or 6 courses aside from core studies at GCSE, suddenly being presented with over 35 courses at 3 levels can be daunting. We recognise this and the following people are available to help with making subject choices and opting for the right level of course.

Contact details are available on the 'Contact Us' page