Sixth Form Admissions Policy

Introduction

Year 11 students already on roll at this school have the right to transfer to Year 12, provided that they meet the academic standard as defined below, and provided that the school can offer the preferred subject or combination of subjects.

We also welcome applications from students currently attending other schools and we have set an admission number of 20 for these applications. This number can, however, be exceeded if demand for available courses can be met.

The application process

The deadline for all applications is the last Friday in April. Any applications received after this date will be dealt with as soon as possible, but early applications will take priority.

We will make conditional offers by 31 May, based on projected grades and subject to applicants achieving the required academic standards in their examinations. For external applicants, we will contact their current school to ascertain their predicted grades.

In order to support prospective students in making sensible decisions about their courses, all applicants will be offered the chance to discuss their application with the Head of Sixth Form.

Academic standard for admission to the Sixth Form

Applicants must achieve at least 5 GCSEs at grade 5 or higher with a minimum of grade 5 in English and Mathematics. For A Level study, students should usually have a grade 7 or above (and at least a 6) in the subjects they wish to study.

Students with statements of special educational need which name the school will be admitted provided that they achieve the relevant academic standard.

General oversubscription criteria to be applied

If there are too many external applicants who have reached the required academic standard for acceptance, the following criteria will be applied in the order set out below, to decide which applicants to admit to the Sixth Form:

1. Looked-after children in local authority care
2. Applicants in order of the highest capped GCSE points score (this is the points score of the student's eight highest GCSE grades)
3. Applicants in increasing order of driving distance between the student's permanent residence and the school. (This is the tie-breaker criterion if one is needed).

Oversubscription for a particular subject

If there are too many applicants who have reached the required academic standard for a particular subject, the following criteria will be applied in the order set out below to decide which students will be allocated a place on the course:

1. Looked-after children in local authority care
2. Students who have the highest GCSE score in that subject (in rank order of grade)
3. Applicants in order of the highest capped GCSE points score (this is the points score of the student's eight highest GCSE grades) - this is the tie-breaker criterion.

Right of appeal

Where we have to refuse a place in the Sixth Form at Queen Elizabeth's, the student and his/her parents have the right of appeal against this decision to an independent panel.

Sometimes we may be able to offer a place but not for the student's preferred combination of subjects, and in this case there is no right of appeal, as a place has been offered within the Sixth Form.