BGS Sixth Form Newsletter

24.03.23

Dear parents/carers and students,

Where does the time go? No, really? It is amazing to think that we are nearly at the end of the fourth
term of the year. For our Year 13 students, that means a mere five weeks of school before their
exams begin. For our Year 12 students – albeit with less at stake – it is two school weeks before their
internal exams.

It is also the time of year – just when being in lessons and working hard matters the most – that
students sometimes lose focus. Why this is, is a psychological enigma that has kept educators busy
for many a year, but the impact is not in doubt: every missed lesson; every opportunity to receive
advice and support not taken; every day spent in bed or night spent working in McDonald’s has a
serious consequence for outcomes. Blithely telling ourselves “I’ll catch it up later” or “I’ll work twice
as hard tomorrow” is to bury one’s head in the sand. It is crucial that we are all giving the same,
stark message to our students/children/friends: if you want to succeed, you need to be in school, on
time, and work hard. There is no alternative!

Best wishes,
Mr Barker (Head of Sixth Form)
Focussing on apprenticeships Equal congratulations go to our UK Space
Design Challenge team, who reached the
I recently contacted all of our Year 13 students national finals in London and wowed the
who are looking for alternative pathways to judges with a hugely impressive submission.
university, to make them aware of all the Finally, Rico Bringeman has had yet more
support available to them on a site called success in the swimming pool, winning medals
Unifrog. This is a relatively recent addition to galore and representing England – well done!
our Careers support and has many useful
features.
Quote of the Week
See the Footnotes on page 3 for the full from Zig Zigler
update. Of course, Year 12 students are
encouraged to start exploring the site too. “Your attitude,
not your
Good news corner!
aptitude, will
Huge congratulations go to our F1 in Schools
team – 3 Crowns Racing – who placed third in determine your
the East Midlands regional finals and won
Fastest Car! This may be enough to secure
altitude.”
them a wildcard entry to the national finals.
Year 13 News
Deadlines for UCAS
Students and parents/carers should be
aware that there are deadlines for replying
to offers for universities. These are not
imminent, and depend on how quickly you
receive your offers, but it is a good idea to
find out how long you have.
These UCAS guides offer a lot of useful
information about the process, but
remember: nothing beats a proper
conversation with a parent, tutor or
member of the Sixth Form team!
https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/afte
r-you-apply/types-offer/replying-your-ucas-
undergraduate-offers
https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/repl
ying-offers-%E2%80%93-your-questions-
answered
University accommodation
Once you have replied to your offers and
established your Firm choice, the next
questions are: when, and how, should you
apply for student accommodation?
We’ve got it covered here:
https://accommodation.ucas.com/article/w
hen-apply-student-accommodation
And this is a good example of the
information you can get on a university’s
website:
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/ug-
offer/registering-for-accommodation/
Student finances
You can apply for student finance NOW and
the deadline, to make sure you get your
funding in place for the start of your
course, is 19th May.
Students should ask a member of the Sixth
Form team if they have any questions, but
lots of answers can be found here:
https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/
Year 12 News
Student Leaders
Our Prefects have all excelled so far. All
who started the trial period four weeks ago
will shortly be enrolled officially. They have
been filling up their Leadership Cards by
performing duties, which can then be
swapped for gift vouchers.
Even more excitingly, the application
window to become a senior Student Leader
is now open! Prefects have until
Wednesday to apply for roles ranging from
Head Boy/Girl and Deputy Head to House
Captain and Sports Captain. Those going for
the top roles also have to submit a personal
statement or a video presentation.
Work experience
A handful of students have still not been
able to arrange a Work Experience
placement for May. We are now liaising
with their parents/carers to speed up the
process, as it must be concluded soon.
This blog contains lots of extremely useful
advice for students who are preparing for
Work Experience:
https://successatschool.org/blog/461/How-
to-prepare-for-a-work-experience-
placement
Summer Reward Scheme
We are trialling a new Reward Scheme for
our Year 12 students in the summer term.
More news on that in the next issue!
Starting on UCAS
As soon as we return from Easter, we will
hit the ground running with the process of
applying for post-18 destinations. At first,
all students will enter their information in a
UCAS application, with those who wish to
pursue apprenticeships able to switch that
content to a CV.
Students have been encouraged to create a
UCAS account and start exploring now!
Footnotes
If you're looking at going down the route of
an apprenticeship or employment after
leaving BGS, don't forget the wealth of
support that is available on Unifrog. (If you're
not sure about your login for the site, please
ask Mrs Cresswell for a reminder.)
Below is a glimpse of what is on offer there. I
would strongly encourage you to have a look
over the next week - and make sure you ask if
you have any questions!
Finding the right apprenticeship
This is the starting point for all of your
searches and advice:
Webinar: "CV and cover letter writing
masterclass"
https://www.unifrog.org/student/webinars-
past/direct/110-preview
"How to write like a boss and ace your CV"
https://www.unifrog.org/student/know-
how/featured/how-to-ace-your-cv
"How to write a winning cover letter"
https://www.unifrog.org/student/know-
how/direct/how-to-write-a-winning-cover-
letter
General

There are loads of different guides, webinars

and walk-thrus, especially in this section:

Finding the right job

"Getting started: How to find a job while
you’re at school"
https://www.unifrog.org/student/know-
how/direct/getting-started-how-to-find-a-job-
while-youre-at-school

Writing a CV and cover letter

Here is a whole section on putting together a

CV step-by-step: