Sixth Form

The current entry criteria for Larkmead 6^th form is at least 5 GCSE’s or their equivalent, at grades 9 to 4, together with excellent records of attendance and behaviour.

The majority of students will be offered a 2 year, 3 subject ‘A’ level option package. However some students will be allowed to take 4 (or 5) subjects, where it is felt to be appropriate and where there is an already viable subject with capacity available. Likewise some students will be encouraged to follow a combination of A Level subjects and Level 3 BTec courses that will be offered in partnership with Abingdon and Witney College. Before making any final decisions about choice of courses, students are offered an induction programme, face to face discussions with subject specialists and if required 1:1 discussions with the Director of Learning

The AS programme will no longer be offered to most students. The exception to this will be where a student indicates, by the end of term 2, that they either intend to leave school at the end of year 12 or drop a course. These students will be offered the AS exam option but students will need to undertake a reasonable amount of independent study if they are to be successful.

For students joining the sixth form without a grade 5 in either GCSE Maths or English, lessons will be put on to help students improve their grades. For students who already have achieved a grade 4, they will be strongly advised to retake the exams, but for students without a grade 4 in either subject, this will be a compulsory part of their academic programme.

Running alongside the academic programme that students will follow are other elements of our curriculum. All students will follow a Complementary Studies programme as well as a Personal Development Curriculum. Within these programmes students will cover topics that fit under the following headings:

Physical and mental wellbeing; Keeping myself and my friends safe; Careers; Study skills; Developing my values and my character; Current affairs

All year 12 students undertake a week of work experience during the academic year with other opportunities for work experience being offered to students who have either reduced timetables or who need particular experiences in order to progress in a chosen field once they leave school.

Details of the subjects Larkmead offer can be found by clicking on the button below. You can also visit the Abingdon Consortium website for more details.

All students are part of a tutor group made up of students from both year 12 and year 13. Students register with their tutor twice a day and in this time, they foster strong relationships with their tutor. Support is also available from the Director of Learning, the School Nurse and the school’s Pastoral Support Department as and when it is needed. Additionally the school has access to counselling support and works closely with The Abingdon Bridge.

In terms of academic support, all students have at least 4 fixed assessment and monitoring points in each academic year, which provides parents and students with up to date information on progress and attitude to learning. In addition to this there are 2 Parents’ Evenings and a target setting day. Where a student falls below the expected standard additional support and monitoring will be provided either by the tutor or the Director of Learning, which may take the form of extra study periods, mentoring or parental meetings.

At Larkmead we are rightly proud of all of our students’ academic achievements both as a school and as part of the Abingdon 16:19 Consortium. Our examination results are always at least in line with national expectations and very often above, demonstrating progress above expectation. Our more able students produce outstanding results leading to them securing places at both Oxbridge and Russell Group universities.

Virtually all students leaving school do so with a clear career path, with a majority of students progressing to university and many others taking up higher level apprenticeships. Careers support is offered to all students regardless of their intended destination.  All students applying to university will have at least two, but often many more, one-to-one sessions with the Director of Learning who will support them in their application. Students not applying to university will all have at least one appointment with an independent careers advisor, currently one of the Adviza team. Additional support also comes from the school’s own careers specialist Mrs Christiansen who works with students on a regular basis to help them find opportunities as well as helping them complete Cv’s and application forms.

We are very proud of the range of subjects and courses that last year’s year 13 students have gone on to study at university.

76% of students have places at university with a further 10% planning on applying for a 2021 university place. All other students are currently in local employment.

Of the students who have either started university this autumn or who have confirmed places for a deferred start in 2021, 66% of students have places at Russell Group universities.

Some of the areas of study that have proved to most popular with Larkmead students are in the fields of Business, Finance and Economics, Humanities based subjects, Maths and other STEM subjects, Media, Film and other creative areas such as Dance, Acting and musical Theatre.

Most lessons are classroom based and for most subjects students will receive 9 hours a fortnight of classroom teaching; this means that most students will have a number of periods per week when they do not have a lesson commitment, this time is to be used for private study within Larkmead School. A designated study room timetable will be published at the start of the year and students can choose to work in the study room or other suitable locations in school e.g. the Learning Resource Centre. For some students who struggle to manage their time and work commitments, they will be directed to particular areas of the school where they are expected to study. It should also be noted that students are expected to do at least 4 hours per subject per week of independent study beyond the classroom.

Often some of the most memorable learning experiences students have occur beyond the classroom and at Larkmead to try to enrich every students learning experience by providing these additional opportunities. Some of the activities our students took part in are pictured below.

• Work experience
• London & the Design Museum
• New York – VPA
• Geography Field Trip
• Mock Uni Day
• High Sheriff /Law Lecture
• Photography trip London
• University visits
• Pantomime
• Cooking skills
• Ski Trip