V3 November 2022 - S Henderson
Thomas Tallis School – BTEC Programmes
Admissions Policy
ENTRY INTO YEAR 12
Thomas Tallis School – BTEC Programmes
Admissions Policy
ENTRY INTO YEAR 12
- We aim to offer a range of academic and vocational qualifications to our sixth form students at Level 3. Our admissions policy aims to ensure that students accepted into the sixth form are placed on appropriate courses where they are likely to succeed, and that the overall character of the sixth form is such that high standards and expectations for conduct and academic outcomes can be maintained.
- All Thomas Tallis students in year 11 who meet our entry criteria will be actively encouraged to apply for the sixth form. In order to manage the workload of admissions staff we may choose to pre-Enrol a portion of our Year 11 students who are almost certain to meet our entry criteria.
- We expect students to apply by our published deadlines. This is so that we may complete our admissions procedures in an orderly way. Further, the 2014 School Admissions Code says at 2.6 that “Admission authorities can…set academic entry criteria for their sixth forms, which must be the same for both external and internal places”. We determine admission to our Sixth Form in accordance with the following criteria.
- Achievement of 5 4-9 grades or equivalent, including Maths and English GCSEs at 4 or higher. We may in some rare cases accept students with 4 4-9 grades including either Maths or English at 4. Level 2 BTEC courses which attract points for more than one GCSE will count as a maximum of one GCSE. Other non-GCSE courses may be taken into account in borderline cases. Students we accept without a 4 in Maths or English will be entered for a retake in Maths or English as appropriate.
- Satisfactory attendance and punctuality in the lower school. We will normally expect face-to-face attendance to be above 95%. This is because we are not a remote learning centre. The pace of sixth form learning is high and our seminar/in-person teaching model is such that it is not possible for students to self-study our courses, or to catch up independently on work missed during long periods of absence. Students who have shown by their KS3 and KS4 attendance that they are best suited for study at home will be much better served by the remote teaching provision available nationally through the National Extension College, for example.
- Achievement of the minimum entry requirements for the subjects they have chosen to continue Post 16. These are reviewed from time to time. See our ‘Recommendations and Requirements’ document. d. We may in some very rare cases accept students who excel in one area of study such as Art but have only a 3 grade in Maths and English.
- That there is a suitable course available with a vacancy; group size will normally be capped at 30 but may vary depending on the nature of the subject and availability of resources.
- We also accept external applications from students in Year 11 wishing to transfer from other institutions and will publicise ourselves at local events to encourage applications. Students are invited to attend the Open Evening in the autumn term, ‘Open Afternoon’ in late spring and ‘Taster Days’ in July so that their applications are well- Page 4 of 12 informed.
- Thomas Tallis Sixth Form offers places prior to Enrolment, not specific courses. The school reserves the right to set different academic entry qualifications for entry to various courses. These are publicly available through our website and are reviewed from time to time. The school also reserves the right to the final decision about the content of a student’s curriculum, in line with our ‘Pathways’ document and also taking into account the likelihood of a student’s success in each of his or her subjects.
- If the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the sixth form or a subject is oversubscribed then the following criteria to select from those students who meet our academic entry requirements will be used in the order stated: a. Students with an EHCP naming Thomas Tallis on the plan. b. Looked-after students and previously looked-after children who have been adopted or become subject to a child arrangement or special guardianship order, immediately following having been looked after. c. Children who have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. d. Students already in Year 11 at Thomas Tallis. This is because it is a reasonable expectation on the part of Year 7 parents that their child’s journey through the schooling that Tallis offers will be a seven year one, from Year 7 to year 13. e. Students already in Year 12 at Thomas Tallis. f. Students or their immediate family member with a chronic medical condition or social care need that can only be met if the student ands a particular Post 16 centre. Applicants need to set out the reasons why Thomas Tallis School can best meet needs and the implications for the child or immediate family member if a place was not obtained at the Post 16 centre. Evidence of the condition or need must be submitted with the application, such as a letter from a registered health professional or practitioner i.e. a doctor or social worker. g. Students who attend another Royal Greenwich secondary school. h. Students based on home to school distance. Greenwich LEA calculate this for us. i. Students from other centres who are restarting Year 12.
- Applicants to Thomas Tallis Post 16 Centre apply via the online application form available on the Post 16 website. In the main we will not interview external candidates but will judge suitability based on reference and information provided by a candidate’s school. We may choose to interview marginal candidates and candidates who seem to us to have made unusual course choices.
- If parents/carers are considering whether Thomas Tallis School should be named on their child’s Education Health Care Plan, the school should be involved in the appropriate review. If we think our provision will be inadequate for the child’s needs, or there is evidence that admitting the applicant would have a detrimental impact on the learning of other students, we will raise a concern. Where an EHCP has been agreed naming Thomas Tallis School, we will automatically offer a place, provided the student meets the academic entry requirements for the Sixth Form as detailed on our website and elsewhere. Page 5 of 12
- We welcome applicants from students with mental or physical disabilities and/or mental or physical health problems and will make reasonable adjustments to our provision so that students are enabled to study with us. All applications are measured against the same criteria for entry. We expect students and parents of students to be frank with us about a student’s needs, just as we will be frank about whether we think we can meet these needs: we need to know what a student’s difficulties are or are likely to be so that we can discuss appropriate support. We may therefore from time to time ask to meet a student who has declared a difficulty so that we can risk-assess an application. Any information we are given about a disability or health problem will be dealt with confidentially and sensitively. We do have a duty of care to all staff and students and cannot guarantee to provide for the needs of every individual. If we think our provision will be inadequate for a child’s needs, or there is evidence that admitting the applicant would have a detrimental impact on the learning of other students, we will not offer a place. 1
- We have a ‘Fitness to Study’ policy which we use to determine whether students who become significantly unwell after admission may continue as students with us.
- Applications from overseas students whose home is not in the UK or who have non-UK qualifications will be considered on an individual basis. Normally such applicants must expect to have an address within our catchment – see 6.g., above.
- All students are asked to select provisional course preferences on application. This is not a firm commitment and they will be able to reconsider their options at Enrolment after the GCSE results have been published. All students must attend our Enrolment in person (or agree with us in advance to send a representative to it) unless they are a pre-Enrolled student who has met their provisional offer. All internal students will be interviewed to discuss their intended pathway (laid out in our Pathways document) and so that we can offer guidance with regard to future progression.
- Applications received by the published deadline will be considered first. Late applications (those submitted after the published deadline) will be considered after all on-time applications unless exceptional circumstances merit earlier consideration. We may give such applicants a lower priority than those received on time. We may choose to speak to late applicants only after the start of the academic year once the availability of places is known.
- To remain on roll, all students in the sixth form in Year 12 or Year 13 must study a minimum of three A-level equivalent courses in each year of study, and no student will remain on roll with fewer than three courses in the curriculum (but see 18 below). If in Year 14 each student must study enough courses to mean that at the end of Year 14 they will have completed a minimum of three A2- equivalent courses. Except in the case of looked-after children or children with an EHCP, the sixth form will not admit students to Year 15.
- The school reserves the right to remove students from individual courses where a student’s approach to the course falls below Tallis’s high standards. These standards are laid out in our Disciplinary Policy, which also explains the grounds on which we may permanently exclude students from the sixth form entirely. The school will, where Page 6 of 12 possible, offer alternative courses if we wish to remove a child from a particular course, but, particularly mid-year, it may not be possible to do so. Removal from a course will normally be discussed in advance with parents and/or carers, and a chance given to reach minimum standards before removal occurs. 16. The school will make every reasonable attempt to contact parents where there are concerns about a student’s progress, attendance or behaviour. If a parent does not respond to our phone calls, texts, email or letters than we will proceed without parental input. We will only deal with those who hold parental responsibility or their consistent representative. While we are generally happy to work with families where parents do not live in the same household and we have worked collaboratively with the resident parent, we will not necessarily review decisions upon the return of a previously-absent parent. We do this in order best to support our student and so that measured and wise decisions may be made calmly with those who will be responsible for working with the student and the school consistently to enable success.
- The school reserves the right to remove students from BTEC courses where a student has failed a course in-year because they have not passed a core unit. If a student fails a BTEC core unit it is unclear what purpose would be served by them staying on our roll, as no qualification can be awarded at the end of the period of study, and we do not have more accessible alternatives than BTEC in our course offer. We will therefore generally advise such students to leave Tallis