Welcome to the Easter edition of our newsletter. The last term has been very busy

with a range of events, examinations and revision for students.

After half term, students in both year 12 and 13 sat their mock exams. This was a very

pressurised situation for students and we were very pleased to see the level of revision

and preparation, evidenced by some of the excellent results achieved. As always, the

mock exams are a good indicator of successes and areas for development and teachers

will be working closely with students to ensure that they achieve their full potential in

the actual examinations, both this summer and next.

For year 12, this was the first taster of an A Level examination in these conditions. For

Phase 1 students, there is still much content to be covered for the exams, which won't

be until next summer. Nevertheless, the content already covered may not now be

returned to until year 13, and so thorough notes and regular revision are necessary.

For those year 12s studying phase 2 and 3 subjects, there is far less time left until the

AS examinations, and all students should ensure significant revision is taking place over

the Easter holidays. BTEC students have had many deadlines and should ensure they

fully utilise second draft deadlines to ensure work is tweaked and perfected before any

final deadlines.

When we come back after Easter, year 12 students have 23 days left until their mock

exam period.

Year 13 found the mock exams to be challenging and revealing and we have been

particularly impressed to witness the studious and mature approach adopted by many.

Teachers are offering many opportunities for revision and all students should be taking

advantage of these. After Easter, year 13 are only in school for lessons and should

therefore be creating full and thorough revision timetables in order to ensure that no

study opportunities are missed. We would recommend that parents go through these

with their children and a friendly call on the landline at 8.40, when students should be

out of bed, wouldn't go amiss!

As always, students in both years who require further support and intervention will be

provided with information regarding this. For some students who are underachieving,

we know that study in school during all free lessons is preferable and we would like to

remind you that all students are welcome to attend this.

Welcome Sixth Form Team:

Sally Kay— Head of Sixth Form

Alison Moore—

Student Support Manager

Helen Holmes-

Higgin—Sixth Form Administrator

Nicky Hubble—UCAS

Coordinator

Lucy Monger—

Strategic Lead for Sixth Form

March 2016

Highlights:

Welcome

Diary Dates

Before the exams

Interventions

Revision tips

Year 12 timeline

Year 12 into Year 13 Entry Criteria

Year 12 Higher Education

University & College Open Days

Year 13 University guidance, including finance

Student Achievement

Senior Sixth Form Students

Active Citizenship

EPQ

Extended Learning Day

Community hours / Charity days

Leavers’ Day 2016

Final Words

n e w s l e t t e r

Page 2 Sixth Form

Wednesday 22 June Year 11 into year 12 Sixth Form Induction Day

Wednesday 29 June Year 11 into year 12 Induction (for those external students unable to attend on 22 June)

Friday 22 July Last day of Summer term

Year 12:

Friday 13 May Last year 12 teaching day

Monday 16 May Study leave begins

Monday 16 May First year 12 exam

Year 13:

Last teaching day Thursday 26 May

Friday 27 May Year 13 Leavers’ Assembly, Champagne Reception and May Ball (see above)

Study leave begins after Half Term

Wednesday 8 June A2 exams start (one Further Maths exam on Wednesday 18 May and resits beforehand)

Examination time-tables have been given out in COOL sessions. This can also be found on the school website under parents/exams

http://4dlla52h0g1u3fws8s25nzsb.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Summer-2016-Exam-Timetable-V070316.pdf

When we come back after Easter, Year 13 students have 32 working days left of their school careers!

In addition to the many examinations, revision sessions and lessons taking place, students' learning has

been enriched by a range of events this half term. Our extended learning day on 8 March saw year 12

students cover a range of sessions including wider subject knowledge development, work experience

health and safety and careers and university talks. Our year 13 students took part in a range of fantastic

trips including the V&A museum, Natural History Museum, Olympic Park, Go Ape and Science Museum.

In the penultimate week of term we hosted the Higher Education Evening on 16 March which marks the

official launch of our university programme for year 12. The presentation is available on the post 16 area

of the school website and we would encourage all students and parents who were unable to attend to

view this. On 17 March 150 students and 6 staff went to the Higher Education Convention at Brunel Uni-

versity and students returned brimming with enthusiasm and laden with prospectuses! The hard work now

needs to go up a gear in order to get those all important grades.

We know that some students have already decided that they do not wish to pursue the university route,

and Mrs Atherton will shortly begin her work with this group to explore other options available, particularly

Apprenticeships and other work based training opportunities. We will be holding an information evening

later in the year regarding alternative pathways other than university.

On 18 March we hosted our Head Boy and Girl charity day which raised money for Hector's House, a local

charity supporting young people with mental health difficulties. We were thrilled to welcome Robert and

Belinda Stringer and Donna Wright from the charity; who delivered a COOL time session to year 13 re-

garding the charity and its work and encouraging students to seek help and advice when they are facing

difficulties. Here at Tring School Sixth Form, we know students' mental health is of primary importance

and we wish to encourage all parents to discuss the topic openly with their children.

We will be saying goodbye to our year 13s on Friday 27 May and details of the Leavers' Assembly, Cham-

pagne Reception and May Ball can also be found on the last page of the newsletter. Further details will be

sent out to parents and students.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our students the very best of luck with their revision

and exams and remind them that we are always here to offer support and advice through this challenging

period in their education. Thank you for taking the time to read our very busy newsletter. Please do let us

know if you have any queries or comments.

Diary Dates

Page 3 Sixth Form

We offer an intensive and controlled intervention group that runs every year prior to the

summer examinations. It is open to year 12 and year 13 with some students opting in and

others strongly advised to attend. This group is the final push with regards to intervention and

is a structured approach to revision and exam preparation. Students register daily in the Sixth

Form Centre and use the registration time to carry out revision activities, looking at different

revision techniques. They sign in during all their frees and follow a personalised revision plan

and have one-to-ones to review progress and identify areas of support needed. Students also

complete an intervention plan on Google Classroom. We hope that this provides additional

support and guidance for students in a positive environment.

We spend a great deal of time working with these students and very positive relationships are

built to support them in the final run up to the exams.

Throughout the year, a number of students in both years have been following this intervention

plan. Support will continue during study leave and students are welcome to attend right up

until their last exam.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you require any further information.

Making the most of your time before the summer exams

In order to maximise potential, students need to adhere to a few basic guidelines.

Ensure they are putting in the

required number of study

hours per subject. This means

at least 15 hours per week (3

subjects) and 20 hours per

week (4 subjects). All

students should by now have

both their in school and out of

school study plans firmly

organised and be using them.

S t u d e n t s s h o u l d b e

completing additional work

for each subject and not just

the set homework. This

should include wider reading

(from class text books and

journals), completing past

papers from the exam board

websites and making revision

resources.

If needed, students should be

seeking help outside of

lessons, this may be emailing

staff, seeing them at breaks

a n d l u n c h t i m e s a n d

organising times to catch up

on topics which they don’t

fully understand.

Students must ensure they are

organised! Keeping a diary for

homework and coursework

deadlines, keeping lesson

notes up to date and well

organised for revis ion

purposes.

Students should also be

regularly visiting “Moodle”.

Subjects have lesson

resources and revision

materials for students to

utilise.

Working too hard?

We are aware that we have many students who are working to their full capacity and also

taking part in huge amounts of extra curricular activities. For these students it is also

important that they have some much needed “downtime” in order to relax and recuperate.

The best starting point is to gather together all

your subject specifications; these can be found

on the exam board websites, or from your

subject teachers. The specification is an outline

of everything you should know for the exam and

is a document produced by the exam board.

Once you have hard copies of these you will

need three highlighters to start prioritising your

knowledge.

Firstly, go through the specification with your

‘green’ highlighter, identify all the topics/areas

that you have a secure knowledge and

understanding of and are hoping come up in the

exam! Next, use your orange highlighter to

identify topics you understand but are less

secure on. Lastly, using your pink highlighter, go

through and highlight the remaining topics which

should be your areas of weakness and that you

need to prioritise for revision.

For each subject you can now make a priority

revision list, starting with your pink topics, then

orange then green.

Next, set aside a revision file with dividers for

each subject, at the front of each section put

your highlighted specification and your priority

revision list. Now every time you go to revise

you will have a clear starting point and a tick list

to track your progress. So next, how to revise...

There are lots of different methods of revision and students

need to explore these techniques to see which work best for

them. When revising, always look at your revision priority list,

pick a topic and go from there, gradually working your way

down your list and ticking off the areas you have revised.

Effective note taking; using text books (providing they are

your own!) read the chapter related to your priority revision list

and as you read highlight key terms, techniques, dates etc.

Once you have completed the chapter go back through your

highlighted points and transfer these details to your revision

cards / mind maps / post its.

Revision cards; Using small postcards or index cards write out

key terms, dates and small chunks of information. Firstly it is a

good idea to carry out this task ‘closed book’ (from knowledge

you have retained) and then embellish these and fill any gaps

with additional information from the text book or lesson notes.

Mind maps: Take a topic and write this in the middle of the

page, then add as much information as possible on all of the

smaller sub topics around the page. Think of all the information

which links to your original topic and related areas. Try to do

this from memory ‘closed book’ before adding to your notes

from the text book / lesson notes. Consider images and use of

colour—there are many mind mapping tools online.

Post its; these are great for remembering key terms, equations

and dates for the exam. Simply write these on a post it and

stick around a mirror or on the back of a toilet door, so you can

read and reflect on them every time you look at yourself or visit

the bathroom!

Sixth Form Page 4

Now you know what to revise and how to go about it, you need to know when to revise. All students should have a

plan to follow. This ties in nicely with their revision lists and saves time procrastinating! Students should identify not

only when to revise but also what subject to revise. Students should also consider their actual examination dates

and think about how they prioritise their subjects. Whilst this can all be done manually an excellent revision tool is

getrevising.com

The website is very easy to navigate and is free to use. Once exam dates are entered and students have prioritised

their subjects they will need to enter their daily commitments, from school to extracurricular activities. Whilst this is

quite time consuming, it is well worth the effort. Once all data is entered, the website will generate a full revision

timetable up until all exams are completed.

With the exam season looming all students in Year 11, 12 and 13 should now have begun revision. Many students

have the right intention when it comes to revision, but are unsure where to start. In the following pages we have

provided a quick guide to point students in the right direction.

10. DON’T DESPAIR—All things will

pass—and so will you, if you revise

sensibly, don’t panic and don’t skimp.

Page 5

Mug up on your revision timetable—Andrew Baker from The Telegraph suggests 10 tips to get the best results from exam preparation

1. DONT PANIC—Sound advice from

the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to

the Galaxy. Last-minute flapping will do

you no good at all, and the time to

prevent it is now. So...

2. PLAN AHEAD—Think of the relative

amounts of work that you need to do for

each topic. Only you will know this: be

honest. Don’t be tempted to spend more

time than you need to on subjects you

enjoy at the expense of those you don’t.

3. STOCK UP—Lack of supplies is a

feeble excuse. Have all the textbooks

and term notes that you need, but also

buy in the necessary pens, paper, folders

and so on. Don’t forget marker pens,

sticky notes and larger sheets of paper

(see 6).

4. HIT THE GROUND RUNNING—You

are at your most mentally alert first thing

in the morning. Start with the subjects

you find most challenging and aim to get

the bulk of the day’s hard work out of

the way before lunch.

5. THE KNOWLEDGE NIGHTCAP—If

you have planned carefully, the evenings

should be free. But many actors find

that lines learnt last thing at night stay in

the mind, and it may be useful to

commit a few quotes or formulas to

memory just before turning in. Don’t

overdo this: aim to build up a stock of

snippets a little at a time.

6. POSTER—AND POST-IT—

POWER—Use marker pens and A3

sheets to compile reminder lists of

verb endings, date sequences,

primes... Whatever needs to be

committed to memory, and stick them

around your room. Use Post-it notes

to apply the most stubborn to

cupboard and fridge doors. You can

programme mobiles and MP3 players

to flash up reminders in the same

way.

7. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK—at

sensible intervals. Try 45 minutes’

work at a time, with 10 minutes off in

between.

8. REWARD YOURSELF—But make

sure you earn it. Have your favourite

biscuits or fruit for your breaks. Stock

up on movies, music or programmes

downloaded for the evenings.

9. GO OFFLINE—Switch. Your.

Mobile. Off. Texting and Twittering

about revision are no substitutes for

revising. Use laptops and PCs strictly

as required, and don’t drift off on to

Tumblr or Facebook.

Page 5 Sixth Form

Parental

Guidance

Try to

establish—in

consultation with

teachers if

possible—the

scale of the task

ahead, and

realistic

objectives for

your children.

If necessary,

and feasible,

book courses

and tutors. Talk

to parents of

classmates: you

could pool

resources to

share a tutor.

Provide copious

amounts of

comfort food

and sensible

amounts of

snacks. Try to

keep

distractions to a

minimum.

Advise,

encourage, be

available but

don’t loiter, lurk

or threaten.

Regular testing

(of limited

scope) is a good

way to keep in

touch with

progress.

Don’t bang on

about how it was

in your day.

Keep mum,

open the

biscuits and put

the kettle on.

Spring Achievement Trackers

Page 6 Sixth Form

Year 12 and 13 Achievement Trackers will be issued this week. These will have provided a good reflection of

students’ predicted grades and can assist with revision. If any parents have not seen their son or daughter’s Achievement Tracker please contact the Sixth Form Office and we will send a copy home.

Year 12 Timeline Monday 16 May - study leave begins. For many students this will involve revision for AS examinations as in

previous years. During this time of A Level transition, it is important that we ensure the needs of all learners are met. For some students (those on all Phase 1 or BTEC subjects) there will be no examinations during this time, as

they will not have AS exams.

We would like to make the expectation clear to students that this period of time is to be used for study. Phase 1 and

BTEC subjects will be setting work during this time and revision will need to take place for the internal Phase 1 mocks at the end of June.

Monday 6 June - students return as Year 13. Some subjects will still have examinations, however the majority will

be finished by this point.

Monday 13 June - students will go on work experience week. We wish students to use this week to gain a really

good understanding of the careers they wish to pursue. The week should act as a motivating catalyst for hard work for the remainder of the A Level course.

Week commencing Monday 20 June - students return to school and Phase 1 subjects continue thorough revision

for the internal exams.

Monday 27 June and Monday 4 July - Phase 1 internal examinations will take place. These exams will indicate

the students' ability to progress to the next phase of of year 13. Any students not achieving a D in these exams will not be permitted to continue with that course into year 13.

All students studying four subjects are expected to continue that study until they receive their final results in August for both phase 2 and 3 AS and Phase 1 internal exams. Although students can seem adamant about the subjects

they wish to pursue in Year 13 and those they wish to drop, the results always throw up many surprises; therefore it

is in a student’s best interest to keep all their options open and continue with all subjects until results.

We realise that over the next half term, students are under considerable pressure but would urge them to take every

opportunity over the next few weeks to see teaching staff and get any additional support that they may need before the exams begin. As ever we are always here to help.

Higher Education and Careers: The Year 12 Careers Day, UCAS Convention at

Brunel University and the Higher Education Evening have hopefully got students thinking about life after Tring School and their next steps. This programme of support will continue after the summer examinations when we

deliver a number of assemblies. All the students have been encouraged to carry out the following actions: Research universities and courses using ucas.co.uk and Unifrog

Browse prospectuses in our Sixth Form careers corner, the Learning Resource Centre or Connexions

Start planning university open days (see below)

Start thinking about their Personal Statements – what have they done that is relevant to the course they wish

to study? Register for the UCAS card to ensure they are kept up to date, receive a quarterly UCAS publication and

receive discounts at outlets such as Topshop and Dominos

Our programme will continue through the Summer term and this will include Personal Statement workshops as well as all the necessary support for completing UCAS applications and thinking about options for Higher Education.

Centigrade Online: Some students may already have an idea of the subject and even the universities that they may wish to study at, others may have no idea. A useful start is Centigrade Online (All year 12 students have been

given this information). It is a higher education selection programme which matches a student’s abilities and interests to a degree or HND course.

Sixth Form Page 7

Year 12 into 13 Entry Criteria We want to draw both parents' and students' attention to the subject entry criteria for Year 13.

The aim of the entry criteria for students is not to shut any doors but to ensure we are setting

students up to achieve in Year 13. From prior data, we are all too aware that achieving particular grades at AS in some subjects means that students will struggle to attain a grade in Year 13. For

Phase 1 subjects it is imperative that students are achieving the D grade equivalent, with any

coursework where relevant. We want all of our students to be successful and we also hope that the entry criteria will help motivate them to achieve as highly as possible in this examination period.

In order for students to continue into Year 13, they must be studying 3 subjects. It is imperative

that students put the time into revision for ALL their subjects to make sure that they reach the Year 13 entry requirements. Students will not be able to stay at Tring School with only 2

subjects.

To allow sufficient time for moderation of the marking of the internal phase 1 exams, results for these examinations will be issued on results day, 18 August, alongside AS results.

Should students or

parents require any

further clarification or details

please do not hesitate to

contact either the Sixth

Form Office or individual departments.

Subject Subject Requirements to study in Year 13

Art Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Biology Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Business Studies Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Business BTEC Pass in all Year 12 modules.

Chemistry Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Creative Media Production BTEC Pass in all Year 12 modules.

D & T – Food Technology Grade E or above in the internal exam.

D & T – Product Design Grade E or above at AS and within 2 grades of ALIS+ grade.

D & T Textiles Grade E or above at AS and within 2 grades of ALIS+ grade.

Drama Students need to achieve a D grade or above to continue onto A2, however given the nature of the course, a lack of commitment to the group work element could result in you being asked to leave the course.

Economics Grade D or above in the internal exam.

English Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Film Studies Grade D or above at AS, however if a student consistently fails to apply themselves and fails to achieve ALIS target they will be asked to leave the course.

Further Maths Grade B or above in AS Maths.

Geography Grade D or above at AS.

Government & Politics Grade D or above at AS and within 2 grades of their ALIS target.

History Grade D or above at AS.

Leisure Studies Grade E or above at AS. Any student achieving an E grade will be placed on contract with regular meetings to monitor progress.

Mathematics Grade D or above in AS Maths

Music (HHS) Grade D or above at AS.

Philosophy & Ethics Grade D or above at AS.

Photography Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Physical Education Grade E or above in the internal exam.

Physical Education BTEC At least a pass in all year 12 units.

Physics Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Psychology Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Sociology Grade D or above in the internal exam.

Travel & Tourism Grade E or above at AS. Any student achieving an E grade will be placed on contract with regular meetings to monitor progress.

Year 12—Higher Education

We were delighted to see so many parents and students at our Higher Education Presentation Evening on 16

March, we hope that you found the presentation informative.

The full presentation can be viewed on the Post-16 area of the school website under “University Advice”.

http://4dlla52h0g1u3fws8s25nzsb.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Higher-Education-

Presentation-for-Parents-and-Students-March-2016.pdf

Parents—if you haven’t received the UCAS Parent Guide, please ask your child to collect one from the Sixth Form

Office, or download it from the parents’ section of the UCAS website. There you can also sign up to the Parents’

UCAS Newsletter.

Students— You should all have received The Little Guide to HE—again extra copies are available in the Sixth Form

Office.

The UCAS HE Convention on 17 March was excellent and we are sure it really got the students thinking about fu-

ture pathways. Research carried out now is vital to help decisions that need to be made over the next couple of

terms. We will be supporting the students next term with COOL sessions on the UCAS process, Personal Statement

writing and completing UCAS applications. This support will continue into Year 13. Subject Teachers and Form Tu-

tors will also start writing paragraphs for student references from the start of May!

Sixth Form Page 8

For many students, thinking about Higher Education whilst still in Year 12 is daunting and something that many of the students

feel unprepared for. In light of this, we have run our Higher Education programme over the last term. We are encouraging our

Year 12 students to start some independent research now and to ensure that they start attending university open days from April

onwards.

Securing places in Higher Education continues to be very competitive and we want to ensure that our students are fully prepared.

If your son or daughter doesn’t know where to begin, the Centigrade Test (£20 at www.centigradeonline.co.uk) is an excellent

starting point. If they have some idea, the course search at www.ucas.co.uk is a really useful and informative facility.

UCAS have also just launched a new career finder tool—visit https://careerfinder.ucas.com/ It offers a searchable database of work or training opportunities for students in school, or applying to HE, including:

Employer sponsored degrees

School leaver opportunities

Apprenticeships

Work experience

Placement schemes

Insight days

The programme that we run includes the following:

Careers Day Wednesday 8 March

Higher Education Convention on Thursday 17 March

Four COOL sessions covering the UCAS process, personal statement writing and UCAS applications

Berkhamsted Higher Education and Gap Year Fair on 26 April

UCAS Website

One to ones

Researching universities and Open days

Use of careers corner and Connexions

Advice, guidance and support for writing Personal Statements

Mock interviews

Oxbridge Convention 22 March

Unifrog https://www.unifrog.org/

This support and intensity of focus on life after Tring School will increase throughout the next eighteen months. In addition, we run extra sessions to support those students wishing to apply to Oxford or Cambridge. If your son or daughter hasn’t either been identified by us or identified themselves for this process and is thinking of making an application to either of these universi-ties, please let us know.

Advice & Guidance: Interviews in Connexions with a Personal Advisor can be arranged to discuss career plans. Students need to

see Mrs Griffiths in Connexions to arrange an appointment, or email satherton@tringschool.org

Higher Education Evening 16 March

Page 9 Sixth Form

All students have access to a tool the school utilises to help them compare courses and Universities as well as apprenticeships. Unifrog helps students to widen their horizons through its intelligent course suggestion tool. For example, when a student types in ‘History’, Unifrog suggests ‘History with French’ and also 'Archaeology and Anthropology'. Unifrog also matches universities' entry requirements to students' likely performance, and encourages students to consider universities which are in the top, middle, and bottom of their range. The result? Sensible university choices! Students can see how every course in the UK ranks against each other on 17 factors - everything from Fees to Distance from home to Accommodation cost to the Average starting salary of graduates from that exact course. Students can easily see how courses compare to each other, which means they can work out exactly which courses suit them best. Students can also book University Open Days, an essential part of the decision making process, directly on the site. It should save students a lot of time when researching and comparing universities and courses so we would recommend utilising this tool as soon as possible. The apprenticeship tool on this site also enables students to investigate the kinds of opportunities available in different industries. They can search for vacancies and filter these by distance and salary etc. This is a live job search site and is updated daily so it is an incredibly useful tool if students are interested in an apprenticeship.

Year 12 Study Leave and beyond.... Expectations after exams

Due to the variation in exams, with some students having them all in a very close time frame and others having them spread through the entire exam period, there are some expectations for those students who find themselves with additional spare time. Some students will have no exams within this time and Phase 1 subjects will be setting work.

When they return as Year 13 students, we will capitalise on the summer term with no imminent exams and get ahead with the UCAS process. Working hard on UCAS through the summer term will set students up for September and reduce lots of stress as the deadlines get closer. Below are the tasks which would really benefit students and we would advise them to start completing these as soon as their exams finish;

Research on Unifrog (please see below)

Organise open days, either whilst still on study leave or on Saturdays if possible to reduce the amount of curriculum time lost.

Research different universities and courses – UCAS

University and Colleges Open Days

Page 10 Sixth Form

How many open days should I

attend?

I’d advise attending as many open

d a y s a s p o s s i b l e . E a ch

establishment has its own unique

atmosphere and customs—and

size matters too. It is only by

visiting that you can gauge what

might suit you best.

How do I know when open

days are taking place?

Dates of open days can be found

on the Ucas website at

www.ucas.com in the “List of

universities and colleges”. You

can contact universities and

colleges directly for more

information.

Do I need to book in

advance?

Once you’ve decided which

universities or colleges you want

to visit, you’ll probably need to

register to attend. This is done

through the university or college,

usually via its website.

What can I expect on the day?

Study the planned schedule of the

day on the website; deciding in

advance will ensure you make the

most of your time. You’ll be given a

tour of the campus and a chance to

see lecture theatres, libraries and IT

suites, laboratories, and sports

facilities. Student halls or

residence, bars and the Students’

Union are a must.

A variety of talks will be on offer,

including subject-specific talks and

others covering more general issues

such as fees and financial support

or accommodation.

All of this will give you a feeling for

what life at that particular institution

might be like. You will also meet

current students. Ask them any

questions you have about your

potential course and about student

life outside lecture theatres and

laboratories. No doubt this will give

you a vital behind-the-scenes

perspective on what life is really like

and may be rather different from

the marketing messages on its

website.

Get to know the area.

Spend some time exploring the

city or town, away from the

campus. Can you imagine

yourself there for three or four

years?

What next?

After the open day, review all

the information you’ve gained

from the visit. If you have any

further questions, contact the

university or college again.

They’ll be happy to help and it

shows you have a genuine

interest in studying with them.

Most students agree that

attending an open day enables

them to make an instinctive

decision as to whether or not a

university or college would suit

them. It helps them gather

information on all aspects of

university life and find out what

it’s really like to live and study

there.

Open Days: Universities have already begun to run Open Days. There are many in April and May and also numerous in June, July and September. We recommend that students visit as many universities as they can over the summer term, then visit the remainder or revisit over September and October. Please check individual university websites and also www.ucas.com/students/beforeyouapply/opendays. University and college open days offer a snapshot of student life, says Trudi Woodhouse from The Telegraph’s Education Supplement (see below).

Above all, remember you can actually visit universities at any time. If it’s impossible for you to attend

specific open days, you can always drive to a university or college on another day. You can look

around, speak to students, porters, even a tutor if contacted beforehand.

Any day can be an open day with a little determination and planning.

Please note that no student may take more than four days off school to visit universities and where

possible students should try to visit on a Saturday, but if this isn’t possible, please try to visit on a day

when you have a lighter timetable and avoid missing the same subject several times.

At the start of March we delivered information and guidance to all Year 13 students who have

made applications to universities through UCAS. They should all now be receiving offers/replied

from their chosen institutions. These offers are only official once students have received an email

or letter from UCAS. The following decisions can be made:

Interview: The University will contact you directly.

Conditional Offer: This means that the student has been offered a place if they meet certain

conditions. For example Tariff points (e.g. 200 points from three A levels) or grades in named

subjects (e.g. B in Chemistry etc).

Unconditional Offer: This means that the student has met all the entry requirements and the

university is happy to accept them.

Unsuccessful application: The University has decided not to offer a place.

No decisions have to be made until all universities and colleges have sent their decisions to UCAS.

We advise all our students to think very carefully before deciding to accept an offer, including an

insurance offer; they will be spending the next three of four years there!

Replying to offers: Students have to make two decisions – a Firm acceptance (their preferred

university) and an Insurance acceptance (in the event that they don’t get their preferred

university).

Firm acceptance (F): If accepting a conditional offer, the student is agreeing to attend the

course at that university, providing they meet the conditions of the offer.

Insurance acceptance (I): Students can accept an offer as an insurance choice. This acts as a

back up if they do not meet the conditions of the firm choice. Students should be sure that they

would like to go to their insurance choice as, if they do not meet the requirements of the firm

choice, but meet the requirements of the insurance, they are committing to that course. It is

probably safer to choose an insurance that has slightly lower requirements.

Decline (D): Once the student has decided which offer to accept firmly and which (if any) as an

insurance, they must decline all other offers. If they do not wish to accept any of their offers they

must decline them all. They will then become eligible for Extra or Clearing, depending on their

circumstances.

Students who have received all their offers by 31 March must ensure that they reply to those

offers by 4 May.

Page 11 Sixth Form

Year 13—University Guidace

Extra: UCAS Extra is available to students who have made their 5 choices, received decisions

from all those choices and have either had no offers and/or declined all offers. Extra will list

courses at universities where there are spaces available. Extra opened on 25 February and clos-

es on 16 July. Students may only apply to one course at a time.

National newspapers will publish vacancies throughout Extra every month.

Clearing: Clearing will open on 18 August.

Adjustment: Adjustment will open on 18 August. Additional information is available at the UCAS

website.

For more information for both parents and students on the above go to www.ucas.com.

https://www.ucas.com/sites/default/files/ucas-extra-flowchart.pdf

Page 12 Sixth Form

Every student going to university needs to complete an online application or they will not

get any financial support from the Government!

Applications are open and the deadline for completing applications is 31 May. It is the

students’ responsibility to ensure that they complete this application. Any

questions on student finance should be directed to Student Finance England.

Student Finance England will help work out the financial support that a student will

receive, they apply through this website for finance and it can then be tracked online.

Students are eligible for:

Tuition Fee Loan: Universities may charge a maximum of £9,000 for 2016/2017 tuition

fees. Students may apply for a loan to cover these fees (which will be paid directly to the

university). This loan must be repaid (see below).

Maintenance Loan: to help with accommodation and other living costs (how much

depends on where you live and study and your household income. The amount you can

borrow depends on your household income, where you live and when you start the

course. Please be aware that the Maintenance grant has been abolished!

The maximum Maintenance Loan available for students starting their course in

2016/2017 is:

Up to £6,904 if you are living at home

Up to £8,200 if you are living away from home outside of London

Up to £10,702 if you are living away from home in London

Up to £9,391 if you spend a year of a UK course studying abroad

The Maintenance Loan must be repaid by the student once he/she is earning more than

£21,000 a year if students start their course in September 2016 or later.

Some students may also be eligible for:

Bursaries: Bursaries may be available through your university to help with your tuition

fees. It is the student’s responsibility to contact their university to see if they are eligible

for a bursary. Bursaries do not need to be repaid.

Extra Help: Students may be eligible for extra financial help if they have a disability/

have a specific learning difficulty/the family are on a low income. Check ‘Extra Help’ on

the student finance website to see if students are eligible.

The calculator on the Student Finance website will help students work out what they

may be eligible for. https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

It is essential that all students complete an application form: www.direct.gov.uk/

studentfinance.

We delivered a student finance presentation to all Year 13 students on 15 January which

included the full details and also issued them with a booklet to support them.

http://4dl la52h0g1u3fws8s25nzsb.wpengine.netdna -cdn.com/wp-content/

uploads/2016/02/Student-Finance-Year-13-2016.pdf

A booklet explaining student finance and completing the application is also available as

a PDF via the Student Finance England website.

Student Finance

Page 13 Sixth Form

Year 13

Year 13 have just under four teaching weeks left before their final study leave begins. Students are only required to come in for lessons for this half term, and can use their non teaching periods for additional study at home or indeed at school. It is essential that all students sign in and out using the books outside the Sixth Form Office every time they arrive at school or leave the premises. Their last teaching day is Thursday 21 May.

Important Dates: The main block of summer A2 exams start on Friday 5 June (NB: there is a Further Maths exam on 13 May) and finish on Wednesday 24 June. Results day is Thursday 18 August.

UCAS Offers: All students who have received all their UCAS offers by 31 March need to ensure that they have replied to their offers by 4 May. For details on replying to offers, please see the Post 16 area of the school website for the presentation that was delivered and shared with the students, or the UCAS website. http://4dlla52h0g1u3fws8s25nzsb.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Replying-to-university-offers-UCAS-Extra-Clearing-Adjustment.pdf

Results: All year 13 students need to ensure that they are available to collect their results on Thursday 18 August at 8.30am, or have made alternative arrangements for someone to collect them and be able to contact them. Students may need to contact universities when they open their results, so they need to ensure that they bring phone numbers and mobiles with them.

Extra: To use Extra students need to have: 1. Already made 5 choices, 2. received decisions from all these choices and 3. either had no offers or declined all the offers they have received. Students may apply to one university and one course at a time and universities have 21 days to respond. If an offer is made students are obliged to accept it.

Extra closes on 4 July and students should ensure that they reply to any offers within 3 weeks of the offer being made. Vacancies are published on the UCAS website and in The Telegraph, however, students should also contact universities directly.

Clearing: Clearing opens on 18 August at 12 noon (results day) for students who have been unsuccessful with their Firm and Insurance offers. Clearing vacancies will be published on the UCAS website and in The Telegraph on that day. Laptops will be available in the Sixth Form Centre for students to use and Mrs Hubble (UCAS Coordinator) will be available for any guidance required.

For more details on Clearing and Extra, please refer to the UCAS website.

Student Finance: All students should have logged on to www.studentfinanceengland by now and must ensure that they complete applications for financial support at university. If you are applying for student finance it is essential students complete the online application by 31 May. Completion by this date will ensure that students have their finance in place by the start of their course. All students have attended a COOL session outlining this process.

Careers: We have, and will continue to work with, students who have not opted to go to university. Most of these students now have a plan for life after Tring School. There are a small number that are still ‘work in progress’ and we are feeding opportunities/information to them as regularly as possible.

Sue Atherton, our school Careers Coordinator, and Amanda Wickens, the school Connexions Personal Advisor are both available for students to book one-to-one appointments to discuss job search ideas and ensure that they also know where to get support when they leave us. Students should book the appointments with Mrs Griffiths in Connexions, or email Mrs Atherton on satherton@tringschool.org

Page 14 Sixth Form

Year 12 and Y13 Academic Recognition

Each of the teaching departments recognised their most improved students in a celebration

assembly on 23 March. The most improved students were celebrated as as “Bouncing Bun-

nies” and their students excelling in all areas as “Chirpy Chicks” . Very well done to:

ART

Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Rozi Lane & Beccy

Webb Y13 Glen Ogden & Charlotte Farrow

Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Ellie Quirk & Ben Howes Y13 Howard Gray & Amy Johnston

BIOLOGY Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Beccy Nam & Beth

Hart Y13 James Child, Emily Easthorpe & Annabel Coppen

Bouncing Bunnies : Y12 Josh Herbert & Emily Dalton Y13 Charlotte Simmons, Fiona Elliot & Luke England

BUSINESS STUDIES

Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Maddy Neill Y13 Tom Kellard Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Charly Freeman

Y13 Jack Hornsey

BUSINESS BTEC Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Beth Mander and George Sawh Y13 Alex Wilson, Megan

Collier & Carmen Chan Bouncing Bunnies : Y12 Tommy Burge &

Maiya Alladice Y13 Amy Moxon & Glen Ogden

CHEMISTRY Chirpy Chick: Y12 Nikhil Jha Y13 James

Child & Georgia Lindstrom Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Michael Turnbull-

King Y13 Michael Phillips & Emily Easthorpe

DRAMA Chirpy Chick: Y12 Ella Holmes-Cowan &

Matt Wake Bouncing Bunnies : Y12 Ben Kelly & Amy Paske

ECONOMICS

Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Jakob Hurkett, Cameron Salih, Laurie Garner & Toby Smith Y13 Jack Murphy & Olivia Parnell

Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Jamie Rudin, Rosie Toner, Carys Doyle & Frankie

O’Brien Y13 George Taylor & Betsy Heasman

ENGLISH Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Laurence Blundell &

Ellie Williams Y13 Carys Reid-Davies & Abi Baldwin

Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Maddy Neill, Holly Hadland & Grace Elvins Y13 Grace Boyes & Chloe Waight

FILM STUDIES

Chirpy Chicks: Y13 Emily Durrant Bouncing Bunnies: Y13 Harrison Hartfield

FOOD TECHNOLOGY Chirpy Chick: Y12 Sammy Evans

Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Callum Smith

FORENSICS Chirpy Chick: Y12 Callum Smith Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Georgia McEnery

GEOGRAPHY

Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Jasmine Booth, Caleb Thompson & Toby Smith Y13 Georgina

Lee Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Michael Winn & Oliver Beeny Y13 Bethany Piggot

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Chirpy Chick: Y12 Ffion White Bouncing Bunny : Y12 Katie Pert

HISTORY Chirpy Chick: Y12 Ella Holmes-Cowan &

Phil Marriot Y13 Olivia Dawson, Betsy Heasman & Oliver Ayling Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Emma van Rhee,

Jess Burckhardt & Cameron Salih Y13 Amy Johnston, Laura Gascoyne, Declan

Hall & Howard Gray LEISURE STUDIES

Chirpy Chick: Y13 Alisha Mazey Bouncing Bunnies: Y13 Carmen Chan

MATHS

Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Oli Johnson & Tom Waterhouse Y13 Jazmin Brooks & George Janeway

Bouncing Bunnies : Y12 Sam Gough & Ben Scranage-Harrison Y13 Harley Sear &

Alex Webb

FURTHER MATHS Chirpy Chick: Y12 Jack Lloyd

Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Libby Buttars CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION

Chirpy Chick: Y12 Tommy Burge Y13 Emily Nielsen

Bouncing Bunny : Y12 Oliver Dimes Y13 Jack Youren

MUSIC Chirpy Chick: Y12 Nathan Gunaselvam

Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Jenny Lawes

PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Niamh Lawlor & Beth Hart Y13 Tiggi Trusselle & AmelIa Court

Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Jamie Glen & Sasha Gilbey Y13 Oliver Chenkin & China

Townsend

PHOTOGRAPHY Chirpy Chick: Y12 Ollie

Cullimore Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Georgie

Filleul PE

Chirpy Chick: Y12 Freya Michalski Y13 Annabel Coppen

& Sophie Williamson Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Jasmine

Gutsell Y13 Ant McCormack & Rob Jennings

PE BTEC Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Caleb

Thompson & Eleanor Barham Y13 Imogen Davies & Caroline Stark

Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Harry Sargent & Robert Shepherd

Y13 James Gurnett & Jamie Vincent-Jones

PHYSICS Chirpy Chick: Y12 Jack Lloyd

Y13 James Child Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Freddie Foster Y13 Alex Webb

PSYCHOLOGY

Chirpy Chick: Y12 Matt Wake, Sarah Rogers & Phil Marriot

Y13 Charlotte Simmons, Grace Bullard, Nasya Addy & Olivia Dawson

Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Charley Freeman, Sadie Fewster and

Izzy Fuff, Y13 Emily Durrant, Luke England, Vicky Gibbons & Jack Hornsey

SOCIOLOGY

Chirpy Chick: Y12 Sadie Fewster Y13 Lydia Brehm Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Jemma

Davis Y13 Anna O’Neill-Cook

IT BTEC Chirpy Chick: Y12 Cally Munro

Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Dominic Byrnes

TEXTILES Chirpy Chick: Y12 Amy Paske

Bouncing Bunny: Y12 Karolina Solarska

TRAVEL & TOURISM Chirpy Chicks: Y12 Jemma Davies Y13

Chloe Bundey Bouncing Bunnies: Y12 Oliver Beeny Y13 Mia Keough & Jack Youren

Students recognised by their tutors and Heads of House for their contribution:

Beth Hart– for dedication to her studies and involvement in mentoring (Mrs Tubbritt)

Ella Highton – for her involvement in school drama (Mrs Tubbritt)

Ellie Breakwell, Connie Barr & Sammy Evans – for helping out with the candyfloss machine at

Ascott and Halton’s Charity Day event even though they’re in Waddesdon. (Miss Stefan)

Sophia Fallan – She has a great sense of humour and makes time for everyone in form. (Miss

Wickens)

Emily Durrant and Lydia Brehm – for being absolutely fantastic and invaluable members of the form. (Miss Wickens)

Emma van Rhee– for leading music quizzes, taking a leadership role and mentoring younger students (Miss Cushion)

Sophie Draper – for mentoring and contributing to quizzes and Rachel Christie – for helping

younger students with English and her enthusiastic contributions to quizzes (Miss Cushion)

Joe Mayers, Laura Gascoyne, Fiona Elliot, Jordan Gray, Lauren Renshaw, Holly Potton, Helena

Green, Betsy Heasman and Lily O’Dell – for being brilliant House Captains and raising £727 for CLIC Sargent (Mrs Baiden)

Senior Maths Challenge Awards

Bronze Certificate: Nikhil Jha

Bronze Certificate: Grace Elvins

Bronze Certificate: Thomas Baldwin

Bronze Certificate: James Light

Silver Certificate, Best in Year 12 AND Best in School!!: Cerys Lipscombe

Silver certificate and Best in Year 13: George Janeway

Community Hours

The following students have completed 20 hours: Teagan Davis, Josh Eccles, India Gerrard, Bethany Hart, Rebecca Nam, Sera Roberts, Lizzie Wilde.

The following students have completed 35 hours: Sasha Gilby, Sarah Griffiths, Catriona Openshaw

The following students have completed 50 hours: Victoria Tuff

Prize Draw

Congratulations to all those whose achievements were celebrated at the assembly. Those who

had been mentioned were entered into a sweepstake to win an Easter Egg and the winners were:

Y12 Sarah Griffiths, Ffion White, Tommy Burge and Caleb Thompson

Y13 Caroline Stark, Ben Hogan, Lydia Brehm and Emily Durrant

Year 12 and Y13 Celebration Assemblies contd.

Sixth Form Page 16

In early March Year 12 students had an assembly

outlining the duties and expectations of all the Sen-ior Student Roles in school. Altogether, there are

over 40 positions for which students can apply in-cluding Head Boy and Girl and their Deputies,

House Captains and Heads of Sixth Form Commit-

tee. The first of these roles to be appointed is the Head Boy and Girl Team. We some fantastic appli-

cations for these positions and, following a rigorous interview process, we are very pleased to an-

nounce the new Head Boy and Girl Team.

Head Boy - Laurie Garner

Head Girl - Emma van Rhee Deputy Head Boy - Matt Wake

Deputy Head Girl - Jess Burckhurdt

Interviews for House Captain and Committee roles will take place after Easter and we will update you on the

successful candidates later in the year. Our thanks go to the previous Head Boy and Girl Team for all their hard work over the past year.

Senior Student Roles

Each year we ask Year 12 students to undertake a project that will make a difference to our school or local

community. We launched this year’s Active Citizenship before Christmas and many students used the festive season as a time to really make an impact. Students raised money for various charities, organised litter pick-

ing, organised activities in local primary schools and reached out to local people who perhaps needed some extra cheer at Christmas. At our final Active Citizenship COOL session in February, the students shared what

they had done. There were a lot of really fantastic projects and we’ve been extremely impressed with the way

the students threw themselves into their schemes. We did, however, pick some winning projects:

Sasha Gilby, Imogen Pledge and Beth Hart - Funky Dance and Netball at Bishopwood School

Naveen Mehta, George Sawh, Toby Smith and Ollie Johnson - started a Dodgeball club at Bishopwood School.

Tom Baldwin, Tom Waterhouse, Connor Breen, Michael Winn, Jamie Rudin and Ben Howes - cleared a section

of pavement that had become very overgrown so that pedestrians could use it again.

Will Atkinson and Ellie Williams - created 80 ‘joy cards’ with jokes and positive messages and distributed them

to local houses.

Hannah Alexander, Daisy Fermont, Vicky Millwood, Jess Burckhardt, Issy Foxley-Marrable, Emma van Rhee, Milly Weir - raised money selling cookies and cakes to buy prizes and run an afternoon tea/quiz/raffle at an

old people’s home.

Tegan Davis, Amy Sampson, Ella Hart, Ellie Quirk, Sadie Fewster, Emily Dalton, Charley Freeman, Caitlyn

Glynn and Olivia Gilbert - raised £140 in lots of different ways for the charity Thinking of Oscar, in memory of a friend who has recently died.

Active Citizenship

Sixth Form Page 17

Extended Project Qualification

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a great opportunity for Sixth Form Students to

conduct a project outside the curriculum. Universities support and value the EPQ as evidence

of a student’s ability to use a range of skills that are vital for successful study in higher

education. Students can choose their own topic and are made responsible for their own

learning and development. Undertaking the project develops students’ ability to undertake

research and to analyse material independently. Students can gain valuable UCAS points for

completing the EPA.

During the afternoon of 16 March the year 13 EPQ students showcased their projects in the

Desborough Hall and talked to students, staff and visitors about their work. The subject

matter was diverse and fascinating—from the evolution of the Disney Princesses, to Adolf

Hitler’s impact on the socio-economic climate in Germany. Well done to all the students who

took part.

Sixth Form Page 18

On Tuesday 8 March, a range of activities took place for all year groups, designed to extend and enrich learn-ing opportunities outside of the curriculum.

Year 12:

Year 12’s day was designed around preparing them for the next steps following Sixth Form. The first session

was about Wider Subject Knowledge Development and students were grouped into subject ‘teams’. Their aim was to write down all that they knew and enjoyed about their subject further than just that which is learnt in

lessons. Students enjoyed the competitive nature of this activity and found it useful to share their knowledge about, for example, interesting articles, notable figures in the field and relevant wider reading within that ar-

ea. These conversations will prove invaluable to students when they progress to work and university inter-views. We also discussed the format of interviews and how to deal with questions that you have no idea of

the answer to! Interviewers and academics don’t always expect students to know the exact answer, but they

want to see how your mind works!

Students then progressed to a session on Work Experience Health and Safety. All students will be undertaking Work Experience in week beginning 13 June and a statutory part of our preparation for this is that students

are aware of the dangers and risks when working in a professional workplace.

The afternoon sessions were provided by outside speakers. Session 3 featured a speaker from the University

of Bedfordshire. He shared details with students on a wide range of aspects of University life, from how to choose a University, to some of the dangers and pitfalls students face when they get there. We always like to

see students hearing this information from outside speakers as it perfectly complements the provision given to them by Mrs Hubble and the team over the course of the next year.

Finally the last session had the format of a carousel, and students had the opportunity to listen to two differ-ent speakers discussing their careers and how they entered that particular career pathway. Students were

really engaged within these sessions and it was so kind of the external speakers to give their time to share their experiences with our students. If you or someone you know are willing to come in and speak to stu-

dents next year about your particular career, then please do get in touch with Mrs Atherton:

satherton@tringschool.org

Year 13

Year 13 had a range of activities available to them and many took advantage of these with

great enthusiasm. We had a range of trips going

out and students really enjoyed the opportunity to develop their knowledge beyond the class-

room.

Mrs Golla took a group of 20 students to Go Ape, where they engaged in some excellent

team building and resilience activities.

Groups of students visited the Leonardo da Vin-

ci: Mechanics of Genius exhibition at the Sci-

ence Museum, the Natural History Museum to

see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibi-tion and the V&A to see the Contemporary Por-

traiture Exhibition. The boys at the V&A were so

enthused by what they saw that they sat down and started sketching there and then, observed and appreci-ated by many members of the public.

Finally, a group went to the Olympic Park to see the brilliant Olympics venues and sample their mountain bik-

ing course. Some students chose to stay in school and catch up on coursework, while some of our Biology

students were sitting their EMPA exams.

Overall, a brilliant day was had by all, with lots of opportunities to develop their knowledge and passion with-in their chosen fields. We would like to thank all staff who helped supervise students in Years 12 and 13.

EXTENDED LEARNING DAY

COMMUNITY HOURS

Sixth Form

Year 13 should all be working on their community hours—where each student aims to complete a

minimum of 20 hours community service. Many students go way beyond this. We will shortly be reviewing the hours the students have completed. Full details on the Community Hours programme

for 2016/17 will be available in future newsletters.

Current volunteering opportunities include:

Friends of Tring Church Heritage (FOTCH) - contact Helen Dunford—helen@dunford.uk.com

6 volunteers needed from 6:00 — 10:30pm on Saturday 30 April to help at their Barn Dance in

the Nora Grace Hall in Tring, with live music and a meal. Volunteers needed to run tombola stalls, the Mix96 slide and the beat the goalie game at the

annual Family Fun Day, in and around St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church in Tring, on Saturday 7

May 2016, 11:00am—3:00pm

Tring Lions—contact Saeed— saeedmoosa@icloud.com

Tring Lions are running their annual entertainment evening for around 80 local elderly people

at the Victoria Hall in Akeman Street from 7:30 – 10:30pm on 23 April. They are looking for

volunteers to support serving elderly people sandwiches and drinks and helping them to and from their seats.

Over the course of the last term, students have hosted the five charity days. In previous years the format of this has been a charity week, however this year it was decided to spread these days out more in order to

maximise the opportunity for raising awareness of all of the fantastic charities.

The house captains worked closely with the Heads of House and put on a range of activities at lunchtime for

students to come along and enjoy. The house charities were as follows: Ascott House - Breast Cancer Now - Raised £528

Claydon House - Water Aid - Raised £400 Halton House - Clic Sargent - Raised £630

Waddesdon House - Chiltern Dog Trust - Raised £570

On Friday 18 March, we held our final Charity Day, led by the Head Boy and Girl team. We held a non uni-

form day to raise money for Sport Relief, however the main charity the team wanted to support was Hector’s House. This is a local charity set up by the parents of Hector Stringer who attended Tring School and sadly

took his own life in 2011.

The charity has been set up in order to ensure that young people always feel there is someone there that

they can talk to and our aim was to raise awareness of the charity, and ensure that all of our students feel that they can talk openly and honestly about mental health without any stigma attached to the topic.

Robert Stringer led a COOL time session along with Mrs Kay, and shared his experiences along with pictures

and videos of Hector. All students left the session with a wallet sized card featuring a list of places and people they should turn to for help and advice if they are feeling low, anxious or just in need of some extra support.

At lunchtime the Head Boy and Girl team hosted a range of activities, from throwing wet sponges at Mrs Kay, Mrs Golla, Miss Monger and Carys and Vic (Head and Deputy Head Girl) chal-

lenged staff to a penalty shoot out and we had a tug of war competition against Sixth Formers in the hall. There was a raffle where squares on a huge Hector’s

House logo were sold and various raffle prizes awarded to the winners. Mr Otoo

even took a turn on the decks as our resident DJ!

Hector’s House had a stand set up and we spoke to students about the im-portance of discussing and managing their mental health in order to ensure they

are as successful and happy as possible in life.

In all, close to £500 was raised for this fantastic charity and all students know

who and where they can turn to for support. This was the last event run by the Head Boy and Girl team and we’d like to thank them for all of their organisational

efforts.

Page 19

CHARITY DAYS

Final Words

We would like to wish all our students the very best of luck with their upcoming exams and we will continue to offer our support and advice as they need it. We look forward to the rest of the Summer term and the excitement as Year 13 move on and Year 12 progress into their final year.

Once again thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Sally Kay Miss Alison Moore Mrs Helen Holmes-Higgin Mrs Nicky Hubble Head of Sixth Form Student Support Sixth Form Administrator UCAS Coordinator

Leavers’ Day 2016

With Year 13 fast approaching the examination season, the Committee and Sixth Form Team are also working hard to ensure that the year group get the send off from Tring School they deserve. The Leavers’ Assembly has become a great tradition of their final day at school. It lasts about an hour and a half and is packed full of teacher nominations, funny memories and awards. We have also collated lots of photographs from the students’ time at school and these provide a wonderful trip down memory lane. As ever, at this time of year we need to ensure all events are safe and the interests of fellow students sitting exams are not disturbed. We also have a duty to ensure any celebrations do not in any way impact on exams or other learning activities. Therefore we wish to provide the following guidelines in order to ensure all the events go smoothly; Students need to leave the school site on Friday 27 May as per normal after lessons, not returning until 12.00noon on Friday 27 for their Leavers’ Assembly which is being held in the Desborough Hall. After the assembly, students will need to leave the school site to go and prepare for the evening events. It is imperative that students are not on the school site other than for the times stated above: examinations will be taking place and we need to ensure the exam conditions to which these students are entitled are maintained.

Sixth Form Page 20