Sandridgebury Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6DB
Sixth Form Information (Years 12 & 13)
Curriculum
As outlined in depth on the curriculum page and in our curriculum plan linked below, our students in Key Stage 5 are able to follow an individualised programme that meets their needs and ambitions. The curriculum provides opportunities that develop their independent learning and academic skill set as well as their communication, teamwork and other vital employability skills.
STAGS offers students in Key Stage Five a very wide range of A level courses: Art, Art Textiles, Business,
Classical Civilisation, Computing, Dance, Drama, Economics, English Literature, Film Studies, French, Fashion & Textiles, Geography, History, Mathematics and Further Mathematics, Music, Politics, Psychology, Photography, PE, Religion Philosophy & Ethics (REP), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish and Sociology. Opportunities also exist to study other subjects at local schools.
All students study three A Level subjects, with some students taking Further Mathematics as a fourth option.
All Year 12 students also follow the Step Up programme which includes sessions on careers guidance, financial understanding, UCAS guidance, issues affecting teenagers and study skills. The Step Up programme also is where Relationship and Sex Education lessons are delivered to extend students’ prior knowledge from Key Stages 3 and 4, and where the statutory requirement of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics is covered. Here they study topics on, amongst others, Bereavement, Animal Rights and Holocaust Studies.
The curriculum is enhanced at Post 16 with a wide variety of enrichment opportunities, which include amongst others an Arts Award, Debating, Food Skills, Language Leaders, Young Enterprise, Sports Leadership as well as Core Mathematics and the Extended Project Qualification.
Assessment and Reporting of Progress
In Year 12, students will receive a report card each term (three per annum).
Report 1 will provide information about how your child has settled into their post 16 studies by providing an Attitude to Learning (ATL) level for each subject and an overview of their initial baseline assessment in each subject. Every subsequent report card will contain the Most Likely Outcome (MLO) grade in addition to the Attitude To Learning (ATL) level for each subject. We also will provide a Target Grade for each subject from Report 2 onwards. This is generated with guidance from ALPS. This organisation helps us to set aspirational targets for students based on their prior attainment at KS4. Students will also receive a Praise and a Progress comment from each subject teacher as well as a form tutor comment once a year. In the summer term, the final report card will also include an exam result.
In Year 13, students receive two report cards. One in the Autumn Term after their mocks and another in the Spring Term. Similar to Year 12, the report card will contain MLO, ATL and their Target Grade. In the Autumn term the students will also receive their UCAS predicted grade, Mock result and MLO. Students will also receive a Praise and a Progress comment from each subject teacher as well as a form tutor comment once a year.
Your child will be awarded an Attitude to Learning level as outlined below. We have high expectations of all students at STAGS, and we expect most students will receive a ‘3’ for ‘Meeting STAGS Expectations’.
Over the course of the year some students may demonstrate that they have exceeded these expectations and will be awarded a level 4. For exemplary attitude students will receive a level 5 and will be invited to a Headteacher’s celebration lunch where they can share how they have exceeded expectations in a subject area.
ATL guidance:
KS5 Reporting - Key Dates for 2024-2025
If you have any queries about your child’s progress within a subject, please do not hesitate to contact their Subject Teacher. If your queries are more general i.e. across a number of subjects, please contact your child’s Director of Learning.
