Studying

Sixth Form students bear a great deal of responsibility for their own studies and progress, and should be focused upon learning and achieving excellence during their two years in the Sixth Form at Handsworth Grammar School. A Levels are much more demanding than GCSEs and require a more disciplined approach. Most Sixth Form students are expected to study on average about 3 hours a day outside of lessons. This does not mean that 3 hours of work will be set every day, but it does require good organisation, if study is to be effective and your potential is to be realised. Post-16 students are expected to undertake a substantial amount of their own research through independent study to supplement their classroom learning. The precise nature of this will vary from subject to subject, but in general terms good students will:

• prepare for lessons in advance.
• strengthen their knowledge of classroom material through their own research.
• research wider aspects of their subjects which were perhaps not covered in lessons.

Students are expected to spend the vast majority of their non-contact periods in self-directed private study. For Year 13 this may take place in the new Learning Hub supervised by a member of staff, in the Sixth Form ICT room, in the Silent Study room or in a quiet area in the Sixth Form centre.

To be successful in the Sixth Form, students have to be organised and be disciplined. Good grades in the Sixth Form courses come from a steady effort over the duration of the course. Students who are not adequately prepared have to settle for poorer grades and a more limited choice of higher education opportunities. If the most is made of one’s time in school, not only will grades improve, but also there will be time left over for leisure activities outside of school.