The Sixth Form

Our sixth form offers a range of academic and vocational courses for girls aged 16 – 18. Our sixth form is popular with both internal students and attracts external candidates from across Birmingham and the Black Country.

The Sixth Form continues to grow from strength to strength. In May of 2021, we moved into our fantastic purpose-built sixth form centre and our students have been benefiting from the excellent new facilities that this has provided. Students now have a dedicated space that includes a common area and seminar rooms which are giving our students an increased sense of independence and access to outstanding resources.

We have high academic standards and expectations for our students, reflected in our A Level and Level 3 BTEC results. A comprehensive induction programme is provided to ensure that students have a smooth transition from year 11 into year 12. Students can also take part in a wealth of enrichment activities including clubs and societies. We take pride in promoting both extra-curricular and super-curricular activities to enrich our students experience of being in Sixth Form. Further to this, our Student Leadership Team, led by our Head Girl, play a tremendous part in supporting students across the academy.

Here at King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy, we not only provide outstanding academic support, but we also have a strong pastoral team who are dedicated to ensuring student wellbeing and welfare are at the heart of the support and guidance we provide. Thus fostering a vibrant, friendly and supportive atmosphere.

I look forward to welcoming you.

Since 2005, I have dedicated myself to teaching and have accumulated extensive experience in KS4 and KS5 education. I have held roles as head of department in various schools and currently serve as Director of IT and Co-Head of 6th Form.

I collaborate closely with our dedicated team and Mrs. Sufi, our Head of 6th Form. Together, our primary focus is on creating a nurturing and supportive environment where every student can thrive academically, personally, and professionally. We encourage students to actively engage in their learning, work diligently, participate in extracurricular activities, and effectively manage their time. I am deeply committed to ensuring that each student reaches their full academic potential and is well-prepared for their future pathways. Drawing from my extensive teaching experience, particularly in Key Stage 5, I am passionate about supporting our 6th form students to achieve their goals and succeed in their future endeavours. Our goal is not only academic success but also the holistic development of each student, equipping them with the skills and confidence needed to excel beyond their time with us.

We have a strong pastoral focus for all of our students at KEVI Handsworth Wood Girls Academy Sixth Form. Our students have full time access to staff who can support their emotional, social and physical wellbeing. There is always a pastoral member of staff in the Sixth Form able to support with any academic, mental health or emotional concerns. Our aim is to ensure that all of our students are happy, contented and learning to a high standard – sixth form should be a fun and rewarding place to be, and we want our students to feel valued, respected and a part of our community. Students can come to us to talk about anything worrying them. We have a Pastoral Team that is trained to deliver high quality Mental Health First Aid, Safeguarding and mentoring support who work closely with our Safeguarding Team in the lower school, to ensure all of our students are safe and well at all times.

The Sixth Form Team and Subject Teachers also support students with their UCAS applications and support them when applying for university.

We are immensely proud to be a part of a team, and school that is so pastoral focused for its students. Young people need to be happy, safe and enjoy their time at school to be able to achieve their highest academic potential. We are very proud to be able to work with such talented, resilient and brilliant young women in our Sixth Form, and treasure seeing them grow their self-confidence and abilities.

In our efforts to prepare you for the world beyond education, we take our dedication a step further and support your development as independent, confident, resilient and responsible professionals and citizens through setting professional standards and having an accountability programme that is designed to encourage self-regulation.

• Build successful working relationships with teachers, peers and any external agencies that you work with, through empathy and respect for all.
• Demonstrate resilience by ensuring you meet the high expectations of attendance and punctuality.
• Show a concern for society through respecting the environment, equipment and resources at the academy by taking responsibility for your own actions.
• Demonstrate a sense of community ethos through compliance with a professional dress code when attending the Sixth Form.
• Become an integral part of the Sixth Form community by participating positively in events and celebrations, further demonstrating a concern for society.

• Conduct yourself in accordance with our academy’s high expectations in terms of work ethic and engagement with your learning, demonstrating high standards of self-regulation for class work and independent study, including set home study.
• Strive for mastery in your subjects through consistently applying relevant HPL ACPs in all lessons.
• Take responsibility for own progress through self-regulation during independent Scholarship Development sessions, working on content that requires attention based on feedback received from teachers, as well as developing breadth of knowledge through wider reading.

In action, this means that we lay out our expectations clearly and expect our Sixth Form students to conduct themselves in the correct manner at all times, providing appropriate challenge when required. Our day-to-day expectations are as follows:

Attendance

Students must ensure attendance doesn’t drop below 95% and be punctual to all lessons. Attendance and punctuality are closely monitored.

Dress Code

All year 12 and 13 students must attend the academy in smart business wear. Below is a more detailed list:

• Smart trousers  –No jeans/denim, no leggings, no jeggings.
• Smart skirt or dress – At least at knee length or longer.
• Shirt or Blouse – No hoodies or causal jumpers.
• Smart shoes – Soles must be black. No trainers.
• ID lanyards must be worn at all times.
• Coats must be off in and around the academy.
• No denim jackets.
• Students can wear a plain headscarf in any colour, if they choose.
• Students can also wear a plain closed jilbab, if they choose.

Jewellery and Make Up

Year 12 and 13 students are allowed to wear moderate make up, simple jewellery is also acceptable.

• Nose studs are allowed
• No nose rings
• No hooped earring

Equipment

All students must bring the following equipment to the academy everyday:

• A school bag that is suitable for carrying A4 folder, books and equipment
• Pens, pencils, ruler, highlighters, etc. (anything else deemed necessary for your courses)
• A4 ring binder folders to organise subject notes (Y12 will be given one ring binder during registration)
• Polly pockets and dividers for A4 ring binder folders
• Laptop provided by Sixth Form
• Planners

Mobile Phone Usage

• Mobile phones are allowed to be used responsibly in the Sixth Form area only.
• Mobile phones must not be on show around the academy.
• Mobile phones are only allowed during lessons if the teacher permits.

• Head Girl
• Deputy Head Girls
• Prefects
• Form Ambassadors (extended student leadership)
• Library Assistance
• Peer mentoring Y11 students
• High Performance Learning Team
• Equality and Diversity Team
• Mental Health and Well Being Team

“Great leaders harness personal courage, seize hearts and minds of those around us and empower and encourage the minds of those we are surrounded by to strengthen the capacity to make new leaders. As a student leader I did and still do my best to empower the women around me to be the best versions of themselves in this world we live in” – Sophia Akhtar

“The role of head girl has helped improve my communication skills as I was required to work with a team of deputy head girls and ambassadors to delegate roles for certain duties; through this I was able to build my confidence and step out of my comfort zone by speaking to many individuals within my year group which will continue to benefit me as I will find the task of socialising and public-speaking more natural in the future” – Arshia Iqbal

“Being deputy head girl has meant I have been able to communicate effectively with younger years allowing me to build my confidence and engage with certain individuals. In addition the role has allowed me to be more responsible in being actively involved in student voice as well as giving people the chance to be heard” – Savaira Isaaq

Students have the opportunity to extend their learning beyond A Levels through our wide and varied enrichment programme. These activities help students stand out from the crowd when applying for further study or employment in the future.  The activity is timetabled on Wednesday, with some options gaining qualifications and UCAS points. The aim is to support students, and help generate experiences that will allow them to develop as a person, in order to be better prepared for their next steps.

The Extended Project qualification supports learners with the transition to higher education or into the world of work.  It give students the opportunity to develop critical, reflective, problem-solving and independent learning skills through the planning, research and evaluation of a self-selected project, resulting in one of four project outcomes: dissertation, investigation, performance or artefact. An EPQ is equivalent to half an A Level (28 UCAS points).

Studying media helps develop critical thinking skills and has strong links to a range of subjects. Students will study media messages and how media communicate ideas and ideologies by turning to fields such as psychology, sociology, and rhetoric. Students will also gain the opportunity to create their own media products and set up a Sixth Form newsletter.

Art enrichment will engage, inspire and challenge students to experiment and create their own works of Art. Students will learn about the basic principles of art (line, pattern, texture, colour, tone, shape, form and colour) and how to apply them in a range of different materials. Through art, students will explore how to visually express their ideas and experiences and become familiar with using the language of art and design when discussing these.

Spanish and English are languages appearing on all five continents. Wherever you are, if you speak both, you have a good chance to be understood! Multilingual people, are skilled at switching between two systems of speech, writing, and structure, this “juggling” skill makes them good multitaskers. Spanish and English are culturally and conceptually complementary and are the main official working languages of most international organisations.

German has the largest number of native speakers in the European Union (far more than English, Spanish, or French). German and English are similar. Many words in German sound or look the same as equivalent English words, because the two languages share the same “grandparent.” For example, look at these words: Haus = house, Buch = book, Finger = finger. German is the second most commonly used scientific language. Germany is the third largest contributor to research and development and offers research fellowships to scientists from abroad.

This is for students studying Health & Social Care only. Placements form an important part of the Health and Social Care course. Our placements are with wide range of organisations, which will help you gain a wealth of experience to boost you gain valuable employability skills. Students are supported on these placements by our Aspirations Leader and Health and Social Care teachers.

As well as focusing on your academic success, you can take part in an exciting programme of student development and fun activities to help you broaden your experience, encourage your interests and support your well-being.

Medicine Society

Maths Society

Football Club

Dance Club

Cricket Club

Handball Club

Chess Club

Diverse and Inclusive Book Club

Arts and Crafts

Creative Writing

Textiles Club

Drama Club

Cooking Club

Anime Club

Well-being Club

Student EDI Committee

Once again, the number of students gaining a university place has increased on the last year. From our class of 2021/22, 78% of students went on to secure University Places. In total, our Year 13 cohort received an impressive 279 university offers, from 47 universities across the United Kingdom. Many students have gone on to study at Russell Group Universities, and other top institutions across the country. More students than ever have gone further afield to attend University, including The University of Manchester, University of Warwick and University of Leicester. The local Higher Education establishments remain popular, with many students going to our local red brick; the University of Birmingham, Aston University, The University of Law and Birmingham City University.

Our students have pursued a variety of different subject areas, including; Medicine, Law, Optometry, Pharmacy, Social Work, Criminology, Neuroscience, Chemical Engineering, Architecture, Policing and Investigation, Education, Child and Adult Nursing, Learning Disability Nursing, Graphic Communication and Accountancy. The sheer variety in their interests and ambitions has been exciting, inspiring and we wish them all the absolute best on their chosen University course.

Many of our students have also secured places on competitive local apprenticeships, professional training courses and employment in local businesses, with some even returning to our school, now as employees.