7 Attendance
All 6th Form students need to achieve as near to 100% attendance as possible. Each lesson is designed by your teachers to provide the optimum information needed to allow further study and research into a particular taught topic. Often valuable notes and handouts are given out in lessons, or notes need to be taken. A missed lesson is often difficult to catch up on effectively.
However, in cases of genuine illness, a phone call MUST be made to Mrs. Kirk, on 611545, before 10:30 a.m. on the first day of sickness. This call can be made either by yourself, or another responsible adult. Then, on returning to school, you must complete a self-certificate, available from the Sixth Form Office, in order for the absence to be authorised on the Bromcom system. Only when both of these procedures have been carried out can any absence be marked as authorised. You have been given a card with contact details on – please keep it safe so there is no delay in informing your Year Tutor of your absence.
In cases where an absence from a timetabled lesson is for a reason other than sickness, for example, a University Open Day or interview, a GP or Dental appointment that is impossible to make out of lesson hours, a Driving TEST (not lesson), a job interview, or other potentially acceptable authorised absence, Mrs. Kirk must be informed IN ADVANCE, and an Authorised Absence form (available in the 6th form office) must be completed. Each of your teachers whose lesson you will be missing must also be informed by you.
Sometimes you will need to miss timetabled lessons because of another school activity, for example a Drama Production, helping out at a Lower School event, a Field Trip etc. In such a case, again, each teacher whose lesson you will miss must beinformed by you.
Holiday Forms
Holiday forms must be completed by parents/carers for any holidays taken during term time. They should then be returned to Mrs. Kirk, at least 2 weeks in advance, who will notify all of the teachers concerned and ask for work to be set for you to complete either whilst you are away, or before the holiday begins. These term-time holidays should only happen in cases where it is impossible to take holidays during the six-week summer break.
In Year 11, once you had completed your exams you were not required to attend school for the remainder of the summer term. THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN THE 6TH FORM for Year 12! You will be given Study Leave prior to your exams, with the opportunity to attend study clinics directed by your subject teachers, but once your exams are completed, you must resume normal timetabled lessons until the term end in July. During this time, you will be starting A2 work, and each lesson is important.
Even if, towards the end of Y12, you make a decision to drop a subject when in Y13, you must continue to attend all timetabled lessons until the end of term in Y12.
Students who fail to achieve an acceptable attendance record will be closely monitored, and parents/carers informed. They will be asked to meet with Mr Benson and/or Mrs Kirk to discuss the reasons for frequent absence and will need to complete a Frequent Absence document for their files.
Good Time Keeping
Good timekeeping is also essential. Not only is it disrespectful to your teacher and the rest of your group to turn up for lessons late, but also it may result in an absent mark being given at the beginning of the lesson. Any student arriving 5 or more minutes late for a lesson will not be admitted.
Good attendance levels are absolutely crucial. Not only because of missed information, but also because when you are applying to University or to an employer for a job, your tutor will be asked for this information. If your record shows many unauthorised absences, it may lead the university/employer to assume you have not shown any interest/commitment to your studies and are possibly unreliable.
