The Purbeck School Sixth Form facilitates students’ personal development through a range of activities, both within the tutor programme and in our enrichment offer. Indeed, our ‘Grow’ ethos, consistently draws our students’ attention to the importance of developing their experiential knowledge and skills, as well as those related to their academic study.

Pastoral Care

Students are supported in their development through a pastoral system, including their tutor, head of year and our sixth form centre manager. These role models provide excellent examples of how to become positive members of a community.

The Tutor Programme

Our tutor programme includes sessions which support student growth in many key areas of maturing into adulthood:

• Monday AM: Personal Development – A comprehensive programme including the following, which is linked to the weekly sixth form bulletin and delivered by the tutor team. The programme is taken from the PSHE association scheme of learning, resourced through the Cre8Tive VI Form package:
  • Self-concept
  • Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing
  • Healthy Lifestyles
  • Managing Risk and Personal Safety
  • Sexual Health
  • Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol
  • Relationship Values
  • Forming and maintaining respectful relationships
  • Consent
  • Contraception & Parenthood
  • Bullying, Abuse & Discrimination

We also look to cover topical issues such as drink spiking, laughing gas misuse, etc… as well as having external agencies come in to deliver sessions such as Save Drive Stay Alive

• Tuesday AM (Year 12) Wednesday AM (Year 13): Assemblies – These focus on key messages, such as resilience, perseverance and work ethic, and also embrace topical cultural and societal events and topics.
• Tuesday PM (Y12); Wednesday PM (Y13): Mentoring – Our mentoring system allows each student to be supported in their development with one to one sessions with their tutor every term. The sixth form management team deliver our Wider Perspectives content to the remainder of the tutor group.
• Wednesday AM (Y12) Thursday AM (Y13): News – We encourage students to think critically about current events and give them the opportunity to learn about what life is like in other countries and cultures.
• Thursday (Y12) Tuesday (Y13): Tutor Theme – Each half term we have a different tutor theme, which focus on a key area of personal development. These include:
  • Preparing for work experience: Work on writing a CV, interview technique and health and safety in the work place.
  • Leadership: Preparation for our student leader roles as well as developing students’ ability to work as part of a team.
  • Debating: Encouraging students to consider other people’s points of view and to argue critically on a subject.
  • Presentation: Building students’ self-confidence by asking them to prepare and deliver a presentation in front of a body of people.
  • Revision: Giving students the tools to prepare for their examinations
  • Progression: Work on securing a place in further education, including an apprenticeship or university course. This with reference to visiting speakers (e.g. Bath University) and the employment of Unifrog.
• Friday AM: Progression – These sessions are designed to give students the opportunity to think about their future plans. This includes information about university courses, apprenticeships and career related employment. The comprehensive programme Unifrog is employed at specific times as students develop their own individual post-18 plans. On Friday afternoons we maintain the tradition of enjoying cake and a quiz.

Gaining wider understanding

We are committed to fostering an understanding of wider customs, beliefs and traditions within the sixth form.  This includes the visit of the Many Faiths Together team to converse about Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. Furthermore, our tutor programme includes weekly wider perspectives reading activities which covers cultural leaders of the past and those leading figures related to the combatting a variety of inequalities and prejudices.

Progression

As well as our tutor progression sessions, we have a dedicated UCAS and apprenticeship advisor who supports the students in securing the next step in their education.

Enrichment

Giving students the opportunity to develop further their knowledge, interests and skills, this rich programme is designed to allow students to develop their experiential side, offering them a range of activities, most of which are completed on a termly rotation following the completion of student preference forms. The offer has been improved through student voice, which has suggested content such as cooking, finance and first aid, all of which have been added to the offer.

In 2024/25 the offer includes:

• The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) with Mrs Wetherall and Mrs Armstrong
• The National Trust Leadership Skills Award with Jill Bailey (NT) and Mrs Robinson
• Finance with Mr Waterman
• Cooking on a Budget with Mr Eden
• EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) with Miss Wetherall and Mrs Armstrong
• Art/Craft/DIY with Mrs Field
• Music with Mr Burns and Mr Foyle
• Arts and crafts with Miss Stewart
• Board games with Mr Nicolaides and Mr Wilde
• Film Club with Mr Clay
• Primary teaching organised by Mr Holmes
• Sport with Mr Smith

Additionally, some students have secured separate enrichment experience which takes places on Wednesday afternoon. Such placements include working with the RSPB at the nearby Arne Nature Reserve.

You can find more information here: Enrichment

The Year 13 Leadership Team

This consists of a broad body of leaders; each position is substantial and includes a job description which supports both the student and associated staff in providing a time-specific framework intended to secure strong experiential and practical outcomes. The roles include: four House Captains; a Welfare Leader; Wellbeing Leader; Equality and Diversity Leader; Publicity Leader; Social Event Leader; Charity Leader; Student Voice Leader; Inter-house Leader; other supporting prefects.

To gain these positions of responsibility the students complete an application and interview process and, if successful, attend weekly minuted meetings with their associated head of year.

Work Experience

Every student is supported in securing a week’s work experience which occurs in the Summer Term of Year 12.

• Our organisation is underpinned by fundamental British values and we aspire for all our students to develop their understanding of the wider world as well as academic skills and knowledge. We run a full enrichment and careers programme.

  Students register first thing in the morning and have 15 minutes of tutor time every day at 8.45am and 1.45pm. A rich set of experiences is provided through the tutor programme, enrichment sessions and extra-curricular activities, for example:

• All year 12 undertake work experience for a week in addition to students undertaking work experience/extra curricular activities related to their courses. Year 12 and 13 students can undertake work experience every Wednesday afternoon.
• All Year 12 students have a mock interview (carried out by our employer contacts) and further bespoke interview practice is provided in year 13 for students on application to specific courses post 18 or apprenticeships (apprenticeship and UCAS workshops are also run).
• We have a dedicated careers programme organise of university and  apprenticeship presentations, student leadership assemblies, and trips and visits including to the Bournemouth University UCAS fair.
• We run a ‘Speakers Programme’ inviting a number of people from commerce, industry, charities and the public sector to talk to our students; e.g. local MPs, Dorset Police, the NHS and former students who share advice and experiences from their own post-18 pathways.
• We encourage every student to take some form of school or community responsibility/leadership and out students demonstrate highly positive attitudes to their education and community. There is a student leadership team of twelve Year 13 students who each have dedicated roles and responsibilities, and meet weekly as a cabinet.
• Students take part in a full tutorial programme and scheduled mentoring activities.

The majority of students have been successful in achieving their first choice at university and a number have gone on to secure higher level apprenticeships in companies such as J P Morgan, Wessex Water, Sunseeker, ExxonMobil, and Perenco. Our Oxbridge entrants include students going on to read Medicine at Oxford, Biochemistry at Oxford, English Literature at Cambridge. We have a productive relationship with Canford School, through which our students may access extended guidance related to Oxbridge applications.

Students are also supported in following courses such as Exeter University’s ‘Pathways to Law’, which can lead to them being offered lower application tariffs upon applying for related courses.

 

From the 2024 cohort:

• 57% of pupils continued into higher education
• 26% of students chose to take a gap year, with many holding university places to commence in 2024
• 8% took up and apprenticeship
• 5% took up employment
• 1% continuing in further education

Students need to complete an application form for The Purbeck School Sixth Form. All students who have applied to The Purbeck School will be invited for interview. The interview allows us to have an informed conversation with your child about how well their choices fit with their future plans. 

Subject choices are not easy and students should be encouraged to take subjects that they are good at, enjoy and will lead them to their future university, apprenticeship or career direction.  Subject choices are also shaped by:

-              The grade requirements for each Sixth Form subject chosen. Please refer to the minimum entry requirements document here for help with this.

-              Choosing a maximum of one subject per column in the Year 12 curriculum offer document here. Students usually choose a maximum of three subjects, though some may elect to study an additional fourth subject – this would be discussed at interview.

 

Who else can help?

The School Careers Advisor is available in the Learning Resources Centre to give advice and guidance to students on Tuesday and Wednesday in Room 11. Should your child wish to make a one-to-one appointment they should email Mrs M Beale at: mbeale@purbeck.dorset.sch.uk or Mrs M. Scott at: mscott@purbeck.dorset.sch.uk

The Purbeck School: Planned hours funded by the ESFA (16-19 funding)

In accordance with The Education and Skills Funding Agency guidelines (last updated June 2018), the activities in each student’s study programme in an academic year constitute the planned hours. Each student’s planned hours are agreed between the institution and the student at the start of their study programme.

Planned hours constitute all the qualification planned hours and the non-qualification planned hours.

Planned hours are timetabled by the sixth form, and at The Purbeck School Sixth Form they include:

• planned teacher-led activity on courses leading to qualifications;
• planned hours of tutor time and assemblies (as outlined in the Purbeck School Sixth Form Personal Development document).

Non-qualification hours

These are hours of fundable activity that are not used to take externally certified qualifications. These hours are also known as planned employability, enrichment and pastoral (EEP) hours.

EEP hours include activities that are relevant to the study programme and:

• do not count towards a qualification as defined above
• are for informal or in-house certificates
• are for tutorial purposes
• are spent on work experience and other work-related activities
• are spent on enrichment, volunteering and/or community activities organised by or on behalf of the institution.

At The Purbeck School Sixth Form they include:

• planned hours on other activities including weekly enrichment on Wednesdays.

At times according to individuals, other examples of activity that count towards EEP hours are:

• tutorials and any one to one sessions such as to plan study or revision
• mentoring and coaching
• revision hours, structured revision, exam test papers
• informal certificates such as citizenship awards or Duke of Edinburgh Award
• work experience and work-related activity such as preparing CVs and practising interview skills and techniques
• field work or a piece of work such as a survey/research which is integral to the study programme, such as a field trip with a task attached
• completing applications for jobs or university where a tutor is supporting and helping the student
• employer visits arranged by the institution
• university visits arranged by the institution
• volunteering activities and community activities
• any activities that offer enrichment to the student such as personal and social development