Sixth Form Update - Spring 1
I hope you are well and, despite any paraskevidekatriaphobia (maybe google it?) some may have, you find the contents of this letter happy, positive and reflective of the many terrific things which abound in the NLS Sixth Form!
Tier 1-3 Launch – Year 12
We are really proud of how students in Year 12 have responded to the support in place as we have introduced them to our Tier 1-3 support system this term. With the emphasis very much on support (the academic and pastoral as well as the subject-specific and the more holistic), it’s been great to see and hear such positive responses to the programme as we look to ensure all students can enjoy the kinds of success which will bear them in great stead for the future.
Mock Exams
We have been delighted with the dedication of students to their studies over the course of this half-term. The commitment has been clear and both Year 12 and Year 13 have exhibited both dedication but also good humour as they look to cope with the challenges such times present.
Results will be available in March via G4S and at that point students will also receive feedback which celebrates their successes and which guides them to securing or building on those successes.
UCAS Submissions and Early Entry Successes
We were pleased to share with you previously that so many of our students have received offers from a variety of higher education organisations and for myriad different courses – testimony to such a wonderfully diverse community here at NLS. We are delighted in general but did also want to recognise that we now have:
- Two Oxford offers
- One Cambridge offer
- Offers for medicine
- Offers for veterinary science
It’s terrific that students get the courses which they want and that members of the NLS community can really aspire to those perhaps most competitive of courses and organisations.
Some students are exploring gap year alternatives while more and more are aspiring to the highly-competitive Degree Apprenticeship programmes (both understandable options) and we will do all we can to ensure each and every student is motivated towards a next step which will make them happy.
As our review of the Tutor Time curriculum shows below, Year 12 have explored the National Apprenticeship Week. Perhaps explore yourself as a parent (if yet to) and discuss with your child: National Apprenticeship Week 2026, 9 - 15 February 2026
We remind parents that students do not need to immediately respond to UCAS offers but should be aware of any offer caveats as well as the generalised deadline for accepting or rejecting offers. It is perhaps obvious but important to reiterate what students have been repeatedly advised: you must ensure the Insurance Offer (2nd choice course) is a lower grade entry offer than the Firm (1st choice course).
Details here: LINK TO UCAS GUIDANCE ON OFFERS
Rewards
For efforts in tutor time, across lessons and in school in general, students are accruing many rewards points in Sixth Form – which is great to see. With their college affiliation noted, here are the Top 10 in each year:
Year 12
| Student |
|---|
| Teagan S |
| Daisy G |
| Toby V |
| Meredith C |
| Sofia Y |
| Josh L |
| Naomi M |
| Sophie J |
| Isabella R |
| Dan C |
Year 13
| Student |
|---|
| Anveet R |
| Ben F |
| Ewan D |
| Catherine N |
| Kezia A |
| Kabistan M |
| Annabelle W |
| Sophia F |
| Charlotte P |
| Lola R |
Tutor Curriculum
While the focus this half-term may have been on preparation for Mock Exams for both Year 12 and Year 13, we do not lose sight of things which put academic achievement into a wider context. For example, this week saw attention to Children and Young People’s Mental Health Awareness Week – students reflecting on why perhaps the modern world presents so many stresses and strains and how, where, what and who can help combat this.
Elsewhere, students recognised key events such as Holocaust Memorial Day - with a dedicated assembly highlighting how we must learn from the traumas of history and recognition what terrible suffering has existed at points in our human history.
In terms of the Tutor Time curriculum, recent coverage in Year 13 has focused on preparation for Mocks plus life beyond NLS while Year 12 has seen attention drawn to Work Experience and Amazing Apprenticeships and the national Apprenticeship Week. All of this has been supplemented with our ongoing assembly programme which has foregrounded the notion of High Challenge, Deep Support as well as that noted above. Meanwhile, the P.S.H.E programme has added to this provision with its attention to Relationships and Pregnancy (Year 13) and Relationships and Diversity (Year 12).
Online Safety Newsletter
Our February Online Safety newsletter has been published on the website on the Safeguarding tab – Online Safety - and you can also read it here Online Safety Newsletter - February. It includes information on the AI image generator and moderator tools that are widely available, Tik Tok and an article on screen time and resilience.
In addition we have added a newsletter to the website with information based around Safer Internet Day which was celebrated on 10 February, you can also read it here - Safer Internet Day Newsletter.
Calendar
- Geography Field Trip - Wednesday March 4
- World Book Day – Thursday, March 5
- Data 2 Release – Friday, March 13
- Gold DofE Training Day Thursday 14 March
- Work Experience – Y12 need to have completed their applications by the end of March
If you have any queries at any point, please do make contact via the usual communication sources.
On behalf of myself, the Sixth Form Team and the school, have a terrific half-term.
Yours sincerely
S A Taylor
Senior Assistant-Head-teacher (inc. Head of Sixth Form)