Options For Sixth Form Event: Students Offered Guidance On Sixth Form Study Opportunities At King Edward’s Witley
King Edward’s Witley opened its doors to the public earlier this month to showcase the breadth of study options for Sixth form students attending the School, including the new reformed A-levels offering that will run alongside the longstanding International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB).
Designed to provide Year 11 students with direct access to teachers and current Sixth Form students at King Edward’s Witley, to discuss their subject / study options, the Sixth Form Options Evening (held in the beautifully refurbished Selborne Room) heralds the first time since 2010 that students have been able to make a choice between studying for the School’s long running (ten years) IB programme or the reformed A-level courses due for national roll-out in 2015.
Whilst this is an annual event, the Sixth Form Options meeting for 2014 attracted significant interest due to the new opportunity to discuss the most appropriate study route for individual students to secure a university place. Students following the IB at the School have achieved outstanding results and King Edward’s Witley remains an ardent advocate of the IB diploma but recognises that some pupils may prefer the new A-level offering which provides access to a small number of subjects not covered in the IB, enables students to specialize at an earlier stage in their academic studies and may be more suitable for pupils whose aptitudes don’t necessarily suit the rigours of the IB.
IB results for King Edward’s Witley, announced in July 2014, showed an impressive 75% of grades in the exam – considered to be the global “gold standard” for school leavers – were at the equivalent to A-level A*-B grades. The average score was 33.4 points, well above the international average.
In his opening address the Headmaster, Mr John Attwater, advised how crucial making the right subject and curriculum choices is to getting to the right university and beyond in a competitive environment. Current and prospective students heard how important excellent careers advice from an early stage is in helping to make the right decisions.
Commenting on the event for Sixth Form entry to the School, Mrs Christine Meharg, Director of IB says “King Edward’s Witley has a long standing reputation for its ability to accept students from a wide range of cultural, social, economic and academic backgrounds and help each one achieve the optimum success in their choice of studies. We remain 100% committed to the IB which continues to represent the global gold standard in education, but we also want to provide a different route to university for students who are less suited to this programme of study. We recognise that the new A-level syllabus which marks a return to students learning a subject in depth for two years, may hold more appeal to pupils whose learning style / preferred choice of subjects dictates a need to seek out an alternative to the IB. Our priority is, and always will be, to help students maximize their full potential at the School and this applies across the entire curriculum spanning academic studies as well as sporting and creative activities.”