Bushey Meads Sixth Form Higher Education Evening

Higher Education Evening Diana McIldowie– Head of Work Related Learning Abigail Smith – University of Hertfordshire Matt O’Kelly – Head of Sixth Form Des Timotheou – Deputy Head of Sixth Form Sara Ash – Assistant Headteacher

Higher Education Evening Some university courses require you to sit an entry exam LNAT, BMAT and MAT Exam centre – support from September Open days – authorise 5 visits

UCAS Apply 2018 On-line application completed in tutorial groups and at home. School email address Research Open days

UCAS Applications September 2018 Cost: £24.00 for two – five choices and £13.00 for single choice Total of 5 choices in no order of preference References written by teachers and form tutors, with final review by Head of Sixth Form

Personal Statement Personal statement – suggested structure. Course choice? My A levels. My Community service. Why me? Personal statement length: 4000 characters or 47 lines

Application Process Application deadlines: 15th October 2018 Oxford, Cambridge, Medicine and Veterinary: 15th October 2018 All other applicants: 15th January 2019 The Head of Sixth must ‘send’ your application so you must meet with me in good time to have it processed Internal deadline: 15th December 2018

Application Process Parents Guide Further guidance can be found at UCAS on-line, tutors and teachers University Faculty admissions offices.

Next Steps Before the end of the summer term, all students to register with UCAS Tutors , Mr O’Kelly and Mrs McIldowie are here to guide and support Personal statement day

The UCAS Tariff – for entry into higher education for September 2019

In brief… UCAS has introduced a newer Tariff for the admissions cycle. 18/04/2019 In brief… UCAS has introduced a newer Tariff for the admissions cycle. Addresses many of the shortcomings of the older model. Significantly different method to the previous Tariff. Note that the AS has been deliberately repositioned to 40% of an A level. For applicants applying in 2016 and entering HE in 2017, the current Tariff will be replaced by the new Tariff. This entails one, singular switchover point for all, regardless of when the qualification was studied, which we hope will minimise confusion. The decision to change the Tariff dates back to the 2012 Qualification Information Review (QIR), where it was deemed that the current Tariff is no longer fit for purpose. Many reasons were cited including its inflexibility to accommodate vocational and international qualifications, expensive and complex methodology and a lack of transparency in determining points allocations. We believe that the new Tariff addresses all of these concerns. 19.3% of respondents wanted to retain the Tariff for setting entry requirements, offer making and other admissions practices. In September 2012, the UCAS Board agreed to replace the current Tariff with a simple, transparent, more efficient method. A defining principle has been that of minimal disruption, so relationships between qualifications on the Tariff have been maintained as far as possible. The only key change is that of repositioning the AS in line with UK regulator statements that it is less demanding than an A level. As part of this project, we have repositioned this metric as primarily in existence for the purpose of data management.

New Tariff points The Tariff tables show the new Tariff points, plus the awarding organisations that offer the qualification. The size and grade bands are also shown. These bands determine the total points. The full calculation for each qualification is shown in the qualifications list, which is a technical document primarily aimed at higher education providers. This is a screen shot of what the new Tariff points will look like, so you will have an indication of the size band, grade bands and awarding organisations. Note that if you wish to see the logic driving the full calculation, there is another document on ucas.com called the Qualification List where this will be detailed.

Time to bust some myths… More universities and colleges will use the Tariff. Not the case – only one third of courses in our search tool refer to the Tariff, and some universities intend to move to qualification and grade-based entry requirements. There aren’t enough international qualifications on the Tariff. One of the key design principles of the new Tariff is to ensure more international and vocational qualifications can be added. All of UCAS’ 10,000 registered centres were invited to participate in out annual Adviser survey 2015. We asked a question about how confident Advisers felt in advising their applicants about the new UCAS Tariff and offered you the opportunity to ask questions. We thought we’d take this chance to respond to some of the most comment ‘myths’ relating to the new Tariff and hopefully provide some reassurance in these areas. The numbers are hard to recognise and use. The new Tariff calculator will help serve as a quick look-up guide to points. (Source: UCAS adviser survey 2015)

… and some more myths The reformed AS will be treated as 40% by universities and colleges and the unreformed AS will be treated as 50%. No this is not the case. There is one switchover point for all AS qualifications. Qualification regulators have stated for some time that the AS is not the same standard as A level. Some universities including Tariff using HEPs have never accepted the AS. All HEPs will change their minimum entry requirements because of the new Tariff. Only a third of courses on course search use the current Tariff. We are not expecting HEPs to move to the new Tariff. Those that use the current Tariff and are moving to the new Tariff are unlikely to change their minimum entry requirements. Some might, but this will not be due solely to the new Tariff. All of UCAS’ 10,000 registered centres were invited to participate in out annual Adviser survey 2015. We asked a question about how confident Advisers felt in advising their applicants about the new UCAS Tariff and offered you the opportunity to ask questions. We thought we’d take this chance to respond to some of the most comment ‘myths’ relating to the new Tariff and hopefully provide some reassurance in these areas. (Source: UCAS adviser survey 2015)

Head of Careers and Work Related Learning Diana McIldowie Head of Careers and Work Related Learning

How do we prepare our students for the next step ? Higher Education Convention – March 2018 Year 12 work shadowing – July 2018 Year 12/13 tutorial programme - ongoing Personal Statement Day – September 2018 Year 13 interviews – November 2018 Advice and guidance from Bushey Meads staff and Youth Connexions – ongoing

How many Apprenticeships are there within a 5 to 15 mile radius of Bushey Meads on Monday 12th June 2017? 5 miles 192 10 miles 645 15 miles 1853

Higher Apprenticeships

Higher Apprenticeships New vacancies: Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme As of today there are 750 Higher Level Apprenticeships available through the Civil ServiceFast Track Apprenticeship Scheme. The Fast Track is a two-year Level 4 apprenticeship: a rewarding alternative to university with a competitive starting salary. There are five exciting schemes available: Business Project Delivery Commercial Finance Digital & Technology Salaries range from £19,500 - £27,000 (minimum £22,000 for London based roles) with permanent positions available.

Alex Hirsch – Law Apprenticeship

24th and 25th November “Skills London” at Excel 5th and 6th March Sandown Pk Race Course 12th and 13th March Arena MK Milton Keynes 31st and 1st April Westfield Shopping Centre

Foundation Degrees Typically two years full time study Stand alone qualification Additional one year for Honours Degree top up option West Herts and Oaklands colleges Validated by University of Hertfordshire

Distance Learning Open University www.open.ac.uk Studying for a degree in your time from your own home

University of Hertfordshire Abigail Smith University of Hertfordshire

Thank you for your time this evening Thank you for your time this evening. We will be available afterwards for questions.