Dear student,

I know results day is always a stressful time.  I appreciate the difficulties faced with the system of grading this year and empathise with your situation.

Some of you have expressed concern about missing out on your A level choices by one grade.  The Senior Leadership Team have discussed this and we have come up with the following process. 

Please read carefully:

• If a student misses out on the entry requirement for a subject that they have originally chosen, by one grade, they can submit the Independent Study Award (Gold Standard) work for that subject to the relevant Department.
• This will be considered as evidence towards being accepted for the subject, despite you narrowly missing the grade criteria.  In addition, the student will be on probation for 6 weeks. 
• The quality of work is as important as having completed the task.  Any copy and pasting/plagiarism will mean that the work will not be rewarded..   
• Method of submission: the portfolio of work will be in a folder and handed in to the teacher, unless the work set means that a digital submission is better.  If this is the case, it will be emailed to the Department.

For example, if a student got a 5 in English Literature, they could complete the Gold Standard requirements for the English Literature Independent Scholarship Award and submit it to the Head of Department who would make a decision on whether they could enter the subject.

For a subject with two grade criteria (the sciences/Psychology), the student could submit the portfolio of work if they have missed out on one of the two subjects by a grade.  If, for example, in Biology, the student got a 6 in Biology and a 6 in Maths, they could complete the Biology Independent Scholarship Award to Gold Standard and submit.  If they got a 7 in Biology but a 5 in Maths, they would still complete the Biology Independent Scholarship Award for submission. 

Showing the willingness to complete the Independent Scholarship Award (Gold Standard) will certainly help in your case for gaining entry to your original subject choice if you have narrowly missed it. 

The deadline for submission of this work is Monday 6^th  September.  This will allow us to check the work and make a swift decision regarding your place on the A level.  The resources can be found  here: https://www.rainhammark.com/alevelprep

Remember, all A level students need to complete Bronze Standard as a minimum in order to prepare for their subject. 

In summary, there are four key points:

• Submit the work by Monday 6^th September in a hard copy folder or via email to the Department for the subject you wish to take. 
• The HoD makes the ultimate decision based on the depth/quality of your work.  Their decision is final.  If you have not completed the Gold Standard work to a sufficient quality, the HoD reserves the right to refuse you a place on the course.
• This can only be done for the subjects you originally opted for – you cannot do this for a change of subject.
• This is all subject to there being enough space on the course; students who achieved the grades will have priority. 

Please note, completing this work does not change your GCSE grade.  Additionally, completion of this work cannot change the school’s admission requirement of 46 points. 

Kind regards,

Mr  McDowell
Assistant Head Teacher

Head of 6^th Form.