Student Information

Sigma Sixth Student Information

Attendance Expectations

Good attendance = Good results

We place a strong emphasis on good attendance because employers and university admissions officers want people who can be relied upon. They are not going to invest in people who will not be there.
Punctuality is very important, if you come in late, for whatever reason you must use our electronic sign in system and report to the Pastoral Office. If you know in advance that you will be absent, please email sixthform@cchs.school

If you are unable to come to Sixth Form on any particular day, because of illness or some other personal difficulty, you or your parents/carers must phone 01255 424266 by 9:30am so that we are aware that you will not be in, or are likely to be late.
To authorise an absence, due to visiting your doctor or dentist, you must hand in an appointment card to the Pastoral Office before or after your appointment. Otherwise, it will count as an unauthorised absence.
Holidays in term time are not permitted unless there are exceptional circumstances that have been agreed by the Head of College.
If absent, you must ensure you contact your teachers to arrange completion of missed work and agree a hand in date.

Part-Time Work

Many students in the Sixth Form have part time jobs in the evenings or at the weekend and a good work ethic is very important, however, this must not affect your learning and independent study.
Be warned, that most students can cope with one or two evenings paid work each week combined with a day’s work at the weekend, but beyond that it will almost certainly be at an obvious cost to your studies.
Under no circumstances should any paid employment be scheduled Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 3:10pm.

Mentoring

Your mentor is an important person who not only gives you notices and information about what is going on in Sixth Form, but also provides invaluable guidance to help you succeed. Mentors will have discussions with you about topics beyond the subjects you study, develop life skills and explore your post-18 options. Some students will have additional academic mentoring with members of the Sixth Form Team between 9:00am and 9:20am, these sessions will be scheduled in advance and students will be informed.

Work Experience Programme

Our work experience programme provides the ideal link between Sixth Form and the independence of University or work. In order to provide opportunities and boost ambition, Year 12 students are expected to complete the equivalent of 50 hours of work experience.
You are expected to conduct one day of work experience per week to fit around your timetabled days. Students who are studying 4 subjects will need to make alternative arrangements with the Work Experience Coordinator.
Our Work Experience Co-ordinator will support you to find your own high quality work experience placement.

Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteering gives you the opportunity to gain experience through helping others and using your skills to enrich the local community. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment, and volunteer work looks brilliant on your CV or personal statement. Volunteering separates you from other candidates and makes you stand out from the crowd. Currently, there are Sixth Form students who volunteer for the RNLI; others are trained as Youth Health Champions, Primary School TAs, Care Home Assistants, and charity shop workers.
If you are interested in volunteering and require support in gaining a placement, please see our Work Experience Co-ordinator.

The Sigma Scholars Programme

In an increasingly competitive world, we want to ensure that we guide and support our able students so that their applications for higher education and employment are wide-ranging
and distinctive. To achieve this, we have created a bespoke programme for our more able students called the Sigma Scholars Programme - Find out more HERE.

VI6 Partnership Study

Some Sigma Sixth students will have the unique opportunity to attend the very prestigious VI6 provision.
VI6 is a fantastic opportunity for you to experience a university environment, and allows you to become more independent, fulfilling a key element of Sixth Form learning.
Five schools and the University of Essex teamed up in 2015 to provide a learning experience unlike anything else in the country.

VI6 students have the opportunity to:
• Study and work at Essex University
• Access University facilities on campus, ranging from coffee shops, restaurants and resource centres
• Have access to University professors and expertise

If you who have opted for a VI6 subject, you will be travelling to Essex University for your lessons; travel will be provided. You are still a representative of Sigma Sixth and our expectations remain the same.

The Head of VI6, Miss Bailey, is always on hand to support, advise and monitor students whilst at the University. The main advantage of the VI6 programme, is to support your application into Higher Educational Establishments.

16-19 Bursary/Finance Information

The Sigma Sixth 16-19 Bursary Fund exists to provide support for eligible students during their time at Sixth Form. Full details, eligibility criteria and application form are available below or from the Pastoral Office.

We are committed to:
• The distribution of 16-19 bursaries via fair and equal process that is transparent, accountable and easily understood.
• Ensuring that information regarding the application, award and administration is publicly available on request

If you decide to go to university or college, you can apply for student finance. To calculate what financial support you could receive, you can check the online calculator at www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator.
There are tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and grants available as well as scholarships at some universities. These vary from one university to another, so you are best to research the university you are interested in and look on their website for details of bursaries and other financial support they may offer on top of student finance.