When should a student start getting prepared for 6th form?

This is an age old question and one that is never popular with students..

Our year 11 students are now taking their GCSE exams and once they have finished in June the last thing they want to hear about is the 6th form! However, it is important that they have a little bit of pre sixth form time before September?

For most students getting prepared for 6th form is buying new clothes, new stationary and having a really long holiday to rest. Hopefully, they will have had a taster 6th form day in their school where they can get a brief overview of the subjects they want to take.

I would now like to put my neck on the line and suggest that it would be great to spend a few days at the end of the summer term, after their exams have finished when they can gather at the school of their choice and meet with their subject choice departments alongside the EPQ co-ordinator and UCAS lead. These year 11 students are about to have a huge holiday and if they could read at least one book per subject or a synopsis prepared by departments it would get them started in September on a very positive path.

I think the next big preparation point is the first term. How they organise their notes and start their research is key to their revision which won't necessarily be happening for another 18 months. A question they need to know is will they be doing coursework and if so will this need Harvard citation. Subjects like Psychology do tend to want the coursework fully cited which means you have to understand citation and have started noting your sources before you even start writing your coursework I have had students come to me after they have written their coursework, but have not kept details of their research, for a Harvard citation lesson and this is definitely shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted!
We want our students to get the most from their 6th form life and staying on top of their academic studies means they can enjoy all the other moments of being a 6th former from being a prefect and mentor, captains of sports teams, leaders of student bodies to the social aspect of dances and debates.
There is so much joy to being a 6th former but also so much pressure, so please be prepared and take advantage of any help offered by your schools and family to make sure you start right in September.

A couple of small pieces of advice would be to write letters during the summer. Weird, but this it to keep your hands used to writing or typing otherwise your hands will ache when you start school in September.

For students who have English as a second language keep talking and writing in English over the summer otherwise it is a shock in your first A Level class.