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Admissions Criteria


Application Process

1. The Westgate School’s Sixth Form Open Evening.
2. Applications Open.
3. Applications Close.
4. Pre-Enrolment Interviews.
5. The Westgate School’s Sixth Form Taster Day.
6. GCSE Results, Enrolment Interviews and Offer Confirmation


Entry Requirements

Basic Entry Requirements:

We require a minimum of five GCSE's at Grade 5 or above for Level 3 courses  which must include GCSE English Language and GCSE Maths and then meet the requirement for the specific subject qualification chosen.

A GCSE total point score of at least 40 points in your best 8 subjects (which must include English and Mathematics).

  • For example: English Language (Grade 6), English Literature (Grade 6), Mathematics (Grade 5), Biology (Grade 6), Chemistry (Grade 5), Physics (Grade 5), PE (Grade 4), Religious Studies (Grade 5) would give a total points of 42 points based on the 'Best 8 subjects'

Subject Specific Entry Requirements:

Please refer to the subject specifications within this prospectus for guidance on the requirements for each qualification at Sixth Form.

Students will be expected to enrol on a two-year, full time, planned programme of study. Entry level criteria has been carefully established for all A-Level and Level 3 qualifications to give our students the best opportunity to achieve their potential, with meaningful results that will help them to move on with their post-18 plans.

Offers will be made on the basis of predicted performance at GCSE, with the requirement that the above grades are achieved in the final examinations prior to entry to the Sixth Form and the student’s chosen subjects can be accommodated on the timetable in feasible group sizes.

All offers made during Year 11 are conditional on students meeting the grade criteria specified and will only become firm offers upon confirmation of actual GCSE results. Offers will be made in writing and offers will be confirmed once the school has seen verification of GCSE results. 

Where learners have achieved better results than the predicted grades, they will be considered based on the grades achieved for any places that become available as a result of other learners failing to meet the required entry levels.

Please note that The Westgate School’s admission arrangements expressly permit consideration of exceptional or other circumstances to allow entry criteria to be varied in individual cases. This is at the discretion of The Westgate School’s Sixth Form Leadership Team.


Internal or External Students

Internal Students

Priority will be given to existing students at The Westgate School transferring from Year 11 who meet the entrance criteria.

All internal students at The Westgate School will be given a time slot when they will be able to apply for a place at The Westgate School’s Sixth Form. All students must choose three subjects and must also choose at least one reserve subject.

Please note that although internal students may have secured a place at The Westgate School’s Sixth Form, their specific courses cannot be guaranteed. Places at The Westgate School are confirmed during GCSE Results Day and if large numbers of students meet the entry criteria, oversubscription criteria will be used to determine places to students on a first-come first- served basis.

If a student is not happy with the remaining courses on offer, it would be their choice to withdraw and find a place at another institution.


External Students

All external students who wish to apply for a place at The Westgate School’s Sixth Form will be given a time slot when they will be able to apply for a place. All students must choose three subjects and must also choose at least one reserve subject.

International students may also be admitted to The Westgate School’s Sixth Form but are required to provide certified evidence that they have achieved the entry requirements at GCSE level.

Each external student will be offered a pre-admissions meeting before any offer of a place is given. An offer of a pre-admissions meeting does not constitute an offer of a place. If successful, external students will be informed in writing of a place following their meeting.

The Westgate School will request a reference from the current educational establishment of each external student prior to the pre-admissions meeting and a decision will not be taken until all necessary documentation has been received.

Please note that although prospective external students may have secured a place at The Westgate School’s Sixth Form, their specific courses cannot be guaranteed. Places at The Westgate School are confirmed during GCSE Results Day on a first-come first-served basis. This means that following the admission of internal students transferring from Year 11, all remaining places will be allocated to learners who have met the entry requirements for the course of study on a first-come, first-served basis.

Where there are more learners seeking places than the number of places available, the over-subscription criteria will be applied. In this situation, prospective students would be informed and a date by which final places would be confirmed. If a student is not happy with the remaining courses on offer, it would be their choice to withdraw and find a place at another institution.

 


Withdrawing an Offer

After a place has been offered, The Westgate School reserves the right to withdraw the place in the following circumstances:

  • When the parent or learner has failed to respond to an offer within a reasonable time (1 week); or
  • When a parent or learner has failed to notify the school of important changes to the application information; or
  • The admission authority offered the place on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application from the parent or learner or where the school has been given inaccurate information.

 


Right to Appeal

Should an application for a place be refused, students/ parents/carers have a statutory right of appeal which will be held by an independent appeal panel.

In these circumstances, students/parents/carers should write to The Clerk to the Governors at The Westgate School.