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Years 12-13 Post-GCSEs Sixth Form College

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  5. Years 12-13 Post-GCSEs Sixth Form College

At the end of Year 11, your learner has a choice about where they will continue their studies and about what they will study. In the Autumn Term of Year 11 there are Open Evenings and Open Days at Sixth Forms, Sixth Form Colleges and Further Education Colleges for you to attend. Go along with your learner and research the variety of courses available.

GCSEs are Level 2 qualifications. Once your learner has achieved five or more GCSE’s at Grade 4 and above, they can progress to Level 3 qualifications, such as A Levels, International Baccalaureate, T-Levels, BTECs and many more.

The Sixth Form or College years are a time of growing in independence and intense study, so make sure that they make positive choices to select courses that they will succeed in and find enjoyable. And do take advice from their teachers about where their strengths are and what type of course they will excel in.

In the Summer Term of their first year of Sixth Form or College, your learner will be encouraged to start their research into Higher Education. The teachers or Careers Advisors will often arrange a Higher Education Fair, where universities visit the school and give information, advice and guidance to the pupils.

There are three main areas that you can assist your learner in finding out about:

  1. Researching different courses and universities and using UCAS
  2. Open Days and taster lectures – dates that students and parents, guardians and carers can visit universities and look around their facilities
  3. Student Finance – how to pay for university

Let’s have a look at those areas in more detail.

Researching different courses and universities and using UCAS

There are many places where you can start your research into courses and universities. A really useful “one stop shop” resource is the UCAS - the University and Colleges Admissions Service – website. UCAS is an impartial source of information and advice. It is a charity and the one central system through which people apply for university in the UK. It gathers information from all the universities and colleges of Higher Education in the UK and all the courses on offer can be found on their website. They also have an official YouTube channel with useful videos on how to use their website and how to apply to university.

There is lots of information on their site for parents, guardians and supporters, see the Parents Guides available here:

Parent, Guardian and Carer Guide | Undergraduate, Conservatoires | UCAS

And the Guides for Advising Students with Individual Needs:

Step-by-step guides for advising students with individual needs | Undergraduate | UCAS

Also, in the UCAS Parent Guide is the timeline of when to apply for university:

Key dates timeline | Undergraduate | UCAS

Once you and your learner have found the courses that they are interested in on the UCAS website, go to the individual university’s websites, where the courses are described in detail, and all the other information about studying at that university is presented. Most importantly, go to your learner’s teachers and careers advisors, as they are experts in this field, often having advised pupils on university applications for many years.

The university application timeline

First year of college or Sixth Form:

‣ March – April:

- Start researching universities, Open Days, Summer Schools, Taster Days, etc.

- Apply for work experience

‣ May - August:

- Sit practice exams

- Attend university Open Days, Summer programmes, etc.

- Gain some work experience

- Start gathering evidence for Personal Statements

Second year of college or Sixth Form:

‣ September:

- Begin drafting personal statements and UCAS applications

- Attend any Open Days for universities offering them

‣October - November:

- 15 October is the deadline for applications to Oxford and Cambridge, and for most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine/science

- Many universities will hold Open Days during this period

‣January:

- Last chance for campus tours or university visits before the UCAS deadline

- 29 January is the deadline for applying for most undergraduate courses via UCAS.

‣ February - March:

- Attend offer holder days and/or interviews

- UCAS Extra opens

- Apply for Student Finance

- Review the responses to applications, all universities should respond by the end of March

‣April – June:

- Confirm the two top choice university offers by the beginning of May

- The deadline for Student Finance applications is the end of May

- Revise and sit exams

‣ July – August:

- Some exam results such as IB arrive in July

- A Level results arrive mid-August

- Accept a university offer

- OR go into Adjustment or Clearing

Open Days and taster lectures – dates that students and parents, guardians and carers can visit universities and look around their facilities

All universities run Open Days when prospective students can visit with parents, carers, guardians and supporters, look at the accommodation, attend a taster lecture, and speak to current students. They are a fantastic opportunity to get a “feel” for the place.  Go along with your learner and make the most of the opportunity to speak to the Student Services Team about the support that they offer to students.

There are Admissions staff to answer all your queries and current students on hand to show you around and tell you about how they have been supported in their learning at university. You and your learner can attend mini taster lectures in the subjects that interest them and ask questions to the lecturers about the courses.

There are also general presentations about all elements of university life that you might want to know about, all of which will help your learner when deciding what course and which universities to apply for. These days really are the best way to get a taste of what it is like to study and live at a university, so do encourage your young person to attend and try to go with them where possible. Here at LSBU we have several Open Days throughout the year and hope to see you there!

Universities advertise their Open Days on their websites, or you can visit UniTasterDays, a one-stop shop to find over a thousand different events to attend. They also have on-demand webinars on a huge range of university subjects which your young person may find useful, and for supporters like you there’s The Parents’ Guide to University which covers everything you need to know, including a handy jargon buster.

And it’s not just Open Days! Many universities offer plenty of other ways to get involved and try things out, whether that’s free webinars via Unifrog, attending student concerts, plays and shows or exploring the University of London Taster Courses. Engaging with these things before starting university will help to give you and your young person a clearer picture of everything they have to offer.

Student Finance – how to pay for university

There are lots of sources to help you understand the complexities of student finances. One of the best sources of information for parents and supporters is Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert. Look for his talks on YouTube and on the Money Saving Expert website.

In a nutshell, universities charge students fees for each academic year of their course, which are currently £9,250 per year.

All learners can apply for a loan from Student Finance England (SFE) to cover the cost of the university course. Your leaner is required to create an account on the SFE website and apply for a loan to cover the fees. The loans to cover the course fees are available for a total of up to four years and are not “means tested”. So, regardless of what income/salaries are being earned by parents or supporters, all prospective students can receive a loan to fully cover the university course fees. If your learner wants to study in Scotland, where degree courses are usually four years long, they will be able to successfully get a loan to cover all years of the course. The fee loans are paid directly from SFE to the universities and do not pass through the new student’s bank account.

In addition to the fees loan, every prospective student can apply for a maintenance loan. This is paid into their bank account three times a year, at the start of each term to help towards their costs of living while at university.

The amount of maintenance loan that they will be allocated is defined by the level of “household income”. So essentially, if you receive a higher salary the amount of maintenance loan received will be lower. But if your household income is low, a larger maintenance loan will be awarded to your learner.  The UK Government expects parents to give additional top up payments to their learner’s maintenance income.  See the Money Saving Expert Website link above for more information on this.

Prospective students apply for a Student Loan from March onwards of the year that they intend to start university, meaning they apply before they have their exam results and before they know which actual university they will be attending. This is normal, and learners should NOT delay applying for their student loan. It is essential that they apply as early as possible, from March onwards, to ensure that their loans come through on time for the start of the Autumn term.

There’s plenty of advice available which will help to guide you step by step through what you will need to do, as you will be asked to provide information about your own income when your young person applies for Student Finance. Make sure that you’ve had a look at the Student Finance England website in advance, and there’s lots of information on the Student Room website as well. If you’re researching, make sure you’re only using reputable sources, as unfortunately student loans can be a big target for scammers. All LSBU’s fees and finance information can be found here.

Sources of support:

As well as the organisations already mentioned, LSBU has many teams of staff who can support you and your young person - we’re here to help every step of the way.

Or contact our Outreach Team with any questions:

Outreach@lsbu.ac.uk

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