Higher Education Week

2022-2023 

Higher Education Evening Monday 6^th June 2022 

Thank you to the parents and students who attended our Higher Education Evening. It was a fantastic event with lots of information to take away. Please find some of the resources shared by institutions from the evening: 

• Student Finance Information
• UCAS Process
• Harper Adams University Presentation
• Reaseheath College Presentation 

Higher Education Week (Monday 11^th July – Friday 15^th July) 

‘Higher Education Week’ will run from Tuesday 12^th July until Thursday 14^th July. This involves 3 days of intensive support for students exploring opportunities beyond A-Levels, and will allow the Year 13 team to start gathering information about student intentions. Higher Education Week guides students on university including a wealth of information about the application process, personal statement preparation, key deadlines, and information on student finance. It also supports students interested in applying for higher degree apprenticeships whilst also helping students who are interested in taking a gap year or looking to go straight into employment.   

Monday 11th July will be a study from home day, with the exception of those students that are interested in The Lasallian Developing World Projects. These students will be informed of the time they will need to be in school. On Friday 15^th July 2022, some students may be expected to come into school. All other students can work from home this day if they are up to date with the work completed over the course of the 3 days. However students must be in full school uniform for the rest of the week.    

Friday 15^th July 2022 will be Year 12 student’s last day of the academic year in school – they do not need to come into school for the final week of term.   

UCAS Predicted Grades  

• UCAS predicted grades will communicated with students in the autumn term.  UCAS predicted grades will be largely based on the summer term exams. There will be other opportunities to sit further exams in the autumn term to improve UCAS predicted grades. Consideration will also be given to sustained evidence of performance in assessments during the course of Year 12 using the professional judgement and experience of teachers that know the students. This sustained evidence will include:  
• Assessment data from exams/ tests and assessments carried out throughout the year;  
• Classroom performance and engagement with / approach to the subject;  
  • Any extenuating factors which may have led to a specific case of under-performance
• More information on UCAS Predicted Grades will be communicated to Year 12 students and their parents / guardians in the summer term 

University Application Deadlines  
The school deadline is earlier than the official UCAS deadlines in order to process all student applications. We do encourage all students to complete their applications as early as possible.    

Early applications:                                                                                All other applicants:   

School deadline – 30^th September 2022                          School deadline – 2^nd December 2022

UCAS deadline – 15^th October 2022                                   UCAS deadline – 25^th January 2023  

Personal Statements   

Students will have the opportunity to speak to advisors from Staffordshire University on writing a competitive personal statement during HE week. We urge students to start planning their personal statements immediately over the summer by reflecting on their personal skills, experiences, and ambitions, and what they could organise in the near future to help make their application more competitive, such as work experience or volunteering. It would be wonderful if parents can help students with their personal statements by offering to proof-read their (many) drafts too!  We encourage all university applicants to have drafts of their personal statements ready for their form tutors in September.  

Early Applicants  

It is important to be aware that different courses have varying applications and deadlines. For example, most Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary/Conservatoire courses, and courses at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have an earlier deadline date. In order to support students who have expressed interest in any of these courses, students have received key information on GCSE entry requirements, A-Level grade expectations, entrance tests, key deadlines, BMAT/UCAT and the importance of work experience/volunteering opportunities. It is crucial that early applicants continue to regularly check their school emails in order to access ongoing support for these applications. We would advise early applicants to be starting their personal statements as soon as possible in order to meet the earlier deadline.