Welcome to Term 1 in the Sixth Form

Welcome to Year 12 & 13

 

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

 

We hope this letter finds you refreshed after the summer break and ready to commence this exciting year in your (child’s) education! In Sixth Form, we welcome our Year 12 students, who are embarking upon their first year as senior students of the school, and our Year 13 students, who are beginning their final, all-important year at DBIS. 

 

All of our Sixth Form students have a lot to look forward to this year. Alongside studying for their A Level and BTEC Level 3  qualifications, they can look forward to trips, competitions and countless opportunities to be involved with leadership roles, which help to sculpt the way in which the day-to-day life of the school operates. Not only this but we also have our new house system, and the Sixth Form are encouraged to collect house points to support their house. 

 

Year 12 & 13 Team

Throughout their educational journey, our Sixth Form students will benefit from the consistent support and guidance of our dedicated Sixth Form team:

 

Tutors

Please do ensure that the tutors are your first point of communication should you have any concerns throughout the academic year. Please scroll down to find our tutors’ introductions.

 

University Guidance Counsellor

In the Sixth Form we have a full-time university guidance counsellor, Ms Lau, who has a great wealth of experience, having worked for many years in the role at ESF schools. Students will have guidance assemblies and one-to-one sessions as well as ‘drop-in’ opportunities with Ms Lau throughout the academic year. 

 

North Plaza Campus Reception

 

 

Ivy is the first point of contact for daily administrative queries involving the North Plaza Campus and Sixth Form student attendance.

 

Assistant Head of Sixth Form & Head of Year 12

 

 

Mr Moore oversees the pastoral team in our Sixth Form centre, with a focus on student leadership opportunities in the school.

 

Head of Sixth Form & Head of Year 13

 

 

Mrs Boddington oversees the running of the Sixth Form centre, with a focus on high personal and academic standards for our students. 

 

Year 12 Students

 

At the start of this academic year, our focus for Year 12 is ensure that they are on track and happy with their subject choices. Conversations are being had with parents and students in relation to the release of (I)GCSE results to ensure that students are well suited to their subject choices. Once academic studies are well underway, students will begin the process of exploring their pathways beyond Sixth Form.

 

Year 13 Students

 

After the recent release of A/AS Level results, students are already having conversations with teachers about how they move forward in terms of courses they are taking, and, where needed, the opportunity to resit exams in the coming October series. 

 

Alongside this, one-to-one conversations with tutors are beginning, and Ms Lau is already meeting with students to discuss open applications to universities. 

 

Unifrog

 

We are very fortunate to have a subscription to the Unifrog platform – a comprehensive website that allows students to obtain information about university courses all over the world. Our Sixth Form students should make the most of this resource when researching courses, universities, job prospects and destination cities. This is an excellent tool to support university applications, so we encourage you to discuss this site with your child – there is a vast amount that can be explored! 

 

Success in Sixth Form

 

An extremely important factor that correlates directly with student achievement is time spent in school. For this reason, we look for students to be punctual and aim to achieve the highest possible attendance percentage all the way up to the end of the academic year. It is imperative that parents avoid taking students out of school during term time, as missing even a few days of A Level teaching can be detrimental.

If your child is to be absent for any reason, then please ensure that you fill in the JotForm here (this can also be found under the ‘Parent Information’ section on the Hub) so that no follow-up action is taken. Students are also expected to contact each teacher for catch-up work; it is their responsibility to do this for every lesson missed.

 

Key Dates

 

Looking to the year ahead (circumstances depending), here are some dates specific to our year groups (these will also be communicated nearer to the time).

 

Date Event  Description
26 August One-to-ones begin Individual student meetings with their form tutor
28 August Parent information evening, 6pm – 7pm at Main Campus Information regarding life in Sixth Form, and a chance to meet the Sixth Form team
11th  September University fair All students in Year 12 and Year 13 will be taken to the university fair hosted at the DC campus
8th-18th October October resits Year 13 October resits (Pearson IAL) 
16th  October Short reports Year 12 and Year 13 short reports published 
25th-27th November Modular mocks examinations Students taking modular courses begin their mock examinations
8th January Pearson IAL January Series Start January modular exams for Pearson IAL begin
10th March Mock examinations Students taking non-modular courses begin their mock examinations
27th March Mock examination strength and target reports Written reports that intend to give guidance on how students can progress after reviewing their mock examinations
31st  March Year 12 & 13 PTSCs Parents and students meet in person to discuss student progress with subject teachers

 

Sixth Form Expectations

 

Dress Code

Students are expected to adhere to the dress code found in the DBIS Sixth Form handbook. Students who do not meet dress code expectations may be sent home to change, and students persistently breaking our dress code may be subject to our Character and Culture policy (see the DBIS Sixth Form Handbook). 

Study Periods

Students are expected to spend their study periods in the study room and should be using the common room and North Plaza shops during their break and lunch times. 

Punctuality & Attendance

Students who are consistently late to tutor time or lessons will face disciplinary sanctions. Students whose attendance falls too low will have privileges removed. 

1:1 Tutoring

Students and tutor teachers will begin meeting for their 1:1 sessions from Monday 28th August. Tutors will create and share a timetable for these with students. These sessions are incredibly important and valuable for many reasons and attendance is, of course, compulsory. Here are the tutor team who look forward to getting to know your sons and daughters:

Tutor Team Introductions

Myra Pyne:

I am excited to be embarking on my third year as a Sixth Form tutor at DBIS. For those who do not know me yet, let me share my story. My route to DBIS was long and varied, but I am glad I made it here as I had a wonderful first year. I started off working in the IT industry before I was motivated and inspired by my daughter to become a teacher. I trained in England and taught in Scotland for eight years before becoming an international teacher. Prior to Hong Kong, I was in Malaysia and the Czech Republic. My main goal is to support students in their learning journey, whatever it may look like for them. I aim to inspire others to have the determination to succeed so they can live their best lives. I am looking forward to my next chapter and sharing that story with everyone here.

 

Brad Dry

My name is Brad Dry, and I am a Science and Chemistry Teacher at DBIS. I am very much looking forward to being a Sixth Form tutor this year. 

I moved to Hong Kong from New Zealand, where I had  been teaching for eight years. I have also coached football and futsal at my previous schools. In my spare time I like to play or watch sport, hike, and find new restaurants. I look forward to working with the Sixth Form students this year. 

 

Jaqueline Brownhill

I’m Jacqueline Brownhill, and I’d like to introduce myself as a History and Humanities teacher and Year 12/13 tutor at DBIS. I am excited to be a Sixth Form tutor again this year!

After completing my masters degree in History from the University of St Andrews in 2011, I moved out to Hong Kong to teach English at St Paul’s Co-Educational College Primary School. Since then, I’ve worked with students aged three to 18, have published material to help students sitting their HKDSE examinations, and have curated the content for an online IB History platform. I also serve as an IB History examiner during exam season twice a year.    

I obtained a postgraduate certificate in Educational Leadership in 2021, and in 2022 embarked on my postgraduate certificate in Education with a focus on History teaching at the University of Oxford.  

I thoroughly enjoy hiking in Hong Kong and also enjoy water sports like wakeboarding and wakesurfing. These are things that are not as easily accessible in Scotland, where I’m from! 

 

As always, please do reach out to us if you have any questions regarding your child’s education or experiences in our Sixth Form. 

Wishing you and your families a fantastic year ahead,

 

The Sixth Form Team

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