Dear Parent/Carer,
I wanted to share with you some exciting news that we are very proud of in relation to our sixth form at Beckfoot.
As you know we are an incredibly outward facing school and in very recent years over 26 staff have spoken at local, regional, national and international events and conferences about a variety of things relating to our work at Beckfoot.
Last weekend, Miss Sullivan and Dr. Wright travelled to Belfast, in Northern Ireland, to talk about Oracy and our Sixth Form provision respectively. Both presented brilliantly and we have received stunning feedback from delegates since their return.
It was such a privilege for us to be invited to talk about our sixth form especially given our determination to create a truly remarkable post 16 provision at Beckfoot. Our work began in earnest two years ago and the signs of success are clear from this summer’s best ever results at A Level with students achieving an average grade of a B.
Dr. Wright presented on the topic of Creating a Remarkable Sixth Form and used the Beckfoot story over the past few years to share insights into what we are doing day to day and how our vision and values are shaping our thinking currently and for the future. He shared the Beckfoot journey in strengthening and enriching Sixth Form provision, covering key features such as enriching Post-16 pedagogy and fostering positive student behaviour, attitudes, and Independent Learning skills (5 Hours in) as well as our approach to Atomic Habits. He discussed the Personal Development programme, which nurtures growth through volunteering, leadership, and CEIAG (Careers Education, Information Advice and Guidance). He explored strategies that make a lasting impact on students, positioning our Sixth Form at the centre of our school community.
The presentation was received brilliantly with over twenty five schools and colleges in touch with us this week to find out more about what we do and our journey. Below is a flavour of some of the feedback received:
- “I would like to say thank you so much for leading the session on Saturday morning at the Research Ed conference. I thought you were great and a real inspiration for 6th form provision. Your ideas sounded very practical and certainly are helping to keep your pupils on track….”
- “Thanks very much for this. I really enjoyed your presentation – appreciate your sharing!”
- “Thank you so much for your ResearchEd presentation- would you please share it with me? It has really inspired me to make some tweaks to our 6th form and the examples you shared would be really helpful.”
- “I really enjoyed your session on ‘Creating a Remarkable Sixth Form’ on Saturday. Would it be possible to get a copy of your slides? I was really impressed with the ‘5 hours in’ and the ‘Atomic Habits’ concepts. If you had word versions of these I would amend and use for our school if you don’t mind.”
- “We have had a Sixth Form for a period of time and I, along with the Head of Sixth Form, have been trying to move the culture within private study to make it more productive. Your session has really helped us with our thinking for the year ahead”
- “Many thanks again for such an interesting and thought provoking talk.”
We are incredibly proud of our sixth form community and the students and staff that make it such a special place. We are determined to be better every day and have additional plans for our students around leadership, personal development and so much more. I am thrilled Dr. Wright has flown the Beckfoot flag in Belfast and beyond and also that so many of our colleagues both here and abroad agree that we are doing great things for our students whilst always thinking about next steps to continually improve our offer.
Best wishes.
Simon Wade, Headteache
