Your University Preparation

Further Education advice begins in  Year 11 when the choice of AS/A2 subjects is discussed as part of planning for the Sixth Form.

Subject choices made in Year 9 and Year 11 inevitably have a significant influence on decisions about university entrance, which are very fully discussed in Year 12 prior to making applications in the Autumn Term of Year 13. The UCAS Centigrade individual assessment and information system and a visit to a higher education fair are offered to BCS Year 12 students. We have our own internal specialists to talk about university entrance, and we work with colleagues at Hampshire Collegiate School (Romsey) for additional guidance on Oxford and Cambridge entrance.

Individual guidance, mock interviews, university visits – all these are available to help everyone make the right choices.  We also use the expert support of a university professor who works one to one with all our students to advise them on how to write their personal statement, on what to put in their UCAS applications, on what skills and experiences to develop in order to gain entry into the university and course of their choice. 

We offer a gold standard service to our sixth formers – because BCS see it as our mission to let you fly!  We will make sure our sixth formers are ahead of the game when it comes to applying to university.  We know it is your future at stake, and we will give you all the tools, and more, to be a winner in the race to reach your chosen destination.

Typically each year 25% of BCS leavers gain entry into the Russell Group of Universities, including some to Oxford and Cambridge.  95% of all our leavers move on to higher education, the small remaining minority take gap years or move directly to employment.  Popular university destinations for BCS pupils include: Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Bristol, Warwick, Exeter, Cardiff, Southampton, Plymouth, Bath, Bournemouth, University College London, London School of Economics and Business Studies and Hong Kong.
 
BCS has extensive links with Bournemouth University (10 minutes from BCS), enabling our students to enjoy extended academic opportunities and creating an ideal platform for university preparation and future succcess.

The Guidance Process

As part of their Sixth-Form enrichment programme, BCS students are guided on how to get the most out of University Open Days, and are trained in the skills needed to write their university application and to participate effectively in university (and job) interviews.

The UCAS process begins formally in May of Year 12 whereby an information evening is hosted for Year 12 to begin outlining the UCAS process to students and their parents, and to provide practical information about higher education. All Year 12 students are encouraged to do something different, useful and unique in their summer holidays, which they can then refer to, when it comes to the writing of their all important Personal Statements upon their return to school in September. 

In the Autumn Term of Year 13, the student’s tutor and the Careers Advisor guide them through the UCAS system. The Principal, in conjunction with individual tutors, personally produces each student’s Higher Education reference.

This process ensures that our Sixth Formers have the time and support that they need to make their application as effective and successful as possible.