There’s lots of elements that collectively make a successful Sixth Former and one is that students should be undertaking 15 to 20 hours of academic work per week outside of the classroom. There is always something students can be doing to ensure they are putting enough time into their studies. Another is to ensure that they are not afraid to ask for help; students should actively seek assistance whenever needed, and follow all personalised advice given to them.

At Abbey Gate College, we view learning and understanding as a highly reciprocal activity between student and teacher, and if a student genuinely does not understand something the teacher will always want to help them; they will get as much help as you want or need.

In addition to academic work and acting on all advice provided by teachers, students should also consider:

• Wider reading: making extra notes and being able to bring something new or different to a class discussion.
• Finding new sources or angles on a particular subject using up-to-date journals or the internet.
• Making sure notes are neat, organised and as detailed as possible.
• Reviewing material in preparation for the next lesson in order to understand more easily how new material links in as well as keeping the work fresh in the mind, thus reducing the burden of work at examination time.
• Going back over your previous work and using the teacher’s comments to improve it.
• Other qualities to ensure a pupil achieves at their best at A Level include:
• They are well organised, keep their files up-to-date, and devote adequate time to thinking about their subjects, preparing work and revision.
• They keep abreast of developments in their subjects by watching current affairs programmes, reading quality newspapers and appropriate magazines like History Today, New Scientist, Nature etc. They then use this knowledge in discussions and written work to give extra depth and authority to their ideas.