The UCL Academy Careers Fair – Tuesday 28th January – 5.45-7.30pm

We are delighted to invite UCL Academy parents and students of Levels 1+, 2 and 2+, 3 and 3+ to our 2020 Careers Fair on the evening of Tuesday the 28^th of January, 5.45pm-7.30pm.

At the event, we will be joined by 40 high profile organisations representing a wide range of careers sectors. Among many others, our line-up of the evening includes British Airways, University College London (UCL), Barclays Bank, Just IT, Marriot Hotels, Transport for London (TFL), Royal Air Force, London Fire Brigade, Royal Navy, Met Police, WPP, English National Opera, Capital City Colleges, Mace Group, UKSEDS (space), University of West London, Civil Service Fast Stream and many more. So whatever career sector your child aspires to, and whether they are aiming for University or an Apprenticeship programme, there will be something for everyone.

Many of our students have imminent decisions to make about where and what they want to study next, so it’s a perfect opportunity for them to gain more information and consider their different options. We look forward to welcoming everyone to this exciting event.

 

 

Another Strong Set of A Level Results Celebrated at The UCL Academy

The UCL Academy is celebrating another strong set of A Level results from their largest ever cohort of Sixth Form students. In the first year that students who started at the Academy in Foundation (Year 7) finished their A Levels, the Academy is thrilled and proud to see so many students going on to study at many of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Robin Street, Co-Principal, said that “A Level results day is always a special day for the Academy as we celebrate and support our students who have worked so hard and see them head off to so many great universities”. On behalf of the Academy’s Sponsor, UCL and Governing Body, the Academy’s Chair of Governors, Professor Lucie Green also congratulated all staff and students on the excellent results and wished them all the very best of luck for their next steps, future studies and careers.

Five of the stand-out individual performances from Academy students include:

Paulina Gordina is heading to Imperial College London to study Chemical Engineering after achieving an amazing set of results; one A* and three As. Paulina had found studying outside of her direct curriculum areas hugely helpful to her studies and thanked the Academy’s teaching staff for supporting her with this.

Sabirin Abdirahman, the Academy’s very own Head Girl, is thrilled to have achieved three As and to be heading to Kings College London to study Medicine. Sabirin thanked all of the teachers for “going the extra mile” throughout her time at the Academy. She also thanked her incredible cohort of students who she was proud to represent and support.

With one A* and two As, Imran Sheikh is excited and proud to be taking up his place at Southampton University to study Medicine. He thanked the Academy’s teaching staff for all of the support and extra revision sessions that they provided adding that the “STEM tutors truly went above and beyond to provide amazing subject specific support”. 

Having achieved one A* and two As, Bengisu Loveridge Ozturk is looking forward to starting her Politics and Sociology degree at Bristol University. Bengisu said that it was her strong relationships with Academy teachers and their amazing support that encouraged her to stay at the Academy to take her A Levels.

With a passion for aeronautical science, Harry Softley-Graham is planning to study Mechanical Engineering at University College London. He praised the Academy’s amazing Engineering department for their “professionalism, support and fantastic facilities”. He was also thankful for the Academy’s UCL links which gave him fantastic opportunities to attend lectures at UCL and expand his knowledge and experiences beyond his immediate studies.

Of particular note is the Academy’s Maths teaching team and students. Nearly 50% of students achieved an A or A* in maths this year, in what was the Academy’s largest subject cohort.

All images by Kirsten Holst

School of Rock!

The School of Rock is coming to The UCL Academy this week! Performance are taking place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th July and doors will open each evening at 6pm. Tickets are still available for all parents on ParentPay at £5 for adults and £3 for children. We hope to see many of you there!

 

Response to Recent Press Enquiries About A-Level Entries

Please see the Academy’s response below:

“Reports around withdrawals at the Academy have in some cases been incorrect or incomplete. We are therefore setting out the school’s response, policies and processes below.

A-level completion rates for sixth forms and colleges are published annually. The Academy’s completion rate for A-level studies is consistently in line with or above national and local averages. We are set to be the same this academic year.

In reviewing our exam entry for 2019 summer exams, we can confirm that 97% of A-level exams will be sat as planned.

Separately any decision to withdraw a student from an exam is a difficult one for us to take and is one we make working with a student and their family. Only in individual circumstances would a decision be taken to withdraw a student from an examination, or recommend a switch to an AS exam. We make decisions based on the individual needs of students.

If a student’s assessments demonstrate over time that they are not passing the course, or if a student raises personal circumstances that mean a deferral is more appropriate then withdrawal might be considered. Not to do so could potentially restrict future university applications.  This is only done when this possibility has been flagged and discussed with the family in advance.

With any affected student, we have robust plans in place to support the best outcomes for them, even it means taking a longer time to reach their goals. Support in place is bespoke to the student to help determine their next steps and progression to university or elsewhere. In some cases this takes the form of an additional year in the sixth form to overcome whatever barriers there are. Our very experienced careers advisor and our student well-being service is core to this support. We do not believe that any school would take a decision like this lightly and for us it is only something that would take place after much thought and extended opportunities for a student to demonstrate their best work.”

In summary, any affected student has been part of the following process:

• Regular monitoring of progress and any student at risk of not passing was identified early in the school year. This led to meetings with parents and teachers to flag the concern and agree a plan of support and action;
• Targets were agreed and action necessary to fulfil them were put in place along with a wider discussion of any wider support needed;
• If this did not lead to improved progress in assessments we then discussed with the student and their parent the possibility of not entering them for an A Level in that subject. We only did this if we had seen no evidence the student could achieve a pass grade;
• If a student felt they were still in a position to achieve a pass we continued to support them to a final assessment in April. In special circumstances we agreed to extend this into the Easter holiday to give students the best chance possible. Parents were again kept informed of this;
• Further meetings to support students were held with parents and carers at the start of the summer term, and we continue to offer support and guidance to individual students.
• Emails are sent only to confirm in writing what has already been discussed in the meetings with students.

We feel strongly that discussing individual students is not appropriate or supportive to individuals or the whole student body who are working very hard and we are doing all we can to support them. We continue to encourage all students to come and talk to the staff here at the Academy so that we can offer the very best advice and guidance.

The UCL Academy, 20^th May 2019