Transition Work for Students Joining Y12
Your MGGS 6th Form Journey Begins Here!
We are looking forward to welcoming you into the MGGS Sixth Form next academic year.
You have a valuable opportunity in the coming months to prepare for your A Level/Cambridge Technical qualifications, and we want to support you in this. The transition from Key Stage 4 to Key Stage 5 is challenging and, despite reducing the number of subjects you study considerably, the depth, breadth, quality and amount of work that you will do will increase. You will grow in your experience, expertise and love of these subjects and will make many happy memories while you’re in the Sixth Form; we are very proud of the community we share and the fantastic work ethic and achievements of our students. Sixth Form study is very different and the best way to ensure a smooth transition is to be ready.
The tasks below have been compiled by MGGS Heads of Department and the Sixth Form Management Team, and have been planned carefully to develop your skills and to enable you to ‘hit the ground running’ when you start your Sixth Form study. We usually release this material after our induction events in July but have chosen to release our transition material early in order that you can broaden your understanding of the subjects you plan to study in advance of the A Level/Cambridge Technical course. In light of the cancellation of examinations and the time you are now spending at home, we have also included lots of additional material – we do not expect anyone to complete all of it!
First you will find a list of general tasks and advice – none of these are compulsory at this stage but looking through them will give you a good idea of our values and priorities as a school and help you to plan for your time with us.
Below the first table are a selection of tasks for each of our Key Stage 5 subjects for entry 2022. Compulsory tasks, to be handed in during your first Y12 lessons, are marked with a *. Other tasks are optional and offered as extra opportunities for development and extension. You can choose how many you undertake.
If you are considering a number of subjects, completing this work may help you to finalise your decision.
If you have any questions related to these tasks, please contact the relevant Head of Department or central@mggs.org. Thank you in advance for your hard work on this; we hope you enjoy it!
Mr Walker
Assistant Headteacher for Key Stage 5
| 1 | Do something positive for your mental health and wellbeing There is a lot that is useful out there, e.g. the Radio 1 Life Hacks podcast (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0875218) which has an episode on mental health generally and one on school closures too. |
| 2 | Regularly review your GCSE work, especially in subjects you plan to continue (or related subjects, e.g. maths is relevant in Maths, Sciences, Social Sciences, Business, Economics, Computing, Geography and many more!) Make sure you’ve finished the course and are secure in your knowledge. You’ll be building on this in KS5 and the knowledge you’ve gained from GCSE courses is an essential foundation for A levels, so make sure you stay on the ball and keep facts, methods and skills fresh in the run up to starting sixth form. |
| 3 | Consolidate your independent study skills: MGGS Sixth Form follows a programme of activities devised by the VESPA Mindset team. Attached are some activities to get you started: |
| 4 | Fall in love with your subjects! Cultivate your passion with super curricular reading. There are lots of good ideas for super curricular activities on Unifrog (if you have access to this through your current school, look at the ‘Geek Out’ section under your subject). There are also great ideas on: |
| 5 | Podcasts Find one you like and listen to it regularly to keep up to date in your subject(s). The MGGS Student Guide to Radio 4 may help. |
| 6 | One of the options for your Sixth Form Extra hours |