Welcome to our Virtual Open Evening
This year our Sixth Form Open Evening is going online! Due to restrictions in place to support social distancing, we unfortunately cannot invite parents & students into our Sixth Form to see what we’re all about. So instead, we’re taking our usual open evening event online and providing everything you need to know about us!
The Sixth Form at Southmoor Academy
Usually at this time of year we’d be inviting you into our sixth form to take a look around, learn about your course choices and meet our tutors and support staff. Unfortunately due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the social distancing restrictions around it, we cannot do that this year.
We’re sorry you won’t be able to join us. As an alternative to this, we’ve created this page to act as a ‘virtual open evening’. This page will remain live from Monday 8th March, so please feel free to visit and take a look as many times as you like!
If you’ve already decided to study with us next year, and you haven’t done so already, you can submit your application by visiting this page and following the online instructions. Be quick, our last spaces are almost gone!
Before you begin, please take the time to watch the short introduction from our Director of Sixth Form in the video below. We hope you enjoy this page and look forward to seeing you soon, hopefully in person, in the near future.
A Place to Reach for Your Aspirations
The Sixth Form at Southmoor was established in 2014 to be a beacon of high aspiration in Sunderland. Nearly seven years later and we are providing exactly that for our students.
Whatever way you look at it, the Sixth Form at Southmoor stands out. On the simplest level, we consistently add value. We are one of the best performing Sixth Forms in Sunderland, our students are leaving us having gained ground on their GCSE grades and we have alumni that have gone on to study at some of the world’s truly outstanding and respected institutions.
From Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford to Natural Sciences at Cambridge, from Veterinary Medicine at Glasgow to Pharmacy at Nottingham, we have and continue to provide the best destinations and outcomes for our students. Just this year we have students receiving UCAS offers from choices far and wide including: Computer Science and Mathematics at Manchester, Urban Planning at Liverpool, History and Politics at Glasgow, Primary Education at Durham, Architecture at Newcastle, Physics at Warwick and Medicine at Hull York Medical School to name but a few.
Of a total of 111 applications made this year, 80 students made at least one application to a Russell Group university, showing their high aspirations to attend some of the best institutions in the country.
Even now we’re only scratching the surface. We pride ourselves on being forward thinking and outward facing. For those interested in vocational routes, both in Health and Social Care and Engineering, we have established a second partnership with Sunderland University.
And for the highly academic, we have our OxNet hub – Oxford University’s first outreach hub in the North East. Not only does this give us a fantastic range of specialist lectures, visits and seminars, but the whole Sixth Form benefits from the advice and guidance of our network of academics and higher education professionals. And you could be the next to benefit! You can find out more about OxNet below.
We’re delighted by the fact that of around 230 students, we have over a third from schools other than Southmoor Academy, making us a truly diverse option that is big enough to offer choice but small enough to pay attention to the individual.
Amazing Results & Fantastic Destinations
Many of our other students are now heading to some truly amazing destinations at the UK’s top universities. Just last year an outstanding 43% of our students hold offers from Russell Group Universities. This includes three students heading to the prestigious Oxford University (more than any previous year), seven to Durham University and a fantastic 16 students to Newcastle University. Sheffield, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh, York and many other universities are some of our other top destinations for this year’s cohort.
And it’s not just about university – this year alone we have had students going to train to be a commercial pilot, to a degree apprenticeship at Siemens, and to study music at a conservatoire.
Below are just some of our top performers from this year’s results as well as a case study for one of our recent alumni. Will you be amongst them next?
Results Case Study: Laura Giles, Sunderland School of Medicine
Not only are we seeing great results and destination for our students as they move on to higher education, but we are now starting to hear back from students who are now pursuing exciting and rewarding careers across the globe including medicine, teaching, sports scholarships and even cutting edge genetic research.
Southmoor Alumni Laura Giles, now in her second year of study to become a doctor was one of fifty students selected to join the state-of-the-art facilities at the new medical school in our very own city. The school boats dedicated partnerships with the region’s NHS trusts that will see Laura benefit from learning all aspects of her future profession.
Grades: A* A* A*
Destination: Sunderland University School of Medicine
A message from Laura:
“No one in my family has had a career in medicine, or health care for that matter, I’m the first.I’m so excited to get started I never thought that one day I would be going to medical school, so this is a dream come true.”
A Home for Learning
The Sixth Form at Southmoor is housed in a dedicated wing of the school, completely refurbished and redesigned for our first intake in September 2014. Sixth formers enjoy their own café, open from 8.00am every morning and manned by our catering staff, as well as study areas, a resource room, a computer suite, and classrooms furnished throughout with private study booths. All students have a locker to store their files in. Sixth form students also have exclusive access to their very own computer suite, science lab and entrance directly into the sixth form. You can take a look around yourself, browse the virtual tour below.
We’re also excited to see our sixth form grow. With the refurbishment of the historic Southmoor House, the Sixth Form has truly come home. This new building offers students yet more study space, another state of the art science laboratory and brand new classrooms to allow for even better capacity across all our subjects. We’re putting the finishing touches to the building right now so it’s ready for September but if you want a sneak peak, take the virtual tour below. You could be amongst the very first year group to enjoy this brand new wing of our sixth form.
What Makes Southmoor Sixth Form a Good Choice?
Results, destinations and national accolades are one thing, but what do the people that make up the sixth form think? We asked staff and students alike to give us their thoughts on what is ‘The best thing about sixth form.’ Watch their replies below!
All About Aspirations & OxNet Opportunities
We offer a lot of extra programmes and incentives to our students to help boost their learning in Years 12 and 13. Our programmes and extra curricular incentives are exactly the type of things discerning universities look for in potential students. Below, Mrs Ungley our OxNet and Raising Aspiration Coordinator speaks about her role in supporting you achieve your goals as well as more about our OxNet programme. You can also find out more about our OxNet programme by clicking here.
It doesn’t just stop there though. Extended Projects, Academic Enrichment, Global Perspectives, Work Experience and thriving partnerships with Sunderland, Newcastle and Durham Universities are all valuable extras we offer our students.
You Matter Most
Sixth form can be difficult. These formative years are challenging times even without the stresses of a global pandemic to deal with. Luckily, we have first class pastoral support here to help you. Our team are not only here to help you succeed but also look after your emotional wellbeing when you need it. Not only this but our dedicated staff are also responsible for arranging events, organising extra curricular activities and trips as well as helping to put the fun into every day life in the sixth form. Our dedicated pastoral leads Miss Zakaidze and Mr Carter describe their roles in the video below.
The Subjects We Offer
Our curriculum has been designed to give students the best possible future opportunities. We offer a wide range of A level subjects, but we also have a vocational and technical offer as well. All courses are equivalent in terms of UCAS points, and all will lead towards university study.
Our base entry requirements are grade 5 in English and Maths, with at least three other grades 5-9. We ask that the majority of students pick three courses to study in year 12. If students achieve 5 grade 7 or equivalent at GCSE they can elect to study four.
Technical and Vocational subjects have coursework elements and in some instances work placement. They are challenging in a different way, demanding commitment and organisation, but may be suitable if you struggle with the idea of exams.
Our teaching is geared around supporting students through the difficult early transition from GCSE, but as the course progresses, we look to ensure that students understand the core concepts and skills behind a subject, not just the best approaches to an exam. Above all, we believe that Sixth Form education is about enabling students to achieve whatever they aspire to in adult life.
Below our subject leaders have prepared short videos for you on each and every subject available. Click a dropdown box to begin to learn more about what each and every course involves and how it can benefit you in the future.
A Level Courses
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Non A Level Courses
Looking to the Future
We have reached out to our extensive network of support partners and representatives from higher education to provide you with some helpful advice on your next steps after sixth form. September 2023 might sound far off but it’ll be here sooner than you think! To help you decide on the route you’ll take and the decisions you need to make during sixth form when moving on to higher education, apprenticeships or employment, we’ve provided a collection of videos from our associates below.
Further Resources
Further Resources
Amazing Opportunities
NCS offers Year 11 students the chance to go on a fantastic summer programme of activities. NCS is a once in a lifetime opportunity for students currently in Year 11 and 12 consisting of a two to three week programme that takes place in July and August involving residential experience, life skills workshops and social action opportunities. It is a fantastic way for students to enhance their CVs and personal experience and looks great on your application to both sixth form and University! Below is a video by our colleagues at The Foundation of Light, who will deliver your NCS experience should you wish to take part.
More details are available in this information letter from the FoL NCS Team and to register interest, students can go to this website.
We also offer students the chance to take part in our Duke of Edinburgh challenge. Taking on a DofE Gold Award is your opportunity to achieve something new and do something out of your comfort zone to raise money for the DofE Charity, Young people are facing unprecedented challenges, making the DofE more relevant and important than ever. The challenge also looks impressive on a CV and is a great talking point for future employers or educational providers.
You can find out more about the stage of challenge we offer and what it involves by watching the video below!
Competition Time!
What would an open evening be without the chance to take home some free goodies? You may not be able to join us this year to grab a bag full of Southmoor swag but that won’t stop us giving away free stuff!
Simply fill out this short questionnaire and we’ll enter you into a prize draw for a £50 voucher to spend on Amazon. Good luck!
What Are You Waiting For?
We think our Sixth Form is a great place to start your journey to higher education, but don’t just take our word for it! This year’s Year 12 students will tell you all about what they think as they embark upon their own way through our sixth form.
So what are you waiting for? If you’d like to become part of the growing success of our fantastic Sixth Form, then you can apply for your space in our 2021/2022 Academic Year by clicking here to visit our online application page or download an application form from here and submit it to our main reception or the address below.
Thank you and we hope to see you soon, if you’d like to find out more about us, don’t forget to take a look through our latest prospectus.