Higher Education

UCAS stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It is the British admission service for all students applying to university. At Stepney All Saints Sixth Form we expect all Year 13 students to apply to university. Every year the vast majority of our students are successful in gaining places at their chosen universities, and over 90% choose to progress to university. The remainder go on to study at a wide range of high level apprenticeships, including prestigious schemes such as those run by the UK Civil Service, KPMG, or Ernst and Young.

We have a dedicated programme to support students applying to university, which begins in Year 12. At the start of Year 12, students are invited to join the ‘Academic Society’, which focusses on supporting top achievers to get to the best universities. We have a weekly Sixth Form Lecture, where we host visiting lectures from academics at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and other leading universities. As Year 12 progresses we support students to apply to summer schools at a range of leading universities, including Oxbridge, Imperial and UCL, and ensure that all students are provided with a relevant work experience placement. Students also gain further experience through our societies and clubs, for example, our ‘Medicine Society’ meets weekly and helps prepare students for applications to medicine. We also run a number of trips to top universities, which this year have included Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Royal Holloway and Imperial.

In the summer term, we have a ‘UCAS Week’ where top universities visit school to provide advice and guidance on every aspect of the UCAS form. Students are also supported to make informed choices by using the Unifrog platform. Universities who visited in 2017 include Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Kings College London, Imperial, and Newcastle. Once Year 13 begins, students continue to received expert advice from their tutor, and the Head of Year 13, who runs after school extension classes where they can check students’ forms, give advice and guidance on course choices, student finance, personal statements and any other queries.

Additional support is put in place for students who need to meet the early Oxbridge, Medicine and Dentistry deadline. These students receive 1-2-1 guidance not only from their tutor, and the Head of Year, but also from a mentor from the school’s senior leadership team. In addition to this, we have a close link with Queen Mary’s University Medical School who provide guaranteed interviews for a number of our students.