The Sixth Form are subject to the same expectations of punctuality and attendance as the rest of the school.  

 Attendance and Government guidance 

There is a clear if somewhat complex correlation between school attendance and educational outcomes. It is in the student’s utmost interest to maximise school attendance. Research shows that for every 8 days of school missed, a student will move one place down a ranking of 100 students  (UCL, School Absences and Pupil Achievement).

The Government defines persistent absence to be where a student misses 10% or more of school, and severe absence is where a student misses 50% or more of school. Parents are encouraged to check regularly their child’s attendance data on My School Portal.

Full details about attendance expectations can be found in the Attendance Policy from which the following extract about parental expectations is taken:

Parents are expected to:

• ensure their child attends every day and arrives on time for 8.35 am and remains until the close of School which is usually 4.00 pm. (It is strongly recommended that students arrive at 8.20 am in order to organise themselves for the school day);
• communicate with the School (preferably by using the appropriate forms available on My School Portal or otherwise by ringing Reception) to report their child’s absence before 9.10 am on each day of absence and advise the reason for absence and when the student is expected to return;
• provide the School with more than one emergency contact number for their child;
• ensure that, where possible, medical and other appointments for their child are made outside of school hours;
• adhere to any attendance contracts which are agreed with the School;
• seek support, where necessary, for maintaining good attendance, by contacting, in the first instance, the appropriate Head of Key Stage / Head of Year.

Registration and Signing In 

Registration is at 8.40am in form rooms and is a statutory element of the school day. We recommend that all pupils arrive by 8.20am to organise themselves and their belongings ahead of registration.   

We expect families to factor in heavy traffic when planning the journey to school, and late arrival should therefore only be in exceptional circumstances. Students arriving at school after 8.40am but before the close of registration at 9.10 am are recorded as ‘Late’. Anyone arriving to school after registration has closed should sign in on the computers at the school office before going straight to their relevant commitment. In line with government requirements, arrival after 9.10am has to be recorded as an unauthorised absence from the morning session of school, even if lessons are attended. We can only authorise a late arrival which has been approved in advance, for example for a medical appointment. 

The register for the second session of the day will be taken at 2.05pm.  Students who register at the office after 2.05pm but before 2.35pm are recorded as ‘Late’.       

Absence from School and going offsite 

Sixth Form students are expected to follow the same absence procedure as the rest of the school (Please see Attendance and Absence section of the Parent Pupil Handbook).  

When authorisation for any other absence has been granted, a student will need to sign out at Reception before they leave school. They will need to sign back in to school at the school office if returning on the same day. 

No student is allowed to leave the site without authorisation from a Deputy Head, the Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or the Head Master. If you do not have permission to leave school but do so anyway, this will be recorded as an ‘Unauthorised Absence’ and will be dealt with accordingly. 

Sixth Form pupils may go off site at lunchtime, but this must be on foot (not in a car). They should sign out at Reception first and return and sign in by 2pm. 

Lesson attendance during the school day 

There should be no circumstances under which pupils are unaccounted for at their timetabled lesson (including Health, Fitness and Wellbeing and PSHEE). Sixth Form pupils are expected to be punctual to lessons, and if there is an unavoidable reason for lateness then this needs to be communicated to the teacher via another member of staff.  

Should a student feel ill or sustain an injury whilst at school, they should let a member of staff know so we can help. No student feeling unwell should contact a parent themselves or leave school without speaking to either the School Nurse or a member of the Senior Leadership Team. 

Any pupil who is well enough to remain in school should be in their lessons. It is not possible for pupils who do not feel well, either physically or mentally, just to remain in the Sixth Form Centre or Quiet Zone, for example, rather than attend their timetabled commitments. 

Sixth Form Study afternoons 

Students may be granted permission to study at home on chosen afternoons from the Spring Term in Lower Sixth and in Upper Sixth, provided they have no lessons or school commitments that afternoon. Owing to Friday Afternoon Activities this is only possible from Monday to Thursday. Parents are required to sign a form to indicate their consent of the student’s request and to accept responsibility for the student’s learning and safeguarding during the afternoon. Requests are only approved where the student’s school attendance and punctuality show a strong level of commitment to their learning. This privilege may be removed if the student is not meeting school commitments, including meeting high attendance expectations in the Sixth Form.

Where study at home is permitted, this is recorded as an authorised absence using code X but will not appear as an ‘absence’ in the student’s individual attendance record as the student was not required to be in attendance for that registration session.

University visits 

The University Visit Absence Request Form, on My School Portal, should be used to request permission for students to attend interviews, offer holder days, open days etc. Please upload the invitation that the pupil has received from the university, and the absence can then be automatically authorised. Please note that families should prioritise open days that take place on Saturdays or in the holidays over those that take place in school time, and a maximum of three school days across the UCAS cycle are allowed for attendance for Open Days. We will endeavour to find suitable space in school for online university interviews, though can alternatively authorise a short period of absence (likely to be a maximum of half a day) for pupils who may prefer to do online interviews privately at home.

Driving lessons and driving tests 

Driving lessons are not permitted during the school day. Absence for driving tests (theory and practical) may be requested via My School Portal, but we strongly recommend that these are booked for times outside the school day.