application to Mascalls Academy sixth form
Offers to join Mascalls Academy Sixth Form are conditional upon meeting entry requirements for your chosen subjects. All subjects require at least 5 GCSEs at a grade 5 or above, and at least a grade 4 in GCSE maths and GCSE English (literature or language). Please see below for answers to our FAQs about the maths and English entry requirements, and what will happen if you do not meet this requirement.
Many of our A-Level and BTEC subjects also require at least a grade 5 in the relevant GCSE subject, so this should be carefully considered when selecting onward study options.
Please see our subject page for any subject-specific entry requirements.
External students need to make contact with us as soon as possible after receiving their results to confirm that they will be taking up their Sixth Form place. A copy of the GCSE results sheet will need to be scanned and emailed to claire.shawkew@mascallsacademy.org.uk as part of this confirmation process.
important dates 2024-25
Thursday 7th November 2024, 5pm – 7pm – Sixth Form Open Evening
Opportunity to view the school and talk to our specialist subject teachers about the A-Level and vocational courses on offer for 2024.
Friday 8th November 2024 – Applications Open
Mascalls Academy starts accepting Sixth Form applications via Applicaa which is accessed via this website. Year 11 Mascalls students will be provided with a login and those applying from other schools can create an account as a new user.
Two weeks in December 2024 – Mock Exams
Year 11 GCSE mock exams (which will provide data on Sixth Form subject suitability)
Friday 14th February 2025 – Applications Officially Close
Official deadline for submission of Sixth Form applications to Mascalls Academy for entry in September 2024, however we will keep applications open and consider applications submitted after this date.
March / April 2025 – Sixth Form Offers are Made
Offers of Sixth Form places are made via Applicaa. Offers will be conditional and will have a response deadline by which you must either accept or reject the offer, also via Applicaa. Failure to respond to your offer by the stated deadline may result in it being cancelled.
May / June 2025 – GCSE Final Exams
Late June / Early July 2025 – Induction Programme
Induction programme for Mascalls Academy Sixth Form. Students intending to join the Sixth Form in September 2025 are required to attend the full programme. This includes all internal and external students who have accepted an offer of a place via the Applicaa system.
Thursday 21st August 2025 – GCSE Results Day
All Year 11 Mascalls students need to be available to receive their GCSE results in person at the school, and to review their Sixth Form subject choices with the Sixth Form team.
Maths & English FAQs
A grade 4 or above in maths and English is an entry requirement for our sixth form. If you have received good grades otherwise, but haven’t met this requirement, the head of sixth form will determine your eligibility to study your selected subjects with you on results day. If they determine that you are eligible for a place, you will be required to re-sit your maths or English GCSE, and will be enrolled to study the GCSE course for examination the following June.
Wednesdays are kept free for this provision and applicants who have been enrolled to continue with their GCSE study. The allocation is two hours per week with departmental teaching staff.
For maths the papers are the same as the GCSE students will sit; students enrolling at Post 16 will sit the Foundation Paper.
For English, Edxecel (Exam Board) has devised a new Post 16 programme of study which offers a revised exam model that is more suited to the older students. It would only be English Language that is a required re-sit and there is no coursework element. Students may still be required to complete a Spoken Endorsement element.
Candidates enrolled for Post 16 GCSE study will be further assessed by subject teachers after enrollment and considered for early entry (November Series) or end of year entry (June Series). Decisions on entry will be made by the heads of the respective departments.
If a candidate is enrolled in the November series, results are shared with students in the following January. All papers are externally marked by the exam board and not by staff in school.
If a candidate is enrolled in the June series, results will be published in the August results with the GCSE students.
Should a student achieve a pass or Level 4, they will have concluded the course and are no longer required to attend scheduled lessons. If a student is in the November series, they are required to attend lessons until the results are shared in the following January.
The government stipulates that a student who has achieved a Level 3 or below should be working towards achieving the Level 4 until they pass or until they conclude their 6th Form studies, whichever is sooner. Therefore, should a student not achieve a Level 4 in the re-sit they will continue with their GCSE studies until the end of Year 13.
Entry to the Mascalls Academy 6th Form requires either a pass or actively working towards achieving a pass. If a student does not wish to participate in the resit programme, they will not be enrolled in the 6th Form and must choose an alternative provider.
For more information or to ask any question not answered above, please contact the 6th Form Support Assistant, karen.marsh@macsallacademy.org.uk.
Induction Programme & Enrolment
An Induction Programme will run for all new Year 12 students to give the opportunity to experience lessons in your chosen subjects. The date for this is to be confirmed however it will be held at the end of June or beginning of July.
Additionally, we will be running some preparatory sessions for 6th Form including getting organised and how to develop your independent thinking skills, both key aspects of achievement at Level 3.
All those who have ‘conditional offers’ are eligible to attend and a note of your attendance will be taken into consideration on results day.
Enrolment Day: Monday 1st September 2025
This is the date that new Year 12 students will join Mascalls Academy Sixth Form.
The day will begin at 8:30am in the Sixth Form Common Room, where Student Advisors will meet their groups and take you off to their individual Advisory rooms. You will receive your lesson timetable during that first session and your actual lessons in your individual subject choices will begin period 2. If you have questions about your subject choices, there will be an opportunity to speak to the Sixth Form team during the day.
As a Mascalls Academy student you are required to observe the published dress code. You are expected to dress according to this code with effect from the first day of term.
Enrolment Day Information & FAQs
If you were set work to complete over the summer vacation period – which you would have received either as a result of attending our Induction Days in June, or by email if you had informed us that you couldn’t attend those days – then you should bring that completed work with you on 1st September so that it can be submitted for marking.
Please also bring some money with you for lunch, if you intend to purchase it from the Sixth Form canteen, as per the information below.
The canteen in the Sixth Form Common Room, which is managed and operated by our caterers, Cucina, will be open for breakfast, as well as at break and lunch times for hot and cold drinks and snacks. If you prefer to bring your own packed lunch with you, you are welcome to do this but please be aware that there is no facility to heat up food brought in from home.
The Sixth Form canteen will take cash and card payments in the first few weeks, but you will need to use the school’s cashless system Scopay after this point. If you are new to Mascalls Academy, your Scopay account will need to be set up and a fingerprint reading taken before you can use the cashless process. This can be done on your first day.
If you applied for your Travel Saver card by the August 1st application deadline as specified by Kent County Council, then your card should have been sent to the school prior to the first day of term so that you can collect it from the Sixth Form office on that day. If you submitted your application later than August 1st then your card may not be ready for you to pick up, but please check with our Sixth Form Support Assistant anyway, just in case it has been received. You will need to sign for the card to confirm that you have collected it.
The day begins at 8:30am, and will end at the usual 3:10pm school finishing time.
Please contact our Sixth Form Support Assistant, Karen Marsh by telephoning 01892 839042 or you can email her at karen.marsh@mascallsacademy.org.uk.