r/sixthform

Hey all,

I'm a current Oxford student who has been reviewing a ton of student personal statements recently and I've noticed a recurring pattern which I think students should avoid!

I've made also recently made a resource with 5 exemplar personal statements: https://mdftuition.bcns.link/ucas 

The single biggest tip: It's very important to show growth!

Universities want to see curiosity, passion, and development of ideas and character. Your personal statement shouldn’t be a list of books you’ve read or activities you’ve done. It should flow naturally:

Not just: “I read X. I researched Y.” But instead: “Reading X exposed me to the concept of Y, which I then linked to my A-Level studies of Z.”

Show how one experience led to another, and how you’ve grown intellectually and personally along the way.

Treat the main body of your statement like a chain of reasoning and personal discovery. Show how one experience led to another, and how you’ve grown intellectually and personally along the way.

pre/6: maths/further maths/literature
Hey guys,

i just had my sixth form induction and the director of sixth form told us that we’d likely need to undertake work experience at the end of year 12,

if hoping to study law at university and go on to become a criminal barrister at a chamber (haven’t quite figured it out yet)

i’m just kinda looking over different forms during my summer break and i’m getting a bunch of mixed information as to how i would approach applying for a work experience placement in the legal field,

things like mini pupillages are mainly reserved for undergraduates apparently so i’m not sure how to go about it,

i’m going to talk to the director again on results day if i see her, or if i don’t i’ll talk to her in the first week of year 12

but i was just wondering if anybody on here knew about this type of thing and could offer any advice

I do well in GCSEs but I only got good GCSE grades from putting in loads of hard work, so I’m worried I might really struggle with A-levels. Also, is Further Maths super tough? Do you actually need a grade 9 just to enter it?

Back in January I chose Maths, Further Maths, Computing, Geography but after doing the OCR FSMQ I feel like I probably got a B/C so I don’t know whether I would be able to handle Further Maths A-level. But the thing is I’d always planned to do a computer science degree and go to somewhere like Imperial / Kings / Oxford?? but with maths not being my strongest point I don’t know how realistic that is anymore. So I started to think what do I actually like about Computing and I think I’m just intrigued by it rather than actually having a passion to do a whole degree on it, so I could have it as a side hobby but than that left me wondering about whether I have a passion for any of my subjects. I know that I like Geography and I feel like that could be fun to do as a degree (then I’d obviously do a masters probably in something more sciencey for other career opportunities) but I’m also struggling as for years i’ve planned to study computing and studying geography instead feels like it would just flip everything upside down and it’s just something i’ve never thought of. So I would drop Further Maths and take economics (maybe i’d end up doing a masters in economics) (i have to take 4 a-levels at my school)

TL;DR: thinking of dropping further maths because I might not be able to handle it which means I wouldn’t be able to do computer science at the uni I want and completely flip my plans and i’d do a geography degree instead

also next week is my sixth form induction day

I’ve been asking them about predicted grades and UCAS references for the past 2 weeks, since they said they provide them. But I’ve rang them up to provide prices and they haven’t provided them yet. They never seem to respond to my messages. Does anyone have any experience with Educo London? Does it seem legit?
I’m running out of options as I’m a private candidate resitting my a levels I need predicted grades and a UCAS reference.

I think only students in wales will b able to answer this but If I take 2 subjects + welsh bacc will it put me at a massive disadvantage compared to 3 subjects + welsh bacc?

I’m considering js doing 2 a levels and Welsh bacc as appar Welsh bacc is equivalent to 1 a level but idk if it’s undervalued or not ygm?

I finished my GCSEs a few weeks ago and have marked all my papers for maths from leaked mark schemes and have calculated I have probably only lost around 10 or so marks total across the three papers, so I am pretty much guaranteed a 9.

I really enjoy maths and I am considering taking it A-level, but I will have to drop a subject because i won't take four subjects and people are telling me that maths AL is too hard and i shouldn't do it, but I think if i can get the best grade possible at GCSE how good do I have to be to do well at AL?

I worry because I want good AL grades but I also have a tutor organised for 2hrs a week for AL maths when i start it, and i will revise continually through the year.
I plan on taking maths, english, politics, and textiles and i will probably drop either maths or textiles and take three, but i really want to do maths, however i want a good grade more and worry because many people are dissuading me.

I am just wondering how hard it will be for me to get a good grade in maths AL without losing love for the subject or getting burnt-out by it.

looking for people who are actually tryna lock in 😭

i'm making a 24/7 study Discord because almost every server i've joined ends up dead after a week 💀

what we're building:

📚 daily study sessions

🎥 cam-on & silent study rooms

⏳ YPT accountability

📝 daily goals & progress tracking

📖 notes, resources & doubt discussions

🎶 music study rooms

🎮 chill vcs after the grind

🌍 everyone is welcome — all countries, all time zones, all exams. whether you're in school, college, or preparing for any competitive exam, if you're serious about studying, you'll fit right in.

the goal isn't to have hundreds of members who disappear after two days. i'd rather build a small community that actually shows up, studies together, and keeps each other accountable.

if that sounds like your vibe, drop a comment or DM and i'll send you the invite. let's lock in fr. 🫡

UCAT season is upon us again, raising blood pressure and stealing sleep.

I was in this EXACT position like a year ago and I can out the other side with a top decile score, 4/4 interviews and now I am a UCAT/PS tutor that wants to help any way he can

DM if you want any advice or want to inquire about who I am and what I do.

Stay safe yall

Hi there, I have just finished my GCSEs and I am going into Y12. I have been fearing ever since I finished that my gcse grades won’t be good enough for dentistry. I know that you can never fully predict all of your grades but from all the online mark schemes these are the grades I believe I will achieve worst case scenario 88888776. The 8 is in chem, bio,maths,English lang, re, 7s in physics and English lit and the 6 in history. The chemistry grade may be a 9, the history grade may be a 7 and the English lang grade may also be a 9, I am just going for worst case scenario. I have seen many people on TikTok get into dentistry but they always have straight 9s and 8s. I know my GCSEs are okay and meet the minimum requirement, but will they actually give me a chance at dentistry. Someone plzz help bc I am slowly losing hope and it’s genuinely ruining my summer holidays.
Thank you

If you could do y12 summer differently. What would you do?

I just finished my gcses (y11) and currently i wanna do engineering cause i'm doing maths, & further , cs, and phys for a levels - which i all enjoy and i like problem solving i guess. i've also dabbled in robotics. but i want to aim for top unis and everyone talks about finding their 'passion' - some of my friends know exactly what they want to do at uni. to people currently in uni/sixth form- was there a defining moment where you knew/realised the subject you wanted to study and what made you realise that? I'm gonna spend time over this summer exploring my interests to see if engineering is really for me.

Are any of you going to the LAET Taster Day on the 3rd of July. If you are, what A-Levels are you going to do. I’m planning on doing maths, physics, computer science and economics.

Im starting a levels this September and have chosen biology chemistry and psychology for a levels in hopes of doing med/dent.Im really struggling right now as to what equipment i need,how i revise these,if i need an ipad or laptop or if i even need those tech.Please,help me out and tell me what i need for these courses and how to revise them and what i should be using.Thank you

recently got my mocks back - a B in bio (Possibly can be changed to an A), 2% of an A in psychology (again, hopefully if i beg enough i can get an A here too), and a D in chem. chem has always been my weak subject, i went from a C -> U -> D over this year. i defo don't want to retake year 12, and i don't really think i can get to raise my grade in chem from a D-> a B or even a C.
what can i do to fix this? my school doesn't offer resits sadly :(

Guys i did not do the best in my year 12 mocks i got A , C , D with business biology and psychology i am currently in year 12i really wanted to apply for degree apprenticeship is it possible to apply with your actual alevel results and if anyone else has failed there mocks please tell me what you guys did i want to do a degree apprenticeship for psysiotherapy idk if we will get a second chance in year 13 but its unlikely even though everyone else did way worse