Canon slade sixth form, Bolton
Hi, was just wondering if anyone has been to canon slade as an external, and how they found it. I wanna study bio chem and psych, is the support good, and is it easy to make friends/socialise as an external student. Anyone who went to the sixth form, feel free to reply.
Hello!
Sorry, this reply is a little bit late, I only signed up myself a few days ago, I am currently in year 13 at Canon Slade and I applied as an external student. At the start of the year, I actually stood up and gave a mini-presentation to possible applicants, so I am not sure if you were there that day, if you were, it's great to see you again! Let me try and sum some things up, this time I won't have the pressure of members of staff standing behind me, haha.
I studied chemistry, maths and history at Canon Slade.
I applied from an external high school and got in (they have to accept at least 18 (this number may be different for your year of entry) students from external places but this is not a maximum they will accept). I went to a school that was, let's say, very different to Canon Slade and I was the only person who went to Canon Slade from my high school.
I found most members of staff to be both encouraging and friendly, although there are and always will be a few exceptions. I also found the application less stressful than I initially imagined, the face-to-face interview was friendly and light, with very little pressure. The "golden star" in the sixth form, in my opinion, is Dr Eves and Mrs Howarth-Pash. Dr Eves first of all is the head of sixth form and is a physics teacher. He is honestly the most knowledgeable and friendly teacher I have ever met. He knows everyone in sixth form by name and even passing him on the corridor he will say hi and smile most times. Mrs Howarth is a non-teaching member of staff and handles a lot of admin, but is also there to be a friendly face, should you need someone to talk to. You can stop by her room any time of the day if you need a chat or have a question/concern. At one point, I needed to file a report (I won't disclose the details) but she was both encouraging and cooperative in seeking a solution. Other than these members of staff, you will have a dedicated head of year as well as several other pastoral assistants (who are teaching members of staff) to aid in both academic and personal needs in sixth form.
Overall, I found the teaching to be very good, I don't have any experience in bio or psych I'm afraid, but I know the current psych teacher is fantastic! In my experience, chem has been very good overall, as well as history. The maths side of things has been a little more shakey, especially when it comes to the department setting mocks, that are often unfairly hard with high-grade boundaries (far harder than the real A-Levels), but since you are not planning to do math, this shouldn't be a concern.
The one area that I may not have been entirely truthful in my mini-presentation was the social side of things. Let me just preface this by saying I am VERY introverted, and find making friends very hard, so just keep that in mind. I found making friends very difficult, and I spent both 2 years sitting alone, for the majority of the time. This is mainly due to the fact that established friendship groups that were built over 5 years of high school, carry over into the sixth form. I found it both awkward and stressful trying to fit in and to be honest, I do question if I ever really did fit in. To be fair, this could just be as much my fault, as it is the environment, I know other external students have fit in very well, and honestly, you can't tell who was external and who was internal in 99% of the situations, especially by the end of year 13.
I hope this helps, sorry it was so late!
If you have any more questions, or if anyone else does, I would be happy to answer!
Good luck with your GCSEs!!
Sorry, this reply is a little bit late, I only signed up myself a few days ago, I am currently in year 13 at Canon Slade and I applied as an external student. At the start of the year, I actually stood up and gave a mini-presentation to possible applicants, so I am not sure if you were there that day, if you were, it's great to see you again! Let me try and sum some things up, this time I won't have the pressure of members of staff standing behind me, haha.
I studied chemistry, maths and history at Canon Slade.
I applied from an external high school and got in (they have to accept at least 18 (this number may be different for your year of entry) students from external places but this is not a maximum they will accept). I went to a school that was, let's say, very different to Canon Slade and I was the only person who went to Canon Slade from my high school.
I found most members of staff to be both encouraging and friendly, although there are and always will be a few exceptions. I also found the application less stressful than I initially imagined, the face-to-face interview was friendly and light, with very little pressure. The "golden star" in the sixth form, in my opinion, is Dr Eves and Mrs Howarth-Pash. Dr Eves first of all is the head of sixth form and is a physics teacher. He is honestly the most knowledgeable and friendly teacher I have ever met. He knows everyone in sixth form by name and even passing him on the corridor he will say hi and smile most times. Mrs Howarth is a non-teaching member of staff and handles a lot of admin, but is also there to be a friendly face, should you need someone to talk to. You can stop by her room any time of the day if you need a chat or have a question/concern. At one point, I needed to file a report (I won't disclose the details) but she was both encouraging and cooperative in seeking a solution. Other than these members of staff, you will have a dedicated head of year as well as several other pastoral assistants (who are teaching members of staff) to aid in both academic and personal needs in sixth form.
Overall, I found the teaching to be very good, I don't have any experience in bio or psych I'm afraid, but I know the current psych teacher is fantastic! In my experience, chem has been very good overall, as well as history. The maths side of things has been a little more shakey, especially when it comes to the department setting mocks, that are often unfairly hard with high-grade boundaries (far harder than the real A-Levels), but since you are not planning to do math, this shouldn't be a concern.
The one area that I may not have been entirely truthful in my mini-presentation was the social side of things. Let me just preface this by saying I am VERY introverted, and find making friends very hard, so just keep that in mind. I found making friends very difficult, and I spent both 2 years sitting alone, for the majority of the time. This is mainly due to the fact that established friendship groups that were built over 5 years of high school, carry over into the sixth form. I found it both awkward and stressful trying to fit in and to be honest, I do question if I ever really did fit in. To be fair, this could just be as much my fault, as it is the environment, I know other external students have fit in very well, and honestly, you can't tell who was external and who was internal in 99% of the situations, especially by the end of year 13.
I hope this helps, sorry it was so late!
If you have any more questions, or if anyone else does, I would be happy to answer!
Good luck with your GCSEs!!
Original post by Phil5690
Hello!
Sorry, this reply is a little bit late, I only signed up myself a few days ago, I am currently in year 13 at Canon Slade and I applied as an external student. At the start of the year, I actually stood up and gave a mini-presentation to possible applicants, so I am not sure if you were there that day, if you were, it's great to see you again! Let me try and sum some things up, this time I won't have the pressure of members of staff standing behind me, haha.
I studied chemistry, maths and history at Canon Slade.
I applied from an external high school and got in (they have to accept at least 18 (this number may be different for your year of entry) students from external places but this is not a maximum they will accept). I went to a school that was, let's say, very different to Canon Slade and I was the only person who went to Canon Slade from my high school.
I found most members of staff to be both encouraging and friendly, although there are and always will be a few exceptions. I also found the application less stressful than I initially imagined, the face-to-face interview was friendly and light, with very little pressure. The "golden star" in the sixth form, in my opinion, is Dr Eves and Mrs Howarth-Pash. Dr Eves first of all is the head of sixth form and is a physics teacher. He is honestly the most knowledgeable and friendly teacher I have ever met. He knows everyone in sixth form by name and even passing him on the corridor he will say hi and smile most times. Mrs Howarth is a non-teaching member of staff and handles a lot of admin, but is also there to be a friendly face, should you need someone to talk to. You can stop by her room any time of the day if you need a chat or have a question/concern. At one point, I needed to file a report (I won't disclose the details) but she was both encouraging and cooperative in seeking a solution. Other than these members of staff, you will have a dedicated head of year as well as several other pastoral assistants (who are teaching members of staff) to aid in both academic and personal needs in sixth form.
Overall, I found the teaching to be very good, I don't have any experience in bio or psych I'm afraid, but I know the current psych teacher is fantastic! In my experience, chem has been very good overall, as well as history. The maths side of things has been a little more shakey, especially when it comes to the department setting mocks, that are often unfairly hard with high-grade boundaries (far harder than the real A-Levels), but since you are not planning to do math, this shouldn't be a concern.
The one area that I may not have been entirely truthful in my mini-presentation was the social side of things. Let me just preface this by saying I am VERY introverted, and find making friends very hard, so just keep that in mind. I found making friends very difficult, and I spent both 2 years sitting alone, for the majority of the time. This is mainly due to the fact that established friendship groups that were built over 5 years of high school, carry over into the sixth form. I found it both awkward and stressful trying to fit in and to be honest, I do question if I ever really did fit in. To be fair, this could just be as much my fault, as it is the environment, I know other external students have fit in very well, and honestly, you can't tell who was external and who was internal in 99% of the situations, especially by the end of year 13.
I hope this helps, sorry it was so late!
If you have any more questions, or if anyone else does, I would be happy to answer!
Good luck with your GCSEs!!
Sorry, this reply is a little bit late, I only signed up myself a few days ago, I am currently in year 13 at Canon Slade and I applied as an external student. At the start of the year, I actually stood up and gave a mini-presentation to possible applicants, so I am not sure if you were there that day, if you were, it's great to see you again! Let me try and sum some things up, this time I won't have the pressure of members of staff standing behind me, haha.
I studied chemistry, maths and history at Canon Slade.
I applied from an external high school and got in (they have to accept at least 18 (this number may be different for your year of entry) students from external places but this is not a maximum they will accept). I went to a school that was, let's say, very different to Canon Slade and I was the only person who went to Canon Slade from my high school.
I found most members of staff to be both encouraging and friendly, although there are and always will be a few exceptions. I also found the application less stressful than I initially imagined, the face-to-face interview was friendly and light, with very little pressure. The "golden star" in the sixth form, in my opinion, is Dr Eves and Mrs Howarth-Pash. Dr Eves first of all is the head of sixth form and is a physics teacher. He is honestly the most knowledgeable and friendly teacher I have ever met. He knows everyone in sixth form by name and even passing him on the corridor he will say hi and smile most times. Mrs Howarth is a non-teaching member of staff and handles a lot of admin, but is also there to be a friendly face, should you need someone to talk to. You can stop by her room any time of the day if you need a chat or have a question/concern. At one point, I needed to file a report (I won't disclose the details) but she was both encouraging and cooperative in seeking a solution. Other than these members of staff, you will have a dedicated head of year as well as several other pastoral assistants (who are teaching members of staff) to aid in both academic and personal needs in sixth form.
Overall, I found the teaching to be very good, I don't have any experience in bio or psych I'm afraid, but I know the current psych teacher is fantastic! In my experience, chem has been very good overall, as well as history. The maths side of things has been a little more shakey, especially when it comes to the department setting mocks, that are often unfairly hard with high-grade boundaries (far harder than the real A-Levels), but since you are not planning to do math, this shouldn't be a concern.
The one area that I may not have been entirely truthful in my mini-presentation was the social side of things. Let me just preface this by saying I am VERY introverted, and find making friends very hard, so just keep that in mind. I found making friends very difficult, and I spent both 2 years sitting alone, for the majority of the time. This is mainly due to the fact that established friendship groups that were built over 5 years of high school, carry over into the sixth form. I found it both awkward and stressful trying to fit in and to be honest, I do question if I ever really did fit in. To be fair, this could just be as much my fault, as it is the environment, I know other external students have fit in very well, and honestly, you can't tell who was external and who was internal in 99% of the situations, especially by the end of year 13.
I hope this helps, sorry it was so late!
If you have any more questions, or if anyone else does, I would be happy to answer!
Good luck with your GCSEs!!
Hello, firstly that you so much for your response, it’s helped me so much with my decision of if i want to go to canon slade. Im actually in the exact same position as you once were; none of my high school mates are planning on going to canon slade and i’m the only person that’s applied to the sixth form from my school, so for you to actually reply to me, means a lot
And also i do consider myself to be quite introverted too which i may consider as a problem if i do come to canon slade, as i’m already aware of the fact friendship groups are already made etc. However, eventhough the social aspect is putting me off the sixth form, the education like you mentioned seems good so i don’t see why i shouldn’t go. Also it’s okay if you don’t know anything about this but do you know if canon slade provide special support to those who are planning to study med/dentistry. Anyway once again thanks alot for taking the time to reply to my post, it’s much appreciated. Also, Good luck with your A levels, i’m sure you will smash them!
Hi!
No problem at all, happy to help you out!
I know many people who are applying for med/dentistry this year, often there are societies set up to help these students (either by the staff or by the students themselves) with a specific interest in medicine/dentistry. I can't tell you much more I'm afraid since I am not one of those students, but I know many students that go to Canon Slade go down that route. So I hope you would be supported a lot if you chose to go that way.
Also, just one more thing I would like to add. If I can give one piece of advice to anyone who wants to go to Canon Slade, as an external student, that would be to reach out, as best you can. Most people are really friendly, and even if you are only talking to people who are sitting next to you in classes, or in the queue for lunch, you are doing far better than I did. I found it so stressful to speak to new people that I just made no effort at all. It's my biggest regret looking back.
The first day of term, in September will be a day where just year 7 and year 12 pupils are in school (it was like this the past 2 years at any rate). This day is non-timetable and it is really a chance to settle in and get to know people. Getting a jump start on the social side of things on that day would be a good idea in my experience!
Thank you for the good wishes for my A-Levels, I really appreciate it!
Phil
No problem at all, happy to help you out!
I know many people who are applying for med/dentistry this year, often there are societies set up to help these students (either by the staff or by the students themselves) with a specific interest in medicine/dentistry. I can't tell you much more I'm afraid since I am not one of those students, but I know many students that go to Canon Slade go down that route. So I hope you would be supported a lot if you chose to go that way.
Also, just one more thing I would like to add. If I can give one piece of advice to anyone who wants to go to Canon Slade, as an external student, that would be to reach out, as best you can. Most people are really friendly, and even if you are only talking to people who are sitting next to you in classes, or in the queue for lunch, you are doing far better than I did. I found it so stressful to speak to new people that I just made no effort at all. It's my biggest regret looking back.
The first day of term, in September will be a day where just year 7 and year 12 pupils are in school (it was like this the past 2 years at any rate). This day is non-timetable and it is really a chance to settle in and get to know people. Getting a jump start on the social side of things on that day would be a good idea in my experience!
Thank you for the good wishes for my A-Levels, I really appreciate it!
Phil
Are you allowed to leave school for lunch?
Original post by lolziamfaz
Are you allowed to leave school for lunch?
Yep!!
Rules may be slightly different in the first half term, but after that, you are free to come and go as you please, so long as you are there for your lessons!
Original post by walzeed
Hello, firstly that you so much for your response, it’s helped me so much with my decision of if i want to go to canon slade. Im actually in the exact same position as you once were; none of my high school mates are planning on going to canon slade and i’m the only person that’s applied to the sixth form from my school, so for you to actually reply to me, means a lot
And also i do consider myself to be quite introverted too which i may consider as a problem if i do come to canon slade, as i’m already aware of the fact friendship groups are already made etc. However, eventhough the social aspect is putting me off the sixth form, the education like you mentioned seems good so i don’t see why i shouldn’t go. Also it’s okay if you don’t know anything about this but do you know if canon slade provide special support to those who are planning to study med/dentistry. Anyway once again thanks alot for taking the time to reply to my post, it’s much appreciated. Also, Good luck with your A levels, i’m sure you will smash them!
And also i do consider myself to be quite introverted too which i may consider as a problem if i do come to canon slade, as i’m already aware of the fact friendship groups are already made etc. However, eventhough the social aspect is putting me off the sixth form, the education like you mentioned seems good so i don’t see why i shouldn’t go. Also it’s okay if you don’t know anything about this but do you know if canon slade provide special support to those who are planning to study med/dentistry. Anyway once again thanks alot for taking the time to reply to my post, it’s much appreciated. Also, Good luck with your A levels, i’m sure you will smash them!
Hi, I'm now in the same situation as you were. Provided that you have gotten into canon slade, may I ask that whether have you fit in and made friends successfully as an external? Thank you!
I wish you luck with Canon Slade if you end up going!
Original post by Rc.24
Hi, I'm now in the same situation as you were. Provided that you have gotten into canon slade, may I ask that whether have you fit in and made friends successfully as an external? Thank you!
Original post by Rc.24
Hi, I'm now in the same situation as you were. Provided that you have gotten into canon slade, may I ask that whether have you fit in and made friends successfully as an external? Thank you!
Hi, sorry for the late reply but i didn’t end up going to canon slade, good luck though!
In my experience, most people use notepads to take notes. However, I don't see why they won't let you use a laptop. Perhaps someone with more recent experience can help you more.
If you are a current student, you could always ask your teachers or head of year.
If you are a prospective student, you could email the address in the footer and ask them I suppose? https://www.canon-slade.bolton.sch.uk/Sixth-Form/
In my experience they tend to be quite good at answering questions like this!
If you are a current student, you could always ask your teachers or head of year.
If you are a prospective student, you could email the address in the footer and ask them I suppose? https://www.canon-slade.bolton.sch.uk/Sixth-Form/
In my experience they tend to be quite good at answering questions like this!
Original post by Phil5690
In my experience, most people use notepads to take notes. However, I don't see why they won't let you use a laptop. Perhaps someone with more recent experience can help you more.
If you are a current student, you could always ask your teachers or head of year.
If you are a prospective student, you could email the address in the footer and ask them I suppose? https://www.canon-slade.bolton.sch.uk/Sixth-Form/
In my experience they tend to be quite good at answering questions like this!
If you are a current student, you could always ask your teachers or head of year.
If you are a prospective student, you could email the address in the footer and ask them I suppose? https://www.canon-slade.bolton.sch.uk/Sixth-Form/
In my experience they tend to be quite good at answering questions like this!
Thanks
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