SIXTH FORM PROSPECTUS - St Ambrose College

THE HOUSE STRUCTUREThe pastoral system is designed around four Houses which each have approximately 245 boys. All rewards andcompetitive activity are initiated through the House structure. Sanctions, monitoring and target setting are alsoactivated through the four Houses.• Aquinas (Blue): House Leader - Mr Rush• Augustine (Green): House Leader - Mr Aspinwall• Ignatius (Red): House Leader - Mrs Davies• Newman (Yellow): House Leader - Mr KrauseAny Sixth Former that has already attended the College will remain in the same House upon entering the SixthForm. Successful external applicants will be placed into a House upon entering the Sixth Form.There are eight Tutor Groups in the Sixth Form which meet at the beginning of each day from 9:00 - 9:30. Thesehave been structured so that Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth boys are equally mixed across the eight groups. Thisstrengthens a sense of community and increases collaboration with regard to applying to and preparing foruniversity. Priority has been given to the Sixth Form so that all the ICT suites within the College are used as Tutorbases.Each Tutor Group has an equal number of boys representing each House. House Assemblies take place onMonday (Aquinas), Tuesday (Augustine), Thursday (Ignatius) and Friday (Newman) during House Period (9:00 –9:30) so a different quarter of the Tutor Group attends the assembly on each of these days. All Year groups withinthe College are present at each House Assembly.Wednesday House Period provides a unique opportunity for all Sixth Formers to demonstrate leadership qualitiesthrough their integration into the House Groups in the rest of the College. A rota is published and Sixth Formersactually take the House Period with their younger contemporaries. They support the Catholic ethos by starting thesession with a Gospel reading before explaining its meaning. They are then required to deliver a 5 – 10 minutepresentation on any topic of their choice and teach the younger students. In an increasingly competitive globalemployment market, this opportunity to refine their presentational skills is invaluable. A key benefit of this systemis that it also allows the Sixth Form Tutors to plan individual meetings with their tutees during House Period eachWednesday. An individual’s progress and performance is discussed and appropriate targets are established andthen monitored by the Tutor.Sixth Formers are supported by their Tutor, House Leader and Assistant Head Master, Mr McGrath, who hasoverall responsibility for the Sixth Form.Sixth Form Leadership OpportunitiesAt the end of the Lower Sixth, teachers are invited to indicate their preferences for Head Boy, Deputy Head Boyand Prefects. The successful nominations for the most important positions are interviewed by the Head Masterand the two most senior posts, Head Boy and Deputy Head Boy are then appointed. From staff preferences, sixPrefects for each House are announced.House Captains and House Vice-Captains are elected by their peers. Lower Sixth boys who wish to be consideredare invited to write a letter of application to the Head Master. Individuals are then required to deliver aspeech in their respective House Assemblies to the rest of their House. The whole House listen to each speechbefore voting for their House Captain and House Vice-Captain for the next twelve months.The Sixth Form Leaders meet regularly with the Head Master to discuss both Sixth Form issues and theprogramme of competitive activities for the rest of the College to participate in which the House Captains planand lead. They also form a very important part of the School Council, listening to the views of their younger peersbefore reporting their findings to members of the Senior Leadership Team.