Information for University Admissions

Churchill Academy & Sixth Form is a large, rural comprehensive school with approx. 1600 students on roll, of which 270 are in post-16 education. Approx. 16% of our Year 12 intake are students joining us from other schools in the area. Our Post-16 offer consists mainly of A-level subjects with a few vocational options. We offer a broad range of subjects (see below) allowing students to create a personalised pathway that supports their interests and ambitions. Most students study three A-levels, together with the EPQ or Core Maths qualification (which is usually taken in Year 12) or a non-qualification Study Skills programme. A few will opt to take a fourth subject, either to AS or to full A-level. We base predicted grades on end of first year exams, internal assessments and work students have completed. Approx. 65% progress to Higher Education. Our Ofsted rating = Requires Improvement.

The effect of Covid-19 and school closure on A-level students in Music and Music Technology

Since the school closed at the end of March, in line with the UK Government’s decision to close schools across the country due the spread of Covid-19, students at Churchill have lost out on a large number of important Performing Arts opportunities, both within and outside the regular curriculum.

Music A Level
Within lessons, the curriculum was partly delivered through Zoom, which allowed students to cover aspects of A Level analysis content. However, this did not allow for the same level of collaborative work, often with practical elements, as we would have expected in a normal year. Music composition preparation work was very difficult to deliver, as access to specialist music software was impossible. Consequently, students are now composing music for coursework without having completed practice exercises and mock tasks.

Music Technology A Level
Music Technology A Level students suffered a great deal from a lack of access to our specialist resources, such as computer software and the recording studio. Lessons were delivered by Zoom and attended by some but not all students. Many practical aspects of lessons were missed, such as live electronic performances and compositions, and experiences designed to reinforce understanding of different recording scenarios. We are now in the process of catching up on course content that would normally have been delivered in Year 12.

Extra-curricular experience
Our Gospel Choir, consisting of singers, soloists and a band were due to have gone on a tour of Austria and performed 5 concerts in a variety of settings. This annual tour is of a professional standard, and paying members of the Austrian public turn up to see them each year, knowing what to expect. Students would have experienced the full rigour of a concert tour, providing them with invaluable and repeated rehearsal, performance and travel experience. A large concert was planned at St. George’s, Bristol celebrating 21 years of the choir. This would have involved current members in important roles.

We also had to cancel a collaborative programme with Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where students would have joined their orchestra in a concert of contemporary music.

Our extra-curricular Music programme would also normally consist of:

• Chamber Choir / Symphony Orchestra / String group: Weekly rehearsals. One concert per term at least performing classical repertoire.
• Christmas Concerts: All ensembles – Wind band, flute group, brass group, Y7-9 choir, big orchestra, string group, chamber choir, symphony orchestra, Junior Choir. Two concerts held in Weston Playhouse Theatre (capacity of over 600). These events would normally give our Sixth Form students possibilities for solos as singers and instrumentalists and even as ensemble directors or presenters. Throughout the year we also hold in-school concerts, competitive music events, even a mini outdoor festival. All of these events require assistance or involvement from Sixth Form students.