01) What support and personal development will my son / daughter receive?

At South Cheshire College there is an Entitlement Programme which covers a range of supplementary activities which will aid you son/daughter's personal development. All students are assigned a Personal Tutor at the start of term who will remain their tutor for their two years at the college. Personal tutors monitor both academic and personal progress and an appointment can be made by students at any time for guidance and support. Students meet with their tutor weekly as a group and twice a term minimum for individual progress reviews. Tutorial time covers several areas including careers guidance, social education, and a system for individual student reviewing and target setting. [back to questions]

02) What can my son/daughter expect from the College and what is expected from them?

South Cheshire College is a community based on a partnership between staff and students. The Students' Charter is designed to describe to students what they can expect from the College and what is expected from them. [back to questions]

03) What sort of workload is my son/daughter likely to have?

Every student is issued with a personal timetable and is expected to attend punctually all timetable subject lessons, Personal Tutor sessions and enrichment, as well as interviews arranged for them. In addition it is expected that students will spend some private study periods in the Library which is open from 8.45am to 7.00pm Monday - Thursday, and 8.45am until 5.00pm on Friday.

You may expect your son/daughter to have work to do on most evenings in the week. It is recommended that students following an Advanced or Intermediate course should spend about fifteen hours per week on private study. This private study may consist of set exercises, essay, and completion of past examination papers, presentations, note making or reading.

Parents can help by encouraging reading and research in addition to work set by the tutor, encouraging the use of the College and local libraries, and by contacting College if they have any concerns. If your son/daughter appears to have little or no work to do at home, there is likely to be a problem, and you should get in touch with us. [back to questions]

04) Does the College have a disciplinary procedure?

We aim to have as few rules as possible at South Cheshire College and if students abide by the terms of their student agreement, they are unlikely to meet with disciplinary action. However, there is a disciplinary procedure in place which follows 3 stages:

1. STUDENT CONCERN NOTICE (INFORMAL STAGE) - This is a support measure before the disciplinary procedure is invoked and will generally relate to a failure to fulfil a commitment to College e.g. regular lateness, poor attendance, failure to complete work on time or minor forms of misconduct.

2. FIRST FORMAL WARNING - A formal warning is given if there has been failure to make satisfactory progress during the initial two week concern period, as a result of a second concern being raised or in response to an incident of misconduct. A student can be issued directly with a first formal warning for any serious breach of the Student Code of Conduct.

3. SECOND FORMAL WARNING - A second and final formal warning is given if there is failure to make satisfactory progress as a result of the first formal warning or if there are issues of a serious nature that require immediate attention - serious misconduct. In all cases of serious misconduct the student can be issued with a second and Final Warning without having to go through the first two stages of the disciplinary process. The Head of Curriculum and the Head of Faculty must be consulted before a student is issued with a Final warning (in all cases).

There is a brief outline of this procedure in the student diary or a full copy is available from Personal Tutors and the College Library. Depending on the level of seriousness of any particular incident, the college reserves the right to bypass the disciplinary stages and in very serious circumstances may instantly dismiss students from College. [back to questions]

05) What is expected of my son/daughter in terms of attendance?

All students are expected to maintain excellent attendance in all their classes. If students are absent for any reason, they are expected to complete a self-certification form on their return to college, accompanied by a letter from their parent/guardian. In some circumstances, absence can thus be categorised as 'authorised'. This must be handed in to their Personal Tutor on within two working days of return to college.

Students with more than 10% absence in a term will not automatically be allowed to return to college for a subsequent term. Where they wish to proceed to the second year of the course or further full time courses they will be interviewed by the Head of Faculty who will determine whether the student is able to continue. For this purpose all absences, authorised and unauthorised, are included as absence. Students with less than 90% attendance will be required to pay their exam and registration fees. Fees will be reimbursed if the student subsequently passes their examination and achieves the target grade set at the beginning of the year.

A full copy of the College's 'Student Attendance and Absence' document will be made available to the student at enrolment. Students should not take holidays during term time. Such time off would automatically count as unauthorised absence, therefore the student calendar should be referred to at all times. [back to questions]

06) What if my son/daughter requires additional learning support?

The Learner Services Department provides any extra help with English, Maths and/or Study Skills that any student might need to succeed on their chosen programme. Where a student has a learning difficulty and or disability a specialist assessment can be arranged to ensure that the right type of support is in place. It is important that any student in this category contacts Learner Services at the college as soon as possible so that specialist help can be available at the start of term. It is also important that students who may be entitled to support - e.g. extra time during external exams (including Functional Skills tests) - are assessed by Learner Services.

To find out more about the support we offer to students, please see the Student Support pages. [back to questions]

07) Will my son/daughter receive careers guidance and help with applying to university?

All students will have important decisions to make regarding their future during their time at South Cheshire College. The College is committed to providing support in order to help students make these decisions. The dedicated team of Careers advisors and Personal Development Tutors provide individual advice and guidance to all students intending to progress to University. During the summer term of the first year all students attend dedicated Higher Education preparation workshops led by University admissions officers designed to help them with the application process and the completion of their personal statements. All UCAS applications are thoroughly vetted before they are submitted. [back to questions]

08) My son/daughter wants to apply to Oxford, Cambridge or for a demanding university course such as Medicine. What support is available?

South Cheshire College offers an Honours Programme designed to offer specific support to those students who achieve mostly As and A*s at GCSE. The Programme includes, amongst other things, specially designed tutorials and visits to Oxford and Cambridge. The Prestigious Universities Programme offers students an excellent range of support to enable them to make informed high quality applications to top universities. The support includes lectures on what is required for these universities and talks from visiting academics and former South Cheshire College students. The programme is designed to de-mystify the application process, especially to Oxford and Cambridge, and to clarify what prestigious universities are looking for. Above all, the programme raises confidence levels and provides huge encouragement for those thinking of applying. A high number of students gain places at these top universities and go on to achieve outstanding qualifications.

Cambridge Shadowing Scheme: Students have the opportunity to spend two days and nights at Cambridge University shadowing students who are already studying there. There is the chance to attend lectures, familiarise themselves with the campus and meet students at the University from different walks of life.

The Sutton Trust - Summer Schools: The Sutton Trust funds week long summer schools each year which give bright students a taste of life at a leading university. The aim is to de-mystify elite universities and to equip students, most of whom will be the first in their families to go on to higher education, with the knowledge and insight to make high quality applications to prestigious universities. Students who have attended these summer schools have found them an invaluable experience, particularly in terms of experiencing university life. [back to questions]

09) What advice do you give about part-time work?

Part-time jobs may provide benefits to students, financially, personally and socially but it is important to keep a sense of proportion and not allow commitment to a job to interfere with college work. We would recommend that 8 hours a week is the maximum that a student should spend on part-time work, particularly at exam preparation time. Part-time jobs should not be taken during college hours. [back to questions]