Admissions
2025 Sixth Form Admissions
Open Evening
Our next Sixth Form open evening will be on Thursday 16th January 2025 from 6-8pm. It is not necessary to book a place for the evening. Please do check back here nearer the time as we will release information on the schedule for the evening.
If you are unable to attend the open evening but would like to visit Balcarras Sixth Form, please contact Cheryl Crowley in the Sixth Form Office (01242 545118) to arrange a visit at another date.
In the meantime, please find further information below (a video showing the Sixth Form, the latest prospectus and grade entry requirements).
Application Form
2025 admissions will begin in January 2025 and the digital application form will be posted here the day after the open evening.
Prospectus
Entry Requirements
The minimum requirement for entry to the sixth form is 2 grade 6s and 3 grade 5s in full GCSE courses. These must include a grade 5 or above in both mathematics and English language or literature. In addition, many A-level subjects will require a specific grade in that particular subject at GCSE. Please click here to review our Sixth Form entry requirements by subject.
Consultations Meetings
Consultation meetings will take place with a member of the Sixth Form team after the application deadline during the month of February. This will be informal 1:1 meetings with the student/staff member to discuss the students' current predicted grades and aspirations for Sixth Form. Invitations will be sent to students after we have received their application form. Consultation meetings have now completed for 2024 admissions.
Conditional Offers
Conditional offers will be given to successful students after their consultation interview. Please note that all offers of places are dependent on GCSE results. For information on our oversubscription criteria, please click here. Conditional offer letters for 2024 admissions have now all been despatched to students.
Pre Admission Form
Once you have been given a conditional offer, we require all parents/guardians to complete a pre-admission form, a digital form will be posted here nearer the time. This is required even for students that have attended Balcarras lower school.
Induction Day
Students that have been given a conditional offer, will be invited to attend the induction day on July 1st 2025, please put this date in your diary as it's a very useful and important morning where you get to sample lessons and meet teachers as well as learn about the many enrichment opportunities offered at Balcarras Sixth Form.
Getting A-level Ready
Once you have received your offer letter, please use the summer to review our getting A Level ready presentation to help you to prepare for joining Balcarras Sixth Form.
GCSE Results Day - 21st August 2025
The Balcarras Sixth Form team will be managing admissions in school on results day. Please note the following information:
Balcarras Students:
If you have met the required grades as detailed in your offer letter, please email cc@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk by 3pm to confirm you would like to take up your place. If you have not met the required grades for one or more of your chosen subjects, please go to the Year 13 study room (6B6) on results day to meet with a member of the team to discuss. If you would like to change a subject, please go to 6B3 to meet with a member of the team. If you have not met the grades detailed in your offer letter but would like to discuss this, please go to 6B7 to meet with a member of the team.
Non-Balcarras Students:
If you have met the criteria stated in your offer letter, please email your GCSE results (a photo/screenshot or pdf) to cc@balcarras.gloucs.sch.uk and confirm you would like your place. We will get back to you over the coming days to confirm your place. If you have not met the criteria for one or more of your chosen subjects, please explain this in your email and if possible, please select a back-up subject (s), a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible, either on email or by a phonecall. Please note that we endeavour to get back to all students as soon as possible to confirm their place, but we do recommend that students accept all of their other offers whilst they wait to hear from us. We will be in the Sixth Form offices working hard to get through all the applicant's GCSE results both on 22nd and 23rd August and also the days following Bank Holiday Monday.
If we do not hear from any applicant by 3pm on results day, we will assume that they do not wish to take up their place and the offer of a place will be withdrawn.
Subject Choices and Changes
Please click here for details of the courses we offer and the entry requirements for each subject.
All students choose FOUR courses. Our prospectus gives guidance on combining courses. It is important that you try and be as sure as you can be about the courses you choose. You will be spending up to two years studying them, so please take the time to talk to your teachers, parents and career advisers about them! Please review the option blocks (posted here nearer the time) for the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that you have chosen subjects that will not clash on the timetable.
Please note that there will be time to change your subject choices post-results day, should you wish. We do offer a grace period during the first few weeks of Year 12 where you may visit the Sixth Form offices and talk to a member of staff. Please ensure you have consulted the option blocks and entry requirements before discussing any subject changes.
“Joining Balcarras 6th Form from Winchombe School was quite daunting with new subjects, new teachers and new classmates, but the school was really welcoming right from the start … Balcarras was my first choice for sixth form and I have no regrets with my decision. It has lived up to its positive reputation and has allowed me to experience a wide range of activities whilst pushing me to achieve my academic goals.” Aidan Cheale, former Winchcombe student
"The sixth form ... has standards that are among the highest in the country". Ofsted