Wokingham Student Denied Sixth Form Place

A pupil who has attended Bohunt School in Arborfield since Year 7 has been refused a place at the school's new sixth form, despite getting steady GCSEs.

Roxy Giles achieved Grade 6 in Food Preparation & Nutrition, Grade 5 in Mathematics, Grade 5 in English Literature, Grade 5 in Psychology and grades 5-4 in Combined Science.

She wanted to stay on at Bohunt Wokingham Sixth, which opens next month, but has been denied a place.

Her mum, Samantha Giles, questioned the decision. She said: "For our family, this is particularly disappointing. We have had three daughters attend Bohunt Wokingham, with my two eldest being there during the school's first two years. After supporting the school from its early days, we had hoped Roxy would be able to continue her education within the Bohunt community at its new sixth form. Most importantly, Roxy wants to continue her education. As her parent, I want to make sure that every reasonable option is explored so that young people like her are encouraged to stay in education rather than finding themselves suddenly looking elsewhere after results day."

The school says entry requires Grade 5 in English and Maths plus at least three other GCSEs at grade 5 or above, and pupils must meet subject-specific minimums.

Headteacher Jen Comber said: "Bohunt Wokingham Sixth has been planned and built as a highly academic provision, in order to help fill this specific gap in the local post-16 offer for students. The school prepares all our students for study beyond GCSE and families have been made aware of our high academic entry standards throughout this process, via our admission policy, our course directory and our open events. Students are only eligible to study at the Sixth Form if they are enrolled on a full-time course. A full-time course is typically three A levels plus an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and enrichment opportunities. We have had a very small number of students who have achieved five grade 5s, including English and maths, but have not secured the subject entry requirements in enough subjects to achieve a full-time enrolment. Based upon their individual results, our admissions team review each case with the student and their family to see if different course options will allow them to meet the entry criteria or not. "Iinevitably, this has left some families feeling disappointed that their journey with Bohunt Wokingham has ended. We have supported all students following their initial face-to-face enrolment appointment on results day and they have been signposted to other high quality local choices which match their academic profile."

Roxy is now looking for another further education option before the new term in September.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter