What support & personal development will my son / daughter receive?
At Carmel there is an Support Programme which covers a range of supplementary activities which will aid you son/daughter’s personal development. Read more
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 tutors as a group once a week for an hour. Tutorial time covers several areas including careers guidance, social education, and a system for individual student reviewing and target setting. In addition PTs have time allocated to conduct regular individual interviews with students. When problems arise, students will be given extra supportive interviews.
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 functions such as One World Day, 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 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday – 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, 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.
Does the college have a disciplinary procedure?
We aim to have as few rules as possible at Carmel 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 six stages:-
Stage 1 – Verbal Warning
Stage 2 - Written Warning & Personal Tutor Interview
Stage 3 – Referral to Head of Dept and/or Personal Tutor. Interim Report Interview. Possibly Yellow Contract or Supportive Contract
Stage 4 – Red Disciplinary Contract (Formal Interview with Senior Tutor)
Stage 5 – Suspension - Disciplinary panel, including Principal and Senior Tutor
Stage 6 – Exclusion
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.
What if my son/daughter requires additional learning support?
Learning Support is available from staff who are experienced in working with a range of disabilities and support needs. Read more
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 Carmel. The College is committed to providing support in order to help students make these decisions. Read more
My son/daughter wants to apply to Oxford, Cambridge or demanding university course such as Medicine. What support is available?
Carmel College offers a High Achievers 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. Read more
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.
