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29/06/25

58% of Year 7-11 pupils who missed school at the start of the year went on to miss at least 10% of sessions across the whole academic year. Fischer Family Trust#everylessoncounts#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/7n6HO97RfS— Valley Park School () June 29, 2025

27/06/25

House points update... pic.twitter.com/0IwMxWJkas— Valley Park School () June 27, 2025

27/06/25

The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a prominent Roman Catholic devotion, symbolising Jesus' Divine love for humanity through His physical heart. It emphasises the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. pic.twitter.com/gX6mUi5Bgw— Valley Park School () June 27, 2025

27/06/25

Hannah and Jasmine, Valley Park students and Bearsted Football Club Under-15s players, were invited to watch the England Lionesses train at St George’s Park recently, as they prepare for the upcoming UEFA EURO tournament! 🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/I3qKXhxrVg— Valley Park School () June 27, 2025

27/06/25

On Tuesday 24 June Valley Park Shakespeare Society performed an extract from The Merchant of Venice as part of the RSC associate school project. Despite morning rain, the outdoor performance at Samphire Hoe was a success. pic.twitter.com/BhS7FeuO7R— Valley Park School () June 27, 2025

26/06/25

It's V in the Park on Saturday 28 June from Midday - don't miss this fabulous annual music event on the Valley Park Field.#wearevalleypark#wearevinthepark pic.twitter.com/2aIZIEmmwP— Valley Park School () June 26, 2025

22/06/25

There are many reasons why a student might struggle with attendance at school. Valley Park has a dedicated team to help & support you. To speak to someone, contact us by phone or email & a member of the attendance team will get back to you. pic.twitter.com/rXhg7UfxGN— Valley Park School () June 22, 2025

20/06/25

Our newest Sixth Formers started today – say hello to our 9 new chicks! Our Sixth Formers are learning about responsibility in Personal Development, and as part of this, are responsible for incubating, feeding, cleaning and watering our new arrivals! pic.twitter.com/DD70VvVM6f— Valley Park School () June 20, 2025

20/06/25

We have 3 amazing shows for you during this year's Arts Week: Dance Extravaganza, Romeo & Juliet, and 13 The Musical. If you want to buy tickets, please visit: https://t.co/IJpO06PN4T pic.twitter.com/sTiaIFVr0m— Valley Park School () June 20, 2025

20/06/25

The Feast of Corpus Christi, meaning "Body of Christ," is a Catholic celebration honouring Christ's presence in the Eucharist. It features processions with the Blessed Sacrament, showing public faith and devotion, with special prayers and hymns. pic.twitter.com/ADjMgCm067— Valley Park School () June 19, 2025

19/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/5aeKoYoN0b— Valley Park School () June 19, 2025

19/06/25

Litha, the Summer Solstice, is a pagan holiday celebrating the sun and fire on the year's longest day. Stonehenge and similar sites are aligned to showcase the sunrise on this day, attracting thousands of pagans. After the solstice, days shorten. pic.twitter.com/IcAooq55kk— Valley Park School () June 19, 2025

19/06/25

Just returned from an incredible trip to the Marlowe Theatre with our Year 8s to see Pig Heart Boy — they were amazing! As their Head of Year I'm so proud of their impeccable behaviour and brilliant engagement. A real credit to our school pic.twitter.com/GaBFgfxSOB— Valley Park School () June 19, 2025

18/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/EbjFUZjlEb— Valley Park School () June 18, 2025

18/06/25

We're tremendously proud of Sapphire (Yr9) who played in the U14 ESFA Champions’ Cup Plate Final at Sixways Stadium. She scored a 20-yd screamer & took a penalty in the end of match shootout, which ended 2-2. Well done Sapphire!!! pic.twitter.com/47bUQfolJc— Valley Park School () June 18, 2025

18/06/25

Maidstone Literary Festival have just launched their annual young authors competition. All the information can be found here: https://t.co/2pBcgdiXq8 It’s open to all students in all key stages. Entries can come in via school or by individuals.#wearevalleyparkauthors pic.twitter.com/azKcKUvD2A— Valley Park School () June 18, 2025

17/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/AywhYtnlQy— Valley Park School () June 17, 2025

16/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/dFD7UzcIoE— Valley Park School () June 16, 2025

16/06/25

House Points update... pic.twitter.com/6WgDZs1VSc— Valley Park School () June 16, 2025

15/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/9DKVRMlcSp— Valley Park School () June 15, 2025

15/06/25

If a student’s attendance at the end of Term 5 was below 90% this means that they have missed at least 15 days or 75 hours of learning. pic.twitter.com/yvKjJI52va— Valley Park School () June 15, 2025

13/06/25

Don't miss our annual Art Show, which takes place at Lower Grange Farm in Sandling next Wednesday, 18 June at 6.30pm. The artwork on display is always breathtaking.#wearevalleypark#wearevalleyparkartists pic.twitter.com/XFRMagaAxa— Valley Park School () June 13, 2025

13/06/25

12 pupils from a variety of primaries took park in taster sessions for Ceramics after school on Wednesday. They made friendship and Father’s Day plaques, celebrating family, friends & being kind - one of our core values.#wearevalleyparktransition#ambitiousrespectfulandkind pic.twitter.com/XE8BecuNxq— Valley Park School () June 13, 2025

12/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/LifNMTloC7— Valley Park School () June 12, 2025

11/06/25

Tomorrow's exams...#examupdate#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/YaJGPgc0Pm— Valley Park School () June 11, 2025

Post 18 Options

Valley Park School has a strong focus within the Sixth Form, on raising aspirations and aiming high professionally. Consequently, many of our students will wish to continue onto university after their level 3 studies.

We are however, acutely aware that with the current high tuition fees, the commitment involved and the ever-growing number of apprenticeship opportunities available, that university is not the best decision for all of our students.

It is imperative that each student makes the right post-18 decision for them, such that they will be happy in their future academic and employment careers. We recommend that you invest time and effort into researching ALL the options available so you make the right choice. Through our core programme of events, we aim support you with you with your options and provide up-to-date advice and guidance.

Applying to University

Recently, we re-evaluated our UCAS processes and the positive effects are clearly evident amongst our Sixth Form students who apply for Higher Education at either university or conservatoires. Outstanding results from this approach are shown by the fact that each year we see excellent offers including many that are contextual (reduced entry requirements) or unconditional. 

In 2023, 98% of the cohort who applied to university secured their first-choice place.

The whole Sixth Form team is heavily involved in supporting students in making good choices including, choosing courses and institutions and completing an outstanding application. Students are actively encouraged to attend Open Days and Applicant Days, undertake taster courses and summer residential programmes to aid the decision process. 

Each student can seek 1:1 guidance from the Careers Adviser during any stage of the application process: from personal statement checking and proof-reading, to accepting offers, applying for accommodation or the finance process.

In Year 12, all students attend a Higher Education Convention, providing the opportunity to have positive and meaningful encounters with national universities and colleges and to find out more about degree apprenticeships.

The UCAS Process

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At Valley Park School we have a bespoke UCAS system which ensures that all students are offered specialist 1:1 support from staff throughout the application process. The process begins in the summer term of Year 12 when students begin to write their personal statements following on from specialist input during workshops.

Teaching staff write personalised references for students regarding their academic ability in their subjects and submit these to the Sixth Form team, who then compile each individual reference, tailoring each reference to the courses and institutions being applied to.

All students are supported with their personal statements through their form tutors and our careers adviser.  Once they have completed their application and personal statement, students book 1:1 meetings with the Sixth Form team in order to review their application, their institution and their course choice, alongside the entry criteria and their predicted grades before submitting their final application.

Once students have submitted their application to UCAS, they can monitor their progress on UCAS track where they will receive their personal responses, offers, conditions of offers and communications from the institutions they have applied to.

UCAS and You

A University Graduate’s Guide to Boosting Career Prospects

League Tables

University league tables can be a useful resource for finding good universities for the subjects you wish to study, however there can be substantial differences between these as they take into account different criteria (entry point tariff, spend per student, NSS results etc.) when determining rank order. Therefore, we advise that you look into the criteria they use when using league tables as come criteria may be more important to you than others.

League Tables

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World University Rankings

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Russell Group Universities

The 24 universities that collectively make up The Russell Group, are world-class, research intensive universities with excellent teaching, great facilities and unrivalled links to businesses and the public sector. Whilst the universities share some distinguishing characteristics, each has its own unique ethos and feeling.

  • Visit the Russell Group website and find out more about the group and the individual institutions that are its members.

Many top universities are not part of The Russell Group, so please do use League Tables (see section above) and research online to find out which universities best meet your requirements.

Above all, make sure you visit universities in person. 

​Find Open Day Dates


Find out more about Oxbridge Applications

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Which? Guide to Oxbridge Applications

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships enable you to undertake employment, learning through real-life situations whilst continuing with your studies within class-based learning. You'll be employed and paid to do a real job and study for a formal qualification such as an HNC/HND or degree - usually for one day a week either at a college or university or via distance learning. You will be treated like all the other employees, with a contract of employment, holiday entitlement and any company benefits on offer.

You will also need to ensure that you meet the education provider's entry criteria, particularly for degree apprenticeships.

By the end of your apprenticeship, you'll hopefully have gained the skills and knowledge needed to either succeed in your chosen career or progress onto the next apprenticeship level.

Students who wish to undertake an apprenticeship at the end of Year 13, would primarily be suited to Advanced (level 3) or higher/degree opportunities (levels 4-6).

Apprenticeship Secrets

Helpful websites to start your search:

Fire it up apprenticeships logoAmazing apprenticeshipsRate my apprenticeship logo

Not going to uni logoTargetcareers futurewiseBe an apprentice logo

Kta logo low resCareermapListing

 

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Employment & Training

Many students wish to go directly into some form of employment following on from their level 3 studies in Sixth Form. There are many options available to students when considering employment but all require a strong application in the current competitive job market.

Students can arrange to meet with Mrs West to further discuss their CV, cover letters, interviews and online applications.

Work related websites

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Subject Specific Careers Websites

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Destinations

At Valley Park School, we have a strong message around raising aspirations, encouraging all our students to pursue Excellence and to aim high in order to reach their goals. Consequently, we have an acute understanding that their personal success will be found in a variety of leaver destinations depending on individual interests and career aspirations.

Our most recent destinations for Year 13 leavers in 2021 (correct as of January 2022), includes the following:

  • 89% of Year 13 leavers went on to study at university, with 96% securing their first-choice place of study;
  • 34% of the cohort secured a place at a Top 50 university (according to the Complete University Guide 2022 League Table);
  • 3 students are now undertaking courses at Russell Group universities;
  • 7% of the university cohort deferred their university entry until 2022, opting to take a gap year first;
  • 8% of the cohort undertook an apprenticeship or school leaver programme after departing Valley Park School;
  • 20% went directly into employment - for most students this has been a full-time role; 
  • 1% of the cohort is currently completing Level 3 or Foundation year courses at local Further Education/Art-specialist colleges.

Popular chosen fields of study for university courses starting in 2021 included:

  • The Arts, including Art & Design-related courses and Music;
  • Education, and healthcare related courses;
  • Business and Finance courses;
  • Psychology courses;
  • Information Systems courses;
  • Humanities courses, particularly History;
  • English courses;
  • Sports related courses.

Year 13 destination graph 2021