A ground-breaking new School is set to offer teenagers across Birmingham and beyond a new and innovative type of Sixth Form experience when it opens its doors to the first pupils next year.

The University of Birmingham School will open in September 2015 – and the application process for teenagers looking for a place to study A levels is now open.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about the School, and Sixth Form, can also attend an open evening to find out more.

The School, which will open in September 2015 on the University’s Selly Oak campus, will admit 200 pupils into Year 12 in its first year. The Principal and the team behind the School are holding two information evenings at the University of Birmingham for prospective Sixth Formers and their parents to find out more about the unique offer of the School as well as the admission process.

The open event will be held in the University’s stunning Bramall Music Building on its main Edgbaston campus at 7pm on Thursday 23 October. The event is expected to be popular and so anyone interested in finding out more should register at www.universityschool.bham.ac.uk .

In the Sixth Form, the School will have selective entry and a broad A Level curriculum designed to prepare students to gain entry to a range of Universities, including the Russell Group, 1994 Group and Oxbridge Universities. The list of subjects to be offered at A level is still being developed. Sixth Formers will interact regularly with University staff and have access to some University facilities.

One unique feature to the School is that all Sixth Formers will follow a programme of character education devised especially for them by the University’s Jubilee Centre for Character and Values.

Mr Roden said: “Our Sixth Formers will be the leaders of our School, and we will equip them with the skills they need to go on and be prepared for life after school.”

“We believe character education will make a significant contribution as part of a rounded education for our young people, and the students who come through our Sixth Form will acquire those traits which sustain a well-rounded life and a thriving society – including compassion, creativity, curiosity and resilience.”

“We want University of Birmingham School graduates to have the confidence to go on and deal with the tests of life in an educational system that can often emphasise an accountability driven ‘life of tests’.”

Students and parents who attend the open events will have the chance to hear Mr Roden speak, and be given an outline of the School in general and the Sixth Form in particular, as well as details about the unique features of the School, including the building itself and the links to the University. They will also hear from some of the University’s top academic staff who will talk about University entry and careers.

To find out more about the School and Sixth Form, or for images, please contact Kara Griffiths on 07812 671797 or email k.j.griffiths@bham.ac.uk . An artist’s impression of the School and of principal Michael Roden are attached.


Interviews with the Principal, Michael Roden, are also available.