All students at Ashbourne are assigned to a personal tutor who is responsible for monitoring their academic and pastoral progress while at College. If the student is a Middle School student (GCSE or Pre-GCSE), their personal tutor will be the Head of Middle School, Rachel Wilson. If the student is in the Lower Sixth (AS - Year 12), their personal tutor will be: the Director of Studies, John Wilson, or one of the Assistant Directors of Studies, Breanne Grantham or James Wykes. If the student is in the Upper Sixth (A2 or 1-year A level – Year 13), their personal tutor will be either: John Wilson, Breanne Grantham, James Wykes, or the Head of English, Arabella Bridge.

All AS and A2 students will be timetabled for one two-hour Personal Tutoring Session per week. In the Lower Sixth, this personal tutoring session will encompass a variety of different activities throughout the year, designed to be of benefit to the student. These include:

Study and work sessions that enable students to catch up on homework or get ahead on both homework and coursework
Study skills seminars
Exam revision and preparation seminars
Time management seminars
Individual academic monitoring sessions with their personal tutor to discuss and track progress and performance on tests and mock exams throughout the year
University guidance and UCAS preparation (this includes research sessions where students will be given information on different resources available as well as an opportunity to narrow down university choices)
Research skills seminars (including a guided visit to the Kensington and Chelsea Borough Library where they will be given library cards)

Students in our Upper Sixth will start thinking about their university application as soon as they commence their final year of A level study. This process will be completed on-line through the UCAS apply-on-line website. If students are applying for medicine, dentistry, veterinary school, and/or Oxbridge (Oxford or Cambridge), please note that the deadline for these applications is October 15th. For all other courses, the final deadline for UCAS submission is January 15th.

All Upper Sixth students will meet with their personal tutor principally to discuss their UCAS application. During these sessions, their personal tutor will discuss the student’s course choice(s), university choices, and personal statement. The personal tutor will also provide the student with an academic reference required by UCAS for applying to UK universities.