Academic Reference

Areas covered in this reference include your academic ability, commitment, motivation and attitude throughout your school career, especially the senior years. It may also comment on your involvement in the wider school life - such as trips you have been on, clubs you have been a member of, personal development, relevant work experience etc. Finally, it may also remark on your life outside of school - such as hobbies, further qualifications (e.g. sports coaching, music exams), jobs, holidays and community involvement.

This reference is put together from two main sources - information from you and short references from your teachers. You must fill in the Pupil Information Sheet (Word doc, 70 KB)(opens new window) supplying academic and personal details. (Click link or download sheet at bottom of page).

You must then ask all your current teachers for an academic reference. See MS Form link below for this. (You may also want to ask a few of your previous teachers who know you quite well.) They will then complete this on the school's administration system. Do not nominate a teacher to write a reference for you without asking them first.

Once all of this information is collated, your Head of House will write your academic reference and add it to your application. This reference is not confidential. You can ask your Head of House to let you see it if you wish.

Things to do for your reference:

• Make sure you have completed your Pupil Information Sheet and sent it to your Head of House - Pupil Information Sheet (Word doc, 70 KB)(opens new window)
• Select the teachers you would like to contribute to your reference - this must include your current teachers and can also include a maximum of three previous teachers (as long as they taught you something which is related to what you are applying for)
• Email the teachers, copying in your Head of House, asking them if they will contribute to your academic reference. Include details of which course(s) and universities you are applying for and include the link to the Form: https://forms.office.com/e/fBHeuVJiNg

If there is someone outside of school (an employer or an organisation leader for example) who you would like to contribute to your reference, it is your responsibility to ask them, get the reference from them and pass it on to your Head of House (the link above will not work for someone outwith the school)

Important : you cannot leave it to the last minute to start generating your academic reference. Teachers have many different commitments on their time and a late request for a reference may mean that your nominated teachers will not have enough time to compile a reference for you in time. This in turn will mean that your Head of House may have to submit an incomplete academic reference on your behalf.