2026
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
What’s inside: 03
WHAT IS AN ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETING?
05
PREPARING FOR YOUR MEETING
08
SETTING UP YOUR IT EQUIPMENT
10
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR MEETING
12
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
SUPPORTING YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY Congratulations on completing your application - the first step of your sixth form college journey is complete. We’re delighted that you’re considering studying with us, and we’re here to support you at every stage of the application process. The next step in your application is attending an Advice and Guidance Meeting. To help you feel confident and prepared, we’ve put everything you need to know about our Advice & Guidance Meetings into this booklet.
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS AN ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETING?
With over 3,000 meetings
Long Road is an open and
and get an idea of what is
inclusive community; we believe in equal opportunities for all our students - that starts from
to organise, this is a super busy time of year for our Admissions Team, but we feel it is important for you to understand our process going on behind the scenes in our Admissions office!
All meetings will take place virtually via videocall
This year, the majority of
on the SchoolCloud
our Advice and Guidance
system, and last a
study with us. This is why
Meetings will take place on
maximum of 25 minutes.
we invite our applicants to
Thursday 12 and Friday 13
a personal Advice and
February, and
We strongly encourage
Guidance Meeting with
Wednesday 11 March.
you to attend your
one of our friendly
Meetings will continue to
meeting with a
members of staff.
take place throughout the
parent/carer. If your
Spring and early Summer.
parent/carer is unable to
The date of your meeting
attend with you via the same
has no impact on your
device (e.g. they are at work)
offer of study so please
you can set up your meeting
don't worry if your friends
to allow 1 other device to
receive a meeting date
join, meaning they can
before you!
attend from a different
the very moment you make an application to
location.
Each sixth form college does Advice and
We believe it’s really important that all of
Guidance Meetings differently - you might
our applicants have these opportunities,
hear some colleges call them ‘Interviews’.
which is why we offer Advice and
Our Advice and Guidance Meetings are
Guidance meetings to everyone,
all about supporting you.
regardless of whether we are your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th choice of college!
There are 2 main purposes of the meeting: 1.To allow us the opportunity of giving
All of our staff undergo annual training in
you advice and guidance on the
preparation of our Advice and Guidance
subject options you are interested in
Meetings, ensuring they are all equally
studying, and make you an offer of
qualified to talk to you about your
study.
subject options.
2.To give you the opportunity to ask us questions about Long Road life.
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
PREPARING FOR YOUR MEETING
Although our meetings are
The thought of attending
application process. The
not like a job interview, they are an extremely important part of the
your Advice and Guidance
discussion during your
Meeting can be really
meeting guides us in which
daunting. Lots of people
subjects we can offer you
are under the impression
to study. If you don’t
that this meeting is like a
attend a meeting, we
job interview, and that the
can’t offer you a place to
decision to offer you a
study with us.
place at college rests
We can only offer you a place of study on a subject if your predicted grades
solely on this discussion...
When you made your
meet the minimum
you can breathe a sigh of
application you listed what
requirements.
relief because that is
subjects you are interested
certainly not the case
in studying. These are the
With this in mind, it is a good
here at Long Road!
subjects your Advice and
idea to spend some time
Guidance Meeting will
looking at your options. We
focus on. All of these
recommend sitting down
subjects have minimum
one evening with your
entry requirements, which
parent/carer, looking at your
can be found on our
predicted grades and seeing
website. By the end of your
whether these meet the
meeting we will offer you a
minimum entry
place of study.
requirements of your chosen subjects.
If your predicted grades don’t meet the
If we were to offer you a place to study a
minimum entry requirements for your
subject that you don’t meet the entry
chosen courses, don’t panic.
requirements for it would mean you start your studies at a disadvantage, and would
During your meeting we will discuss what
struggle to achieve your best. This isn’t
subjects we can offer you. Before your
what we want for you and it is why we
meeting you need to look at what other
have to be strict with these boundaries.
subjects you would be happy to study. During your meeting you will need to make a decision on these subjects. If your final GCSE results are better than your predicted grades, you will have the opportunity to change your subject choices at enrolment.
Although it might feel unfair or disheartening at the time, your success and wellbeing is at the heart of this decision making.
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If your predicted grades do meet the minimum entry requirements of your chosen subjects, that’s great! It’s always a good idea to have a look at some back-up subject options
You might want also want to spend
just in case you don’t quite get the GCSE
some time thinking about questions to
results you are hoping for. If this does
ask about the college, for example:
happen, you’ll be invited to attend a
How many students are enrolled at
meeting during enrolment where we will
the college?
look at your final grades and what
Do students have tutorials?
subjects we can offer you.
What is the dress code? Are you allowed phones on-campus?
Taking some time to create a back-up
Can I leave campus for lunch?
plan often helps to take away some of the
Will I have lessons every day?
stress and anxiety you may feel during
When does first lesson start, and
your exams and in the build up to GCSE
when does last lesson finish?
Results Day.
What is EPQ? Do you offer Duke of Edinburgh? What societies / team sports do you offer? How long are the lessons?
SETTING UP YOUR IT EQUIPMENT
We know lots of schools
If you have any concerns
use SchoolCloud for their
then please do not hesitate
parents evenings, so it is
to contact our friendly
hopefully a system that you
Admissions Team on
are familiar with.
admissions@longroad.ac.uk
To cause minimal disruption to your day, all
If you haven't used
of our Advice and
SchoolCloud before then
Guidance Meetings take
don't worry. We have
place virtually - meaning
outlined the minimum
no travel is required!
setup requirements in order to attend your Advice
All of our meetings take place via videocall using the SchoolCloud system.
and Guidance Meeting.
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
You will need... A device with a camera, microphone and speaker or headphones. A compatible up-to-date web browser: iPhone/iPad = Safari Android = Chrome or Firefox or the Samsung Browser Windows = Chrome, Firefox or
We also recommend... Using a smartphone for video calls.
Microsoft Edge (Chromium)
If you don't have a smartphone
Mac = Safari, Chrome or Firefox
with a front-facing camera, use of
Linux = Chrome or Firefox
laptop or computer with a webcam. Using a headset (or earphones with a microphone) to reduce echo. Making sure you have enough battery power, or your charger close at hand. Making sure there are no device updates scheduled to take place during your meeting. Considering your background; you may wish to remove personal items.
WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR MEETING You will receive the meeting joining link via email 1 hour before your scheduled meeting time, but you can
On the day of your meeting we advise you log into your SchoolCloud account 15-20 minutes before the scheduled start time, and checking that your camera, speakers/headphones and microphone are working correctly. We need to be able to see and hear you so we can have a meaningful discussion,
also access your meeting by logging
and our staff want to engage with you
into your School Cloud account.
as much as possible, so please make sure you keep your
We recommend logging into
camera and microphone
SchoolCloud the day before your
turned on throughout
meeting to check you have no
your meeting.
problems accessing your account.
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
The most important
You may be asked questions
thing to remember
similar to:
during your meeting is
Why have you chosen this
to just be yourself.
course? Do you have any career aims
Our staff are here to
or future plans?
support you and want to
What are your hobbies and
make sure you are
interests?
offered the best
What are your subject
possible course
strengths / likes and
combination for your
weaknesses / dislikes?
individual aims and
Are there any personal issues
ambitions. Some of the
that may affect your studies?
questions that help us to do this might seem a
You may be given information
little daunting, but don’t
on:
worry - we’re not trying
Course content, entry
to test you and there’s
requirements, and
no wrong answer!
assessments. College expectations of behaviour and attendance. Student support services Student enrichment activities The Long Road Scholars’ Award.
Your meeting will be a maximum of 25 minutes long, but don’t worry if it finishes early, especially if you have already decided on your subject choices and your predicted grades meet the minimum entry requirements. The more you prepare and engage with staff during the meeting, the more beneficial you will find this experience.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
We recommend that you accept every offers you receive from every college you apply for.
At the end of your meeting you will have to make a decision on which
This means you keep all your
subjects you would like us to offer you
options open, and on GCSE Results
a place to study.
Day you can make your final decision on where you would like
Once the meeting is over the member of staff who you have spoken to will update your Admissions+ account and send you an offer of study. Upon receiving this offer you have two options: accepting the offer, or declining the offer.
to study.
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If we are unable to offer you your preferred subjects, we still recommend you accept your offer. You will have the opportunity to change these subjects at enrolment once you have your final GCSE results. Declining your offer means your application will be removed from our system. If at a later date you decide you might want to study with us, we can reinstate your application but you will be placed on our waiting list. This means there may not a space available for you to study with us.
Remember, all our offers are conditional. This means you will only be successful in your application if you meet all the minimum entry requirements of your offer. For most courses this means achieving the minimum GCSE grade requirements, for some courses it may mean completing a successful audition, or submitting a portfolio of work. We will make sure that all these requirements are clear when your offer is made.
2026
ADVICE & GUIDANCE MEETINGS
WE’RE HERE TO HELP admissions@longroad.ac.uk 01223 63 1125 www.longroad.ac.uk Long Road Sixth Form College @LR6FC @lr6fc Long Road Sixth Form College