Sixth Form Team

My name is Richard Karran and I am the Director of Sixth Form at Ballakermeen. After beginning my teaching career in 2006, I spent time at both Manchester Academy and Chellaston Academy (Derby), working as a French teacher and then progressing to Head of Year 10 and 11. I moved to Ballakermeen in 2017 to take up my current role.

Within the sixth form, I am lead of curriculum and discipline, as well as running the Oxbridge, Medical and Veterinary programmes. At present, I am also responsible for the community liaison work that we do and the independent study programme.

My interests in life include my love of Manchester City, and my fondness for travelling, especially in Africa.

As the Deputy Head of Sixth Form, my role is to support Mr Karran and take over the running of the centre if he is out of school. Having worked in the Sixth Form for 9 years, I have a lot of experience with writing Sixth Form policies and making sure that Assistant Heads of Sixth Form have everything they need to support the students. I am also responsible for organising the provision for students that need slightly different timetable arrangements and making sure that students are supported in their learning. In keeping with my role as a PE teacher, I keep an eye on the sport going on in the sixth form.

Within the sixth form I support the team in a variety of ways. I am responsible for attendance and punctuality, timetable and curriculum changes, data collection and organising the Higher Education Fair. I am also the first point of contact for queries from parents and students

My role is to help students with career planning, help organise work experience, assist students with university, UCM and other applicatins, provide careers information and CV writing. I also connect students with agencies and employers and try to help and encourage them to think about their next steps beyond school.

My my role is to support the Pastoral Care of the students in sixth form. I am delighted to be in this new role and working in such a large and talented team.

My job is to look after the needs of the students which are not academic. This may involve a range of areas including Special Educational Needs, support with personal difficulties, mental or physical health issues and wellbeing. I also oversee the PSHE programme for sixth form students which addresses many vital areas in preparation for moving on and leaving home.

I am delighted to have joined the Sixth Form team this year and to be working in Higher Education applications, a very exciting stage of a Sixth Form student’s journey in our school. After launching the Unifrog programme to the students and the parents, I guide our students through their personal statements and co-ordinate the writing of the academic references by our brilliant staff members.

I have joined the Sixth Form Team to lead on the Tracking and Reporting in the Sixth Form. I am working on making sure that students are aware of their current performance and how much work needs to be done to achieve their desire grades.