16+ Curriculum

In the Sixth Form, pupils follow a curriculum based around AS-levels (in the Lower Sixth) and A2 levels (in the Upper Sixth).  Each year contributes 50% to the final A-level grade in each subject.  Pupils will generally study four subjects to AS-level, continuing with three subjects through to the full A-level.  However, a significant minority of pupils will study four subjects through to A-level.  Further information about the courses offered to A-level can be found in the departmental web pages.  Pupils have a free choice of subjects from the 27 on offer, though tutors, HMMs and the Head of Sixth Form are always on hand to provide advice regarding suitable subject combinations (in preparation for university applications, which are submitted in the early part of the Upper Sixth year).  This advice is an important part of the Options at 16 Evening, which takes place in the Michaelmas Term of the Upper Fifth.

We offer A-levels as our core sixth form curriculum for three main reasons.  First, it allows pupils with specific interests to specialise in subjects they enjoy, whilst also permitting pupils with a desire for breadth to select subjects from across academic disciplines.  Secondly, the modular system of assessment allows pupils to receive constant feedback in the form of module results; this gives them greater certainty as they approach the summer of the Upper Sixth.  Finally, it is a system of assessment well understood by university Admissions Tutors, preparing pupils well for their university application.

There are plenty of further academic opportunities available to sixth form pupils to supplement their core A-level courses.  All departments run extension sessions for pupils considering study of a particular subject at university; every June, all members of the Lower Sixth go on a three-day subject-based trip (either within the UK or to a destination in Europe), to explore an aspect of a chosen subject beyond the A-level specification; pupils have the opportunity to enter academic competitions, such as the Maths Challenge, the science Olympiads, or the various essay competitions run by Oxford and Cambridge colleges; the school runs an Enterprise Competition, which introduces all Lower Sixth pupils to the notion of running a business as part of the curriculum; and, pupils are able to undertake an 'Extended Project Qualification', in order to explore a topic of personal interest in greater depth.