Sixth Form (Year 12 and Year 13)

Life in St Helen’s Sixth Form is such an exciting time, academically and personally. It is the time when you take control of your learning, pursue the subjects you enjoy and feel passionate about, and are given the freedom and independence to manage your own experiences.

In Sixth Form, you will be taught in engaging small groups which are led by highly experienced, professional and dedicated teachers who care immensely about every student and know each of you as an individual. Relationships between students and teachers are relaxed, respectful and collaborative, putting the students’ learning and interests at heart.

Beyond academic study, Sixth Form provides a range of opportunities for students to participate fully in sport, drama, music, art, community and school service and to join a wide range of clubs and societies. Our Sixth Form students also assume their natural roles as leaders of the whole student body.

We join up with Abingdon School for some A-level subjects and a range of extracurricular opportunities, creating an enriching co-educational experience for students at both schools.

Our new Sixth Form Centre, opening in 2022, will offer you to best possible place to flourish and achieve your ambitions. You can read more about it here.

Mrs Heather Darcy
Head of Sixth Form and Higher Education

Read the prospectus

Academic life

Academic life in St Helen’s Sixth Form is about individual choice and learning beyond the curriculum. Your experience will include everything encapsulated in our Sixth Form wheel, from your academic subjects and pursuits, building valuable skills outside lessons which aim to complement and enhance your studies, and the ethos which surrounds all of Sixth Form life.

Beyond the curriculum

At St Helen’s we encourage you to live fully beyond the classroom and to give anything that interests you a go, regardless of the subjects you study. We aim to provide the best possible opportunities for this with our Beyond programme in which over 100 clubs and societies thrive.

Pastoral and well-being

A sense of community distinguishes St Helen’s Sixth Form – not simply the laughter and fun that fills the Sixth Form Centre but a more deeply held set of attitudes and values. There is also a sense of possibility – an energy and vitality that is infectious as students involve themselves in every aspect of school life, combining their studies with myriad opportunities to pursue their interests and passions.

Higher education and careers

School life is full of transitions between key stages of academic and personal development, each step forward allowing you to flourish having made confident, informed and wellsupported decisions. Our responsibility is to ensure that you leave school with the knowledge, skills and resilience to thrive in society as a successful young adult.

Your long-term ambitions are a key area of focus during Sixth Form. You will work with members of the Sixth Form and Careers teams to expand your experience, understanding and knowledge in order to give you the best possible foundation for pursuing those ambitions.

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

‘a centre of excellence with the interests of each individual pupil at the heart of all that they do’

St Helen's Sixth Form

Academic life

Beyond the curriculum

Pastoral and well-being

Higher education and careers