By Mrs Woolley, Director of Sixth Form

A few weeks into term, the Lower Sixth are beginning to find their feet. They have settled into their new subjects, started to get to know one another as a year group and begun to see that Sixth Form is not simply Year 11 with different lessons.

The change is partly academic. Students are studying subjects they have chosen, with more time to explore the ideas that interest them and more responsibility for their own learning. That takes adjustment. Independence does not arrive all at once; students develop it by managing their time, asking questions and working out what helps them make progress.

But Sixth Form is about more than lessons. This term, Lower Sixth students have been setting up clubs and societies, applying to become peer mentors and looking at ways to support pupils in local primary schools. Some are also taking part in Ready2Lead, where they can develop their leadership skills and consider how they might make a difference to others.

What I enjoy about these opportunities is that students do not have to wait for everything to be organised for them. They can bring an idea forward, gather other people around it and see where it leads. That is a useful kind of confidence to develop: not the confidence that comes from having everything figured out, but the confidence to have a go.

The new Sixth Form Wellbeing Committee will give students another opportunity to contribute. It will meet for the first time next week, and its members will help shape activities and initiatives for the Sixth Form community. I’m looking forward to hearing what they think would make a difference.

There is a particular value in giving students the chance to help create the community they want to belong to. It also gives them a practical way to listen to one another, work together and take responsibility.

For the Upper Sixth, this part of the year can feel very different. University applications are being submitted, coursework deadlines are approaching and conversations about life after school are becoming more specific. For some students, that is exciting; for others, it can feel daunting. For many, it is both.

Our job is to help them take those next steps without expecting them to work everything out alone. Students can talk with their tutors, subject teachers, Heads of Year and Sixth Form staff about academic work, organisation and future plans. They are encouraged to become more independent, with support available when they need it.

This term, I have also seen Upper Sixth students sharing advice with younger students. Those moments matter. They show the Lower Sixth what support between year groups can look like, while giving the Upper Sixth the chance to recognise how much they have learned along the way.

The two year groups are at different points, but both are working out what they can do next: the Lower Sixth by trying new things and getting involved, and the Upper Sixth by turning plans into decisions.

That is one of the things I value about Sixth Form. Students are trusted with more responsibility, encouraged to contribute and supported as they find their own direction. It is good to see that process already underway this year.

This is what it looks like when girls soar.