Sixth Form

Welcome

Welcome to Charles Darwin School Sixth Form

Choosing where and what to study after Year 11 can often have a huge impact on the course of your life and it could be one of the most significant educational decisions you will have to make. Getting this decision right is therefore very important.

Charles Darwin School has an excellent inclusive Sixth Form offering a range of courses to support Advanced Level study as well a number of level 2 courses to use in combination with AS/A2 qualifications. Our aim is to ensure that your post-16 experience: the study of your chosen subjects as well as the broader educational opportunities that we offer help inspire a voyage of self-discovery and success. Our students leave the Sixth Form focused, independent, confident and well-qualified to grasp opportunities to build a successful future.

A Level study options include all traditional facilitating subjects along with vocational subjects to suit a range of future career opportunities. Study programmes are personalised to the needs of the student once GCSE examination results are confirmed. Individual enrolment interviews pay a lot of attention to ensuring appropriate study choices at the beginning of Year 12: this interview is an important in helping to personalising our offer in the Sixth Form .

Each year approximately 60%-70% of our Sixth Formers go onto further educational studies at University, others pursue apprenticeship and occupation routes. Whatever your chosen path our support in terms of making successful applications through UCAS or equivalent and interview preparation is extensive and highly successful.

With a maximum of 240 pupils in the Sixth Form, the school prides itself on individual care and guidance. Class sizes are small and our teachers generously give additional time to coach and mentor pupils through exams. Results have consistently been excellent - in the top 30% of value added performance.

Our students benefit from many other enriching opportunities - for example we facilitate and encourage voluntary work, work experience opportunities, sports teams’ participation and a variety of leadership development programmes.

The Sixth Form prefect team led by the head boy and head girl is a powerful student leadership body; within the school they run their own committees raising money for charity and ensuring a happy and thriving school social community.

Ethos

The ethos of the Sixth Form aims to create ‘successful independent learners’ with a broad curriculum offer to cater for highly academic Oxbridge and Russell Group candidates but also ranging to suit the needs of the applicants who may need to boost their L2 learning before moving into L3 assessment. Our results over the past three years have been in the highest percentage of value added achievement in the country for which we have received awards and recognition from ALPS along with praise from UCAS/universities on the quality of personal statements. Overall, we aim to raise aspirations and support pupils to reach their goals. The curriculum offer includes a pastoral curriculum designed to enhance key skills and prepare our students to be both competitive and competent in the world of work, whether that is before or after they attend university.

Charles Darwin School Sixth Formers are role models for the school, treated with respect and are expected to act accordingly. We have a business dress code as we are a working environment, a code of conduct and achievement/attendance expectations. It is a Sixth Form that allows students to grow as individuals but with support and guidance from an experienced, exceptionally supportive and well qualified teaching team. We welcome applicants who meet our entry requirements, who are prepared to show a willingness to study independently and have the ambition to meet their academic targets