We believe that the Sixth Form at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School offers students quite exceptional opportunities. We provide a wide range of AS and A level courses, chosen through an options system tailored each year to meet the individual needs of students. The courses are taught by experienced, well-qualified specialist staff, well able to provide the detailed support and guidance essential to success. Form tutors and senior staff are there to help with broader issues of courses and life after school.

Find out more about the courses available in the sixth form



Facilities are good, with specialist classrooms and laboratories, and a high level of equipment. The Sixth Form has its own Centre and study areas. Access to Information Technology is easy, and well supported, both inside the classroom and out. The Sixth Form Centre is linked to the school network with Internet access and e-mail. A new independent study area opened in Autumn 2004.

The library provides good research facilities, and Careers information and advice is readily available. Opportunities for sport abound, whether you are a serious competitor or a social player. From Young Enterprise to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, from drama to sailing, we offer a range of opportunities to develop initiative, self-reliance and independence as well as working within a team.

How well does it work?It's not surprising, therefore, that our students do well. A level pass rates are regularly over 95%, amongst the highest in the county, with over 60% of results in the top two grades. Our students usually average about 360 UCAS points, which is why almost all are able to pursue the courses they want at University or College. The Sixth Form is a place where people succeed.

Who is it for?At present, there are well over 200 students in the Sixth Form, a number large enough to offer variety, small enough to feel comfortable. For many of them entry to the Sixth Form has been a natural progression from our Year 11, but each year a significant number of students join us from other schools. For example, in 2006 we had over 30 more students join our Lower Sixth. To them we offer a particular welcome. For all our students, the Sixth Form offers new challenges and opportunities, academically, socially, and in terms of their personal development.

All our students follow a full A level course, so you do have to demonstrate that you are capable of A level study. In practice, that means that you will need six GCSE passes (including English and Maths) at the very least, with A and B grades in the subjects you want to take further.
What does it involve?

Obviously, joining the Sixth Form involves accepting membership of the school community, with everything which that entails, in terms of attendance, uniform, ways of doings things, the wider life of the school and so on. But it also means taking on direct responsibility for your learning. Success at A level depends on being willing to work hard at home as well as in classes. Meeting deadlines and developing good study skills will be particularly important. Members of staff are there to encourage and support, but they will expect to see evidence of good progress and commitment if you are to progress to the Upper Sixth.

Setting Targets

Students have personal targets for their AS and A levels which are agreed in consultation with staff. Based in part on prior attainment, these represent realistic but ambitious challenges for our students. Progress is assessed in relation to them, and students are clear throughout the course about where they stand and how close they are to achieving their ambitions.

How do you become a part of it?As a member of the school, you will receive information through Careers lessons and tutor time about the process of joining the Sixth Form. You will be asked to complete an application form and indicate some provisional choices of subject in the Autumn term, when the wider options that are open to you are under discussion. You and your parents will have been invited to attend a transition to Sixth Form evening in November, and you will have the chance to discuss choices with senior staff during the Spring term.

If you attend another local school, you will also be invited to the transition evening and you will be offered the chance to come to an Open Afternoon before Christmas. This will give you the chance to see the school in operation, to speak to students who have joined us from other schools and to discuss matters with senior staff before completing an application form and indicating provisional subject choices. Your parents can come too, if you wish. Any offers of places would normally be made during the Spring term. Don't worry if you are joining the process late. We are always pleased to see individual students by appointment.

Students who live outside the catchment area should contact Mr. Forster, the Head of the Sixth Form for more information or to make an appointment.

All prospective Sixth Form students are invited to our Induction Week in July, after GCSE examinations have finished. You have a chance to see exactly what the options scheme for September will be, to find out more about individual subjects, and to see just how the Sixth Form works.

Education Maintenance Allowances

Students joining the sixth form who are eligible on grounds of residence and family income may receive up to £30 per week plus 2 x £100 bonuses during the course of the year if they meet agreed targets. Further details can be obtained when appropriate from the School Finance Office.

For more information, visit http://www.dfes.gov.uk/financialhelp/ema/

The Sixth Form CurriculumIn September 2000 a new curriculum came into force, reflecting changes to examinations and university entrance requirements at a national level. All our students take four AS level subjects in the Lower Sixth year, leading to modular examinations in the summer of that year. Your subjects will be chosen from the five option blocks which will take up almost all of the timetable; indeed, a few students may wish to take five subjects in the Lower Sixth. Although we cannot guarantee every possible combination of the subjects we offer, the option scheme is re-written each year to meet your needs, and only rarely are we unable to provide what you are looking for. In the Upper Sixth all students pursue at least three of their Lower Sixth subjects through to full level qualifications at the end of the course. An increasing number take four.

In the Sixth Form AS levels Science for Public Understanding and Critical Thinking are available to all students for whom it can be timetabled. In the Upper Sixth, an AS level in General Studies is added, and all our students are able to gain experience in the core skills of communication, application of number and ICT. As well as AS and A level courses, however, all students will take part in tutorial lessons, games and careers education. The tutorial time offers important support at an individual level, and wide-ranging games provision offers opportunities for leadership as well as participation. We try hard to ensure that you can find activities which interest you and which you may wish to pursue beyond school.

More information about courses available in the sixth form

Outside the ClassroomAlmost all students also have a certain amount of private study allowed for in the school day. Learning to manage your own study time is a high priority if you are to do well at A level and beyond. Students are encouraged to work in the Sixth Form Centre, Sixth Form study bays, the library, the independent learning centre and wherever books and ICT resources are available.

Outside the formal curriculum, members of the Sixth Form pursue a wide and varied range of activities. These regularly include sport, sailing, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, completing Gold Crest Award through the Engineering Education Scheme, Parents’ Association, Challenge Awards, music, drama, public speaking, the speaking newspaper, Young Enterprise, the British Sports Trust Award Scheme and much more. We are introducing. There are numerous theatre and other visits throughout the year, including opportunities to take part in activities abroad. In recent years, for example, these have included ski trips, Modern Language exchange trips and Art Department visits to Barcelona. Members of the Lower 6th have the chance to take part in an exchange with a Gymnasium in the Czech Republic.

The Sixth Form is encouraged to manage its own affairs through a Social Committee which organises social events and an elected committee, which oversees the Sixth Form Centre, and links to the rest of the school via the School Council. Also, in the Upper Sixth you play an essential and valuable leadership role as Prefects.

All in all, we welcome students who are eager to learn in a lively atmosphere where the emphasis is on individual development and encouragement.
Looking to the Future

As well as Careers lessons in the Lower Sixth, the Careers section in the Library offers a wealth of information, including ECCTIS and KUDOS software. The Careers Officer visits regularly to advise individuals, and tutors see you regularly to discuss decisions and intentions through the development of an Individual Learning Plan. There is a biennial Careers Convention at the school, with representatives from High Education and a range of professions, and you will visit the county’s annual Higher Education Conference. Most students undertake University Open Day visits and there are opportunities to take up work experience and work-shadowing opportunities as they arise.

Tutorial time is an important channel for the support offered by form tutors. As well as day to day advice and help, tutors help you to maintain and develop your Individual Learning Plan, as well as monitoring academic progress. Internal assessments are undertaken termly and reports yearly. In the Upper Sixth, you are assigned to academic tutors who assist with UCAS applications and career intentions at a purely individual level. This support is available to you even after A level results are known.

So, what next? See where our sixth form leavers go.

AS General Studies