The New Sixth Form Experience

Unfortunately, coming back to school this year has not been the same as many of us expected; yet there is some joy in returning to school for the current Lower Sixth who have been able to enrich themselves in their favourite subjects and new ones. To see how everyone has been getting on, I have spoken to a few people to see how they have found joining the Sixth Form.

Grace W is taking History, Politics and Drama for her A Levels and tells me “I have really enjoyed taking subjects of my own choosing and have especially liked being introduced to Politics which I was unable to take at GCSEs. It's currently very engaging because of the tense political climate at the moment. I’ve also enjoyed attending small classes as I am able to engage myself much more in the lessons. Overall, despite the circumstances because of COVID19, it has been nice returning to school to see my friends and to return to a fixed routine.”

I also talked to Natasha C who is currently taking English, History and Spanish. When asking her about her A Levels she told me “It’s a new experience to have more than one teacher for each subject and it’s also been different to learn two parts of the course at the same time; for example, in History we learn about The Cold War and The Tudors in the same week. I often find doing two parts of the course overwhelming yet engaging as I am always learning something new. For languages, I love having a smaller class as I feel I receive more support from the teachers. For all current students in younger years I definitely recommend taking a modern foreign language as it is a very enjoyable experience and can be beneficial in later life."

Sahiba J is taking Economics, English and History and I caught up with her to see how she is finding her new A Levels. “Obviously economics I was unable to take at GCSE level but it has been my favourite subject so far, as it is new so everyone is on the same page, starting at the same point meaning we can all learn it at the same pace. In English, I find my new teachers very passionate and engaging and I have also enjoyed being taught different parts of the course at the same time - Shakespeare’s Othello, Spies, and modern poems. I find this keeps me on my toes! Although there are obvious needed restrictions in place, I am glad to be back at school and learning new things.”

Ruby M tells me “I am currently taking Biology, Chemistry and Psychology in order to hopefully pursue medicine at university. Chemistry is currently my favourite subject, but I heard that it gets very difficult and challenging so am making sure to do as much work as I can! Since GCSE’s the workload has massively increased, however I enjoy using my time in frees to get work done. I also love the freedom we get in the Sixth Form and how much more comfortable we become with our teachers."

Lastly I spoke to Charlotte L who is taking History, Classics and Maths and she said “I actually haven’t found the jump from GCSE level to now too difficult because, especially in maths, we are not studying anything new and are rather re-capping what we studied last year, however I expect this will change pretty soon! I love having frees as it allows more independence as it is up to us to get our work done, without the pressure from teachers. My favourite subject is most-likely Classics and I would love to study this at a higher level in the future.”

By Caitlin V (L6)