Sixth Form: same school but so different!
You might be at the same address, but Sixth Form is a world away from Year 11, argues Georgia O'Neil
Defining Sixth Form is not an easy thing to do. It’s obviously very different from the lower school - but even on my last day of year 11, I wasn’t very sure what to expect when I came back in September. Whether you’re in year 11 or you just want to know a little more about what being a sixth former is like, I hope this can help in giving you some insight - without being too condescending.
I’m sure you’ll have heard countless people say this before, but the amount of independence you gain is definitely one of the first differences you notice having left year 11. It does mean you have to take responsibility for yourself and hold yourself accountable for things such as deadlines and independent study, but it’s really beneficial for your development in learning an essential skill and it helps you understand the importance of taking control of your life as you grow into an adult.
One of the great things about sixth form is that the dynamic between you and your teachers also shifts and it honestly feels much friendlier and makes it easier to talk to them about anything. The class sizes are smaller and filled with people with similar interests to you, far more so than the classes at GCSE where not everyone in the room shares a passion for the subject, and this produces a more relaxed working environment.
The number of lessons in your timetable will decrease but the expectation is that you complete as much work outside of the classroom as you do in class for each subject every week. While this may feel like a lot, compared to the intensity of your timetable across GCSEs, the workload doesn’t really increase a vast amount - it’s just completed in a different way.
You also gain access to the common room and the LRC: the common room is a great place to both work and socialise and the LRC is perfect for more focused studying (plus the common room has a really great café!).
The main things I’ve realised over my first term of sixth form is the importance of retaining a healthy work-life balance, and while time management and self-motivation are huge factors to practise (something I’m still working on) there are lots of people available to go to for support and advice. No one is setting any expectation that you need to have the next 10 or even 5 years of your life planned out - even if you feel like other people around you have it all figured out already. You do hit the ground running when starting A levels, but this doesn’t mean you can’t figure things out or change your mind as you go.
The helpful thing is that there is flexibility around your timetable having started college, so if you realise one (or more) of your subjects really isn’t for you, don’t panic, you don’t have to stick with it for the next two years - there will be the opportunity to swap or drop it if you need to. Having conversations with teachers, parents, friends or whoever you find comfort in talking to is so important because the sooner you can start to enjoy the subjects in your timetable, the less stressful your week will become. I know plenty of people who have changed courses and adjusted to their new classes easily, which is something I didn’t think would be so simple to alter before starting sixth form.
One piece of advice I will leave you with is that realistically, after about a week or two, no one will be as preoccupied with picking an outfit, so don’t stress about needing to buy a whole new wardrobe over the summer - no one will be taking note of how often you wear something or whatever other worries you may (or may not) be having.
Best of luck to anyone doing exams this year and I hope to see lots of you at sixth form next year.
Georgia O'Neil, Y12
Defining Sixth Form is not an easy thing to do. It’s obviously very different from the lower school - but even on my last day of year 11, I wasn’t very sure what to expect when I came back in September. Whether you’re in year 11 or you just want to know a little more about what being a sixth former is like, I hope this can help in giving you some insight - without being too condescending.
I’m sure you’ll have heard countless people say this before, but the amount of independence you gain is definitely one of the first differences you notice having left year 11. It does mean you have to take responsibility for yourself and hold yourself accountable for things such as deadlines and independent study, but it’s really beneficial for your development in learning an essential skill and it helps you understand the importance of taking control of your life as you grow into an adult.
One of the great things about sixth form is that the dynamic between you and your teachers also shifts and it honestly feels much friendlier and makes it easier to talk to them about anything. The class sizes are smaller and filled with people with similar interests to you, far more so than the classes at GCSE where not everyone in the room shares a passion for the subject, and this produces a more relaxed working environment.
The number of lessons in your timetable will decrease but the expectation is that you complete as much work outside of the classroom as you do in class for each subject every week. While this may feel like a lot, compared to the intensity of your timetable across GCSEs, the workload doesn’t really increase a vast amount - it’s just completed in a different way.
You also gain access to the common room and the LRC: the common room is a great place to both work and socialise and the LRC is perfect for more focused studying (plus the common room has a really great café!).
The main things I’ve realised over my first term of sixth form is the importance of retaining a healthy work-life balance, and while time management and self-motivation are huge factors to practise (something I’m still working on) there are lots of people available to go to for support and advice. No one is setting any expectation that you need to have the next 10 or even 5 years of your life planned out - even if you feel like other people around you have it all figured out already. You do hit the ground running when starting A levels, but this doesn’t mean you can’t figure things out or change your mind as you go.
The helpful thing is that there is flexibility around your timetable having started college, so if you realise one (or more) of your subjects really isn’t for you, don’t panic, you don’t have to stick with it for the next two years - there will be the opportunity to swap or drop it if you need to. Having conversations with teachers, parents, friends or whoever you find comfort in talking to is so important because the sooner you can start to enjoy the subjects in your timetable, the less stressful your week will become. I know plenty of people who have changed courses and adjusted to their new classes easily, which is something I didn’t think would be so simple to alter before starting sixth form.
One piece of advice I will leave you with is that realistically, after about a week or two, no one will be as preoccupied with picking an outfit, so don’t stress about needing to buy a whole new wardrobe over the summer - no one will be taking note of how often you wear something or whatever other worries you may (or may not) be having.
Best of luck to anyone doing exams this year and I hope to see lots of you at sixth form next year.
Georgia O'Neil, Y12