St Albans School for Girls Sixth Form Prospectus

Sixth

Challenge • Creativity • Community

A springboard for success The Sixth Form is exciting, offering girls on the edge of adulthood a distinct, mature intellectual environment and an ideal preparation for life beyond school.

St Albans High School for Girls’ Sixth Form offers a new start for all girls coming into it. We are delighted to welcome new girls into our Sixth Form, who settle quickly into our warm, inclusive community, but all girls, regardless of whether they are new to the school, will find the Sixth Form experience distinctive, empowering and great fun.

Students here take their learning seriously and achieve excellent results. Small A Level groups offer collaborative learning, lively discussion and an excellent training for university. Our higher education programme is comprehensive and the majority of students will take up a place at their first choice university.

Sixth Form students play a defining role in forging the school’s culture, enjoying considerable freedoms and many opportunities for responsibility and leadership. Taking advantage of our close proximity to the city centre and a bespoke common room, girls here enjoy a mature environment in which to learn and build lasting friendships.

I hope that you will visit us soon and see for yourself our enjoyable and dynamic Sixth Form.

Mrs Jenny Brown Headmistress

St Albans High School for Girls

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Challenge & independence Intellectual challenge develops the research skills, independent thinking and self-motivation required for success in higher education and the workplace.

Sixth Formers benefit from excellent facilities including dedicated teaching areas and an exclusive library. Class sizes are small and girls are given the freedom to organise their study time. Academic progress is closely tracked by teachers and tutors, and regularly shared with parents. Girls are encouraged to be reflective learners, to set their own goals and, through ongoing dialogue with teachers, to evaluate their performance. In Year 12, they study at least four subjects at AS Level. They can also select accredited courses from our Enrichment Programme – for example, Critical Thinking or the Extended Project Qualification – as well as short skills courses such as Digital Photography, Ceramics and Radio Production. In Year 13, A Level courses are complemented by an extensive schedule of lectures, where visiting speakers broaden outlooks and raise aspirations.

Across the Sixth Form curriculum, students are encouraged to ask questions, to interrogate answers and explore new ideas. Extensive ICT resources – including a virtual learning environment (VLE) – enable creative approaches to learning and teaching, and the use of digital devices is actively encouraged.

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St Albans High School for Girls

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Ambition & success In addition to building transferable skills, we are committed to providing personalised support to Sixth Formers to help them plan their future.

Teaching in small class sizes by highly qualified and passionate staff results in an enviable record of entry into higher education. This success is underpinned by outstanding university and careers guidance. With a structured programme of advice, an extensive resource library, and work experience in Year 12, girls begin to plan for their working lives. They are supported throughout the process by the Headmistress, and both the Head and Assistant Head of Sixth Form. A specialist Oxbridge advisor is on hand and mock interviews are available to all students.

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St Albans High School for Girls

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Creativity & collaboration Alongside our commitment to the creative arts, we encourage creativity in all pursuits.

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The Jubilee Centre provides spacious teaching areas with wonderful resources for the creative and performing arts. As well as offering scholarships in Art/Design & Technology, Music and Drama at A Level, we celebrate students’ talents through a rich programme of concerts, productions and exhibitions. Visiting music teachers provide specialist tuition in a range of instruments and girls can perform in our many choirs, orchestras and bands.

Strong emphasis is placed on physical fitness and the development of team spirit. We offer a Sports scholarship. Sixth Form students make full use of our superb sports complex, fitness suite, swimming pool, new pavilion and playing fields, taking part in a wide variety of sports.

Girls can also access the full range of extra-curricular activities, with many taking up the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award or Far Frontiers schemes. In addition, Sixth Formers participate in dedicated activities that develop their leadership skills, such as Model United Nations, Young Enterprise and editing the school magazine. Their global awareness and cultural understanding are enhanced by exciting travel opportunities, with recent destinations including China, Borneo, Nepal and Japan.

St Albans High School for Girls

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Community & responsibility Outstanding pastoral care underpins girls’ achievement, with their leadership potential developed through a range of whole school responsibilities.

Girls in the Sixth Form rise to the challenge of being role models for younger girls, and ambassadors for the school. From the teambuilding exercises at the start of Year 12 to the Leavers’ Ball at the end of Year 13, girls study hard and make a valuable contribution to our wider school community. Leadership potential is developed by charity fundraising events for local and global charities, undertaking voluntary work, running extra-curricular clubs for younger students and by election to the roles of Head Girl and her Deputies, House Officers, Sports Captains and Form Prefects.

Enjoying a dedicated common room and kitchen, girls also have access to the on-site Starbucks-style cafĂŠ.

Their personal and academic progress is carefully monitored by the Head and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, as well as tutors with whom they meet daily.

Housemistresses, the Chaplain and nurses are also on call to provide additional support. Membership of a house fosters a sense of family, with Sixth Form students taking the lead in inter-house sporting and cultural competitions.

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“ The young women who are educated here are well prepared for the next stage in their lives, which they enter with confidence and abiding values.�

Independent Schools Inspectorate

St Albans High School for Girls

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Sixth Form Townsend Avenue St Albans Hertfordshire  AL1 3SJ Tel: 01727 853800 admissions@stahs.org.uk

www.stahs.org.uk

For details of scholarships and fees assistance, please contact the Admissions Office