SIXTH FORM REVIEW

Top Row: Jodie Qursha, Ahaan Punjabi, Charles Savage, Pranav Sangwan

Middle Row: Ariya Kukreja, Taimur Shaikh, Sam Craig, Rayyan Sheikh, Emma Shukla

Bottom Row: Mrs S Chandler, Zander Visser, Karina Valrani, Matthew Hunt, Aakriti Singh

Top Row: Emma Dix, Tareq Al Alami, Laura Iorini, Amara Singh

Middle Row: Zainab Haidar, Ben Morgan, Charlotte Rose Thorpe, Aman Burman, Simran Garg

Bottom Row: Dr. S Zaghlowl, Rayan Ali, Aliyyah Khan, Alecsi Charlton, Emma Wade

Top Row: Vedant Bhansali, Tiana Lane Williamson, Aria Khan, Charlotte Clarke

Middle Row: Lauren Agent, Brandon Hammond, Sophia Arthur, Zach Saldanha, Janice Walder

Bottom Row: Mrs. V Holmes, Joaquim Shukla, Annabelle Garner, Sufian Al Alami, Mia Ammanath

Top Gun is not just a cheesy, highoctane, military pilot’s fantasy. It is also, of course, a metaphysical metaphor for the fundamental dichotomy at the heart of a Sixth Form education. On one hand, we can argue that a Sixth Form experience is a regimented construct: we live by a bell that dictates our every move; we compartmentalise domains of knowledge into short lessons and we expect everyone to dress in a uniform way. Schools are like the Top Gun character Iceman. On the other hand, society today calls for disruptors and innovators, it celebrates what Steve Jobs called “the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels…the ones who see things differently.” In short, society craves Mavericks.

Iceman vs Maverick, Foreman vs Ali, Sheeran vs Eilish... The former represents a path to success predicated on conventional talent and prodigious hard work, playing by the book and coming top of the class. The latter represents a path of precocious brilliance, reckless in its regard of the rules and normalising the unexpected. As we enter the final approach of flight 2022, on which side of the divide do our Sixth Form students sit?

Undoubtedly, there is a little Iceman in them. Whether we feel the need for speed or not, Sixth Form life seldom drops below Mach 3: go on UCAS, start my EPQ, when is RPEP, should I ED UC or NYU, not to mention the UCATs and BMATS and LNATs, the moody cats, Teams chats and the odd formtime dingbats. To navigate the acronymladen turbulence, our Sixth Formers put in hours and hours of practice on the training grounds, in the rehearsal studios, in the carrel areas and at home, constantly honing and fine-tuning and mastering their multiple crafts. This sheer dedication and talent has led to Sheeran-esque success: prolific and constant, unassuming and humble, because it is just what our students do, even in the face of plentiful recent obstacles. The return of fixtures, of the Sevens, of swimming meets and galas,

of a suite of over 150 extra-curricular activities, of Sports Day and house events, of in-person assemblies, of Music, Charity, Love, of the annual Boys vs Girls netball match, the hoot that was the Year 13 Fun Day, the amazing parent-organised Year 13 breakfast and the ‘spirit week’ culminating in a guard of honour, and so much more, has felt like a return to full speed again. I applaud our students for not only rising to each of these challenges and displaying consistent excellence throughout, but for doing so with a sense of camaraderie that has been deprived of them in the last couple of years. This cannot be understated.

Dive a little deeper, however, and we begin to see a few Maverick behaviours too, extraordinary flecks of individualism that flicker on an already stellar canvas. Like the student who has undergone and overcome a kidney transplant, accessing lessons from a hospital bed and still gaining a coveted place at Caltech. Like the student who created three installation artworks exploring genderbased social issues in Pakistan. Like the student who has written a 100,000-

word historical novel set in Russia. Like the student who has helped to design and build a coral restoration structure. Like the student who has found the time to run a drone videography company specialising in supercar cinematography. Like the student who is an Olympian fencer. Like the students who have worked part-time researching genetic mutations at the Centre of Arabic Genomic Studies. Like the student who made a documentary about her uncle who has been paralysed from the neck down to raise funds and awareness of his rare disease. Like the student who has devoted over a year’s preparation towards the ADFA qualification to become a military pilot, an actual Maverick in the making. These. Are. Not. Normal. Activities. Only this word count prevents me from continuing, for there are 260 such stories in our Sixth Form, each one unique and brilliant, each student simultaneously separate from the herd, whilst being part of a special community.

I refer back to the Head Boy/Head Girl hustings earlier this year (another returning event) where each candidate had to define what success in our school meant for them. Many spoke of a sense of community born out of our differences. One spoke of individualism and how each of us should pursue that which sets us apart for it is those individual brilliances that bring us together. Perhaps the fundamental dichotomy of Iceman versus Maverick is not such a quandary after all. Perhaps some people can be both. Perhaps that is the DC blueprint for success: by celebrating our different backgrounds, by nurturing our diverse talents and by normalising the multiple maverick endeavours, we create a unique community to be proud of.

In helping nurture these conditions, I thank the entire Sixth Form flight squadron: Mr Tate, Mrs Maguire, Mrs Lambert and Mrs Savant, whose serenity and sagacity are born out of a peerless depth of knowledge, empathy and compassion; to the team of twenty tutors on the front line, expertly cajoling and championing their tutees on a daily basis and keeping them on their intended flight paths. Special mention to flight lieutenant Mr Monks whose well-earned retirement deprives us of

a wealth of worldly wisdom and expert advice.

To the Year 12s, your transition from cadets to grizzled veterans continues; I wish you a great summer break and look forward to seeing you hitting the ground running on August 30th. And to the departing Year 13s, you leave our school with flying colours. Keep on soaring, keep shining bright and Godspeed as you embark on your new mission.

Mr Bobby Trivic Head of Sixth Form