Sixth Form at Woldingham

SIXTH FORM AT WOLDINGHAM

Put your future in your own hands in our new Sixth Form Centre

CONNECT: COLLABORATE:

CREATE

Woldingham’s Sixth Form Centre is the inspiring new home for our A Level students, where learning, creativity and excellence flourish in our purpose-built state of the art building.

The two years spent in the Sixth Form are often the most memorable, exciting and challenging of a student’s time at school. Woldingham’s new Sixth Form Centre – a dedicated space in the centre of the school’s wonderful 700 acres –provides a unique setting to develop the personal growth, intellectual curiosity and academic stretch so each student leaves with her future firmly in her own hands.

Within the Sixth Form Centre, students have their own space for learning, study and socialising. The new building has been designed specifically for Woldingham’s unique Sixth Form programme, where academic achievement goes hand in hand with developing the 21st Century skills essential for personal and professional success ahead.

In the collaborative zone, students learn to lead, listen and delegate as they take part in a huge range of projects, events and activities, gaining the skills for success in whatever career they choose. The quiet zone provides a calm and purposeful setting for independent study leading to academic growth and success in exams. The café is a social space for breaks, forging friendships and promoting wellbeing.

Woldingham’s all-girls Sixth Form provides the ideal environment for academic scholarship to thrive in a mutually supportive environment.

STUDENT-CENTRED SIXTH FORM

The new centre, perfectly located right in the middle of the school, is designed for Sixth Form students to thrive academically, flourish personally and become independent lifelong learners. The centre has dedicated spaces for quiet study and collaborative group work, a café for socialising, as well as dedicated classrooms and a small lecture theatre exclusively for the Sixth Form.

The centre is home to our Futures team, who support students with their higher education and career choices, and is next to the new whole-school library, where students can undertake academic research, read, study and enjoy as an additional calm space for personal wellbeing.

Working with specialist designers with input from Woldingham students, the interior spaces and furniture promote student wellbeing, stimulate creativity and enhance Woldingham’s unique community.

The new Sixth Form Centre has:

• Light-filled quiet zone for independent study and academic research

• Spacious collaborative area for group and project work

• Three classrooms with flexible layouts for lessons, small lectures, seminars, workshops and Socratic-style discursive sessions

• Café for socialising, informal discussions and important downtime

• A terrace to take advantage of the school’s stunning setting and wonderful views

• Futures area focused on higher education, careers and developing entrepreneurial skills

• Modern technology and secure WiFi

• Base for pastoral support team led by the Head of Sixth Form.

UNIQUE SIXTH FORM PROGRAMME

At Woldingham, students learn to #WriteYourOwnStory from the moment they join. In their last two years at school based in the Sixth Form Centre, students take more personal responsibility so their future is in their own hands. In the Sixth Form students develop different, mutually respectful, relationships with staff. They are taught in smaller groups, become independent, empowered learners and recognise that to excel, discretionary effort is vital as they take additional personal responsibility for their learning and their own future.

Academic achievement, endeavour and stretch are at the heart of Sixth Form life. Inspirational teaching from expert specialists ensures effort and application are rewarded and recognised. Sixth Form students leave with excellent A Level results and admittance to prestigious to UK and international universities, conservatoires and other institutions.

The new collaborative workspace is a dynamic area where interaction, initiative and ideas flourish.

PREPARING FOR EXCITING LIVES AHEAD

Woldingham’s Sixth Form is much more than achieving the exam grades to open doors to world-leading universities and fulfilling careers - it is also about learning the skills for successful lives ahead. Through the Lower Sixth business partnership project students learn to be entrepreneurial, delivering a Thinking Big talk hones presentation skills, and by participating in the Leadership Programme, they learn about strategy, managing projects and inspiring others. This means Woldingham Sixth Form students leave with the skills, aptitude and independence employers are looking for, and which will sustain them as they embark on their careers and find their place in the world.

Sixth Form café is a favourite space for socialising and forging friendships, essential to personal wellbeing.

Scholarship thrives in Woldingham’s all-girls environment

ACADEMIC BREADTH AND STRETCH

Choice and independence - The Sixth Form is increasingly about making choices. It’s not just which of the 27 subjects to study at A Level, but which additional curriculum options to take, what leadership roles to apply for, how many competitions to enter and what university, apprenticeship or career decisions to make.

Scholarship in the Sixth Form - Scholarship and academic excellence are highly prized. Woldingham awards scholarships to Sixth Form students for academic excellence, science, sport, drama, music and art. Students can apply for 16+ scholarships in each of these areas, recognising achievement as well as future potential.

Classes - Some classes are taught in the Sixth Form Centre but most continue to be taught in specialist labs, studios and classrooms across the school. This helps Sixth Formers remain connected to students in other year groups and play a full and positive role in the school community, including as part of weekly whole school assemblies and as student leaders. Some Sixth Form-only subjects – psychology, economics and business – are taught in Sixth Form Centre classrooms.

EMPOWERED LEARNING

In the Sixth Form, Empowered Learning, Woldingham’s bespoke approach to teaching and learning, focuses on students learning to learn, developing important research skills and increasingly taking responsibility for their own learning. They learn how to discuss, analyse and debate; how to synthesise, present and hypothesise; how to take ownership of their own learning. This enables them to flourish at university and beyond so the power to be successful in their lives ahead sits with them. It’s putting their future in their own hands.

Sophia programme - Unique to Woldingham, our Sophia Programme develops intellect, reasoning, debate and critical thinking through the exploration of philosophical concepts in university-style seminar sessions. In the Sophia Programmenamed after the Greek word for wisdom, Sophia - ancient wisdom and the modern world are in conversation where connections are made on journeys of intellectual discovery.

Additional curriculum options

Most Sixth Form students take three A Levels plus one of the following options:

• Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

• Level 3 Certificate in Higher Sports Leadership

• Level 3 Certificate in Mathematical Studies (core maths)

• DELE Diploma (Spanish)

• DELF (Diploma of French Language Studies)

• MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

Independent study - Becoming a successful independent learner and developing research skills are important for young people as they transition to university and careers ahead. Woldingham’s Sixth Form Centre has two spaces for independent study - one for group work and one for silent study. The school library is in the same building as the Sixth Form Centre, providing an additional quiet study area, access to academic journals and books, as well as reading for pleasure.

External competitions - Woldingham students have an excellent track record in excelling in external competitions from the national UKMT (maths) challenges to essay competitions organised by universities, national bodies and others.

GOING FURTHER, GIVING BACK, TAKING PART

Leadership programme - Woldingham’s bespoke leadership programme, accredited by Institute of Leadership, provides skills vital for future success after school.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Highly-regarded achievement award developing a range of important life skills.

Speaking and debating - Wide range of opportunities to develop reasoning, presenting and research skills through Thinking Big talks - lectures delivered by Sixth Form students - public speaking workshops, student-led assemblies, society talks, as well as LAMDA lessons.

Business partnership project - Unique business project to develop important entrepreneurship skills working on a real-life project with a commercial company.

Clubs and societies - Sixth Formers take a leadership role in a range of clubs and societies. Popular Sixth Form-only clubs include MedSoc and Current Affairs. Students hone planning, research and writing skills as editors of publications on subjects from STEM though to ethics and religion.

Sport - Sport in the Sixth Form is for health and wellbeing as well as high performance. Woldingham’s first hockey and netball teams are led and captained by Sixth Formers and compete in county, regional and national competitions.

Performing arts - Sixth Form students take key roles – both front and backstage - in many drama and music productions. Every year there is a theatre production, usually a musical, with Upper Sixth students taking leading parts. The standard is always very high and provides an opportunity to experience a professionalstandard production. Sixth Form musicians sing, play and provide leadership in the wide range of choirs and ensembles, including our Amaris chamber choir, orchestra and senior choir.

Head Girl Team and Ribbons – Woldingham’s student leadership team, comprising a Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl team, and Ribbons team (prefects), are the school’s senior student leaders. The team is selected in the spring term of the Lower Sixth. Students awarded these prestigious roles are recognised for their service to the school and others as well as their leadership qualities.

WHO FLOURISHES IN WOLDINGHAM’S SIXTH FORM?

Every student is encouraged to become fully immersed in Sixth Form life right from the start of the Lower Sixth. They have personal support from their tutor, who gets to know each tutee well, alongside the Head of Sixth Form who provides overall pastoral and academic leadership.

Students who flourish the most are the ones who take advantage of all the opportunities on offer in the Sixth Form. They are the ones who play hockey, attend REthink club, apply to be a Ribbon and balance this with excelling in their academic work. Students may not like everything they try. They might not be good at everything they try, but they are the ones who later throw themselves into life at university, are resilient when things go wrong, and become excellent team players in the workplace.

WELLBEING

The Sixth Form pastoral team, led by the Head of Sixth Form based in the Sixth Form Centre, with residential staff in Lower Sixth in Berwick House and Upper Sixth in Shanley House, are responsible for student wellbeing. Tutors provides additional support and care, getting to know each student well in the exciting and challenging two years of Sixth Form. Students learn more about resilience, determination, dealing with challenges, and joys of community, friendship and respect for self and others – essential skills for a happy and fulfilled life.

Myriad of student leadership opportunities

UNIQUE LOCATION

Less than 30 minutes from one of the world’s most vibrant and exciting cities, Woldingham’s countryside location is the perfect place for a school. It’s a calm and purposeful place where it’s safe to learn, safe to be yourself and safe to make mistakes and grow from them. But with London on the doorstep, only a short train journey away, Woldingham students take the opportunity of its world-leading museums, galleries, theatres and institutions to provide academic stimulation and stretch – as well as cultural enjoyment.

State of the art technology throughout the Sixth Form Centre enabling collaboration and communication prepares students for life ahead.

Marden Park, Woldingham, Surrey, CR3 7YA (for satellite navigation please use postcode CR3 7LR)

01883 654206 registrar@woldinghamschool.co.uk woldinghamschool.co.uk