Choices, choices, choices. When your educational journey so far has, to a large extent, been dominated by people making most of your decisions for you, life after 16 can seem like an awfully big adventure. Potentially scary, too. While year 11 exams are undoubtedly intimidating, the basic subject range is, by and large, of a one-size-fits-all variety.
Love or loathe them, maths, English, science and humanities are all likely to be part of the set menu. In the sixth form, however, all that changes and options start to narrow. Although Hills Road Sixth Form College, for example, offers a fairly stunning 40 AS and A level choices, which can be studied in just about any combination, most people will have to opt for just four or so.
Choosing your subject
For those who already have a career or university course in mind, this can come as a positive relief – the chance to focus on what interests you in depth, from the purely academic to the thoroughly practical, via a vocational qualification. That passion is hugely important, says Charlotte Avery, headmistress of St Mary’s School, Cambridge, and something that the school looks for in its prospective sixth form intake.
“Passion leads to commitment to hard graft, which results in excellent grades in the given subject. Furthermore, girls must consider their natural ability, knowledge and understanding. This combination provides the essential factors for success.”
Navigating choices has become trickier because of the changes to the educational landscape implemented by the government. While Michael Gove may no longer be education secretary, his legacy, in the form of more depth and rigour, is firmly in place – and nowhere more so than when it comes to A levels, still the preferred study route for many sixth formers.
“Undoubtedly, more is being expected of students,” says Jonathan Slinger, head of the sixth form at Friends’ School. “The scrapping of a modular approach and doing away with endless exam periods and resits present an opportunity for education within academic disciplines that goes beyond a mere teaching to the exam.”
Ed Elliott, head of The Perse School, stresses the vital role that teachers will play in ensuring that sixth formers receive the best possible preparation for the new linear examinations coming in September 2015, when they get just ‘one bite at the examination cherry’.
“The move to linear courses will also increase the need for high-quality subject choice advice from teachers who really know the interests, career aspirations and skills of their students,” he says. “Students will need to choose the right subjects from the start as they’ll be committed to them for two years – it will no longer be possible to drop a weak subject after AS exams in the lower sixth.”
And with popular universities likely to bring in additional admissions tests to help them differentiate between applicants following the loss of AS exam results, help with preparation will become an increasingly important part of teachers’ roles, he thinks. As you’d hope, our area’s sixth form specialists are well used to dealing with every kind of dilemma and guiding the confused to a subject choice that will both match their talents and help set them on the road to a satisfying future career. What’s important at this stage, stresses Will Dickson, the head of careers advice at Cambridge Regional College, is for students to be clear-sighted about their personalities.
“They need to think about where their strengths and weaknesses lie and what makes them different from other people as well as what grabs their interest.” Also vital is to ensure that students don’t close down their options too early.
“Some students have got quite a specific plan already and need to do their research to make sure that the subjects they’re putting down are going to help them on that pathway,” says Steve Dann, director of studies at Long Road Sixth Form College. If set on studying psychology, he points out, science should feature amongst their A level choices. “They need to do their research to make sure.”
Not everyone, however, has future plans toned and honed at such a young age though. “You’ve got the students who have got a vague-ish idea of a pathway but not the detail,” he says. “They need to make sure that they choose subjects that are going to keep that pathway open to them but are also going to give them options within it.”
For those whose pathway may include university, it’s important not to overlook so-called facilitating subjects – which, while not necessarily better than others, are generally acceptable for a wide range of courses. While film studies may be the ideal choice for someone bent on carrying on the subject at degree level, a more generic option, such as English, could prove a better option for those who aren’t as sure of their future direction. Similar thought processes apply when it comes to vocational options, says Will Dickson at CRC, when it’s often a case of encouraging people to start converting broad interests into job ‘families’ that might accommodate them. Wanting to work with people is a common example.
“You can say how do you want to help people? If a student says, “I want to make them feel better’, then we’re getting into health or social care,” he explains. There’s no question that this area has lots to offer, thinks Charlotte Avery at St Mary’s School, Cambridge, particularly for those thinking about careers with a strong practical component. “Discerning students… may well decide on obtaining a degree via an alternative route, for instance a budding engineer may decide on an apprenticeship, gaining her degree through training on the job. A future economist or accountant may well benefit from gaining work experience early on in their career via the School Leavers’ Programme route.
Most colleges run open days, enabling 14 and 15 year olds to make informed decisions about life as sixth formers. Extra guidance is also available: Cambridge Regional College, for example, where sports, public services and business-related courses are all current top favourites, also offers an in-depth analysis of potential students’ skills, abilities and interests. While each sixth form, college or school offers education in a range of perhaps surprisingly different flavours, what all have in common is exuberant teachers, each an ardent advocate for his or her subject and capable of winning students over with their enthusiasm. It’s worth quizzing staff – together with current students – to get a picture of what college life is like, urges Jonathan Slinger. “We want prospective students and parents to leave our sixth form open day with a definite sense of our ethos and the ways our school caters to each individual,” he says.
Part of knowing what course to take is about having a clear understanding not just of what you enjoy doing, but your study style, as well. For talented generalists who could as easily be swayed by arts subjects as by humanities, say, and who can feel that being compelled to narrow down their studies to a handful of subjects is boxing them into a corner, there’s the option of the International Baccalaureate, or IB. Offering a far wider range of subjects than A levels, it’s offered by three schools in Cambridge, including the Stephen Perse Foundation. “It is a point of consistency in the turmoil,” says the school.
Deciding where to study could be an even harder decision than choosing the right course, given the wealth of top quality schools and colleges in the area. Some are highly selective, others take students from a wider ability range. From Cambridge Regional College, Hills Road and Long Road to The Perse School, St Mary’s School, Cambridge, the Stephen Perse Foundation and Friends’ School – all pride themselves on their ability to help their students realise their potential.
Beyond the classroom
And, as the schools point out, life in the sixth form is about far more than just studies. There’s also a jaw-droppingly extensive range of add-on activities. Attend the sixth form open evening at The Perse School, and you’ll hear about “the opportunities to compete at sport, play music, perform theatre, tackle tough expeditions abroad or even mentor and inspire local children through our outreach programme,” says the head, Ed Elliott. It’s all part of offering students what he describes as “a more mature environment, albeit one with strong support”.
Schools and colleges also stress the importance of good support. Students will have a greater level of independence than ever before, so it’s vital that they know where to turn for help if everything starts to implode. At Hills Road, for example, subject-specific issues are tackled at lunchtime surgeries while weekly meetings with tutors at the college play a vital role in helping students stay on track. Whatever your starting point, our area tends to be good at happy endings. While the local schools and colleges don’t have a monopoly on national success, it can easily start to feel that way.
The good news can seem positively overwhelming: the Perse School’s 75% of A level entries graded A* or A, and 18 students securing offers from medical schools; the 82% of students at the Stephen Perse Foundation achieving ABB grades or higher (the government’s declared threshold for top ranking university courses), or St Mary’s School, Cambridge, where 70% of girls have just achieved an A* or A in mathematics. At CRC, meanwhile, over 90% of students go on either to higher education or employment within three months of completing their courses, while Hills Road’s numerous accolades include a near 100% A level pass rate and an impressive success rate when it comes to Oxbridge entrance.
Making the right choice on where to go and what to do can seem daunting. The most important point is to research your sixth form options thoroughly and attend open days – but approach them with an open mind, says CRC’s Will Dickson. “It’s a little bit like a supermarket approach; you know you want something for tea but you don’t know what. You have a little look on the shelves, see something you quite like but then you need to find out a little bit more.”
