Berkshire


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/Sixth-formers-2023-scaled-e1718909201281.jpg" alt="Wellington College Crowthorne Berkshire Sixth Form" class="wp-image-67378" /></figure>



<p>Bet you thought you&#8217;d made the last big decision about your child&#8217;s education when you packed them off to Senior school. It’s easy to imagine them staying put and gliding into the school’s Sixth Form before the big upheaval of going to uni or starting a job. However, as weary parents know all too well – the easy route is rarely the best one!&nbsp;And there’s a lot to be said for the Sixth Form swap – my own son did it and was the best decision he ever made. By the end of Y11 many kids yearn for change or a change of teaching pace to fire up their love of learning. </p>



<p>We spoke to&nbsp;Wellington College&#8217;s Head of Sixth Form Fleur Moore-Bridger about why a Y12 change might just be the best parenting decision you make all year. Wellington College is renowned for its progressive education and its Sixth Form is booming, with demand for places at an all-time high. So much so, work is about to be completed on a state-of-the-art Sixth Form Centre, co-ed boarding house, and they have launched the Life Beyond Wellington programme to ensure teens are real world ready for uni, careers and independence. Let&#8217;s get the drill.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-let-s-talk-about-the-benefits-of-moving-to-a-new-sixth-form">Let&#8217;s talk about the benefits of moving to a new Sixth Form</h3>



<p>Probably the biggest benefit is the opportunity to reinvent yourself and make a fresh start. A lot of students change a huge amount from Y11 to Sixth Form, both in terms of personality, and their interests and friendship groups often change quite dramatically. It may seem like a big leap but changing school can also be an enormous opportunity for personal growth, a chance to build confidence and experience a new location, new people, and a new environment. For students who have been at their current school for 5 years or more, it&#8217;s also a chance to shake off any site fatigue and spread their wings.</p>



<p>Wellington College is big, but there&#8217;s a sense of community through the many different groups students can be a part of – be it the house system, the International Baccalaureate, A Levels, clubs and societies. It really offers students the chance to find their path and discover what kind of person they want to be. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/Sixth-Formers-Summer-2024-scaled-e1718909274841.jpg" alt="Wellington College Crowthorne Berkshire Sixth Form" class="wp-image-67377" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-types-of-personality-would-suit-a-change-at-this-point">What types of personality would suit a change at this point?</h3>



<p>Someone who is academically curious, looking to foster independent learning. If your teen is keen to find their own passion, it could be a great move. We want Wellington sixth formers to be interested in lots of different things,&nbsp;and&nbsp;excited to make&nbsp;the most of the opportunities on offer, be that sport, performing arts, or other academic societies.&nbsp;If your teen&nbsp;is academically ambitious,&nbsp;they can&nbsp;make the most&nbsp;of&nbsp;the individual support and embrace the leadership, mentoring and community opportunities – make the move. Wellington&nbsp;College’s&nbsp;grown up, progressive teaching method is ideal preparation for higher education studies.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-swapping-schools-at-sixth-form-becoming-more-popular">Is swapping schools at Sixth Form becoming more popular?</h3>



<p>The chance to join a Sixth Form where individual attention is at its heart has strong appeal – a new and different, more personal learning experience. This ability to adapt, and confidence in being able to do it successfully, has enabled some young people to make that leap and change schools for Sixth Form.&nbsp;Our rural location and beautiful grounds also suit many of our students, getting out of the city, and supporting their wellbeing.</p>



<p>Wellington&#8217;s Sixth Form has grown by 10% year on year,&nbsp;with around 60 new starters joining us in Lower Sixth in September 2024.&nbsp;We don&#8217;t just look at GCSE grades, we have personal statements, subject specific testing, and assessment days where we look at resilience, teamwork, as well as pastoral and academic interviews.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/4.jpg" alt="Wellington College Sixth Form" class="wp-image-67189" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/4.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/4-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/4-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/4-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-biggie-can-your-child-achieve-more">The biggie: can your child achieve more? </h3>



<p>A new&nbsp;Sixth&nbsp;Form setting can help students achieve more – but think bigger than just exam results. There could be more opportunities, more events aimed at their interests, a new network of people and more guidance and support to uni and starting careers. Wellington College isn&#8217;t an exams factory.&nbsp;It is a very holistic place where we encourage students to look beyond the classroom and beyond the curriculum.&nbsp;There are different leadership opportunities alongside that academic focus. That said, there is a lot of support to ensure students achieve their academic and personal goals and Wellington&#8217;s own version of LinkedIn &#8216;Wellington Connect&#8217;, tapping into the invaluable alumni resource.</p>



<p>Facilities are a large part of the equation too. We&#8217;re getting our new Sixth Form Centre and dedicated co-ed boarding house in the autumn. The classrooms will encourage a university-style learning environment. We also use the Harkness method (students sit in an oval configuration to discuss ideas in an open-minded environment with only minimal teacher intervention), which encourages prep to be done in advance of the content. We&#8217;re trying to provide that bridge between school and university. </p>



<p>The final piece of the puzzle is our exploration of and preparation for life beyond Wellington programme and I&#8217;m working with the&nbsp;Community&nbsp;team and the&nbsp;Careers&nbsp;team to look at ways to kind of create that stepping stone.&nbsp;We have huge networking events, careers advice and open up different avenues that students might not have thought of. This advice starts at school and continues to support.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/1.jpg" alt="Wellington College Sixth Form" class="wp-image-67186" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/1.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/1-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/1-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-it-improve-their-chances-to-study-at-oxbridge-abroad-etc">Can it improve their chances to study at Oxbridge/ abroad etc?</h3>



<p>At Wellington, we do not measure our success by the amount of students who have got into Oxbridge, it&#8217;s about encouraging the right destination for each individual.&nbsp;We have a wealth of excellent universities here in the UK, but we are also sending more and more students to universities in the US, Madrid, Dublin and many other places in the world. We also support students through applications to creative courses, Art School, Drama School, Music College, alongside Graduate apprenticeships, and more vocational Higher Education journeys.</p>



<p>However, that said, we have more and more students who achieve Oxbridge places each year, and that is in part due to the individual guidance and support offered by our expert staff, who are specifically focused on supporting the Oxbridge process. Generally, the right students will get into Oxbridge. A lot of parents and students think, if you&#8217;re clever, you must be the right kind of person, but actually, that&#8217;s not always the case. Oxbridge admissions are very good at assessing that. The thing that we really instil here is that you can&#8217;t just go to lessons and expect to do well, you have to show that intellectual curiosity, independence of learning.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We want students to find things they want to talk about in their personal statements, what they&#8217;re going to talk about in interviews. Wellington College organises many events they can attend and be inspired by, introducing them to new and varied potential career paths and&nbsp;degree routes. Our students have that drive to find their own interests – and that&#8217;s what makes them stand out in their uni applications.&nbsp;</p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Joining Wellington at Sixth Form 2024" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/915904714?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"></iframe>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-offer-a-better-choice-of-a-levels">Do you offer a better choice of A Levels?</h3>



<p>Yes,&nbsp;at many schools, due to a&nbsp;drop in pupil numbers, the subjects available tend to focus on the academic norms. Rather than narrow the options, Wellington offers both 31 A Level subjects and the IB Diploma. When it comes to A Levels the range of subjects available is huge. Besides the usual Maths, Sciences and English, Wellington also offers&nbsp;Politics, Art History, Drama and Theatre Studies, Design Engineering, Music Technology and Ancient Greek.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The IB Diploma provides a balanced, international and socially engaged education for the whole person, with depth and specialism provided by three Higher Level subject choices and breadth encouraged by three further Standard Level options. All IB pupils study Maths and English, as well as a language, a science, and a humanity.&nbsp;We also offer a very broad range of subjects in the IB, including Psychology,&nbsp;Environmental Systems and Societies, Mandarin, and Business Management.&nbsp;Doing a lot of things gives them space and time to decide what they want their focus to be.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-level-or-ib-are-they-suited-to-a-certain-type-of-learner">A Level or IB: are they suited to a certain type of learner?</h3>



<p>Neither is inherently more or less difficult, nor more suited to strong or weak pupils,&nbsp;nor is it a simple matter of breadth vs depth.&nbsp;Both curricula are academically rigorous and equally well respected.&nbsp;Very few schools are able to offer a genuine twin-track curriculum. </p>



<p>The number of schools worldwide that have IB cohorts greater than 100 pupils is small, but to have a similar sized A Level cohort is unmatched. The result is that possibly no other school can offer the range of IB and A Level subjects available to choose from.&nbsp;The IB&nbsp;Diploma&nbsp;is generally great for students who are&nbsp;interested in loads of stuff and academically good all-rounders. The IB means you do a bit of everything – perfect for the determined.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A Levels work for those who want to remove subjects so they can focus on the ones they are most interested in, allowing time in the curriculum to look beyond and explore their own academic interests.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-67188" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/3.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/3-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/3-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/06/3-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wellington College&#8217;s new Sixth Form Centre</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-you-prepare-students-for-life-after-school">How do you prepare students for life after school?</h3>



<p>Education and career development must adapt to the changing job market and technological advancements. It&#8217;s vital that we teach young people life skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving, as well as providing career guidance, networking, and exposure to various industries. We need to talk about the alternative pathways to higher education and the importance of work experience and building confidence in the workplace. Ultimately, schools have to deliver on their promises of equipping young people for life.</p>



<p>A new programme Life Beyond Wellington has been introduced to support current and ex pupils as they edge towards their first jobs. It covers everything from career options, uni applications, apprenticeship-focused conferences and industry networking. Plus personalised mentoring and online interview prep with relevant alumni. </p>



<p>The programme is being expanded and will eventually be located in its own building on the Wellington campus to run workshops on personal taxes, budgeting and cooking, as well as 1:1 meetings.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-wellington-college-sixth-form-offer-students-that-they-won-t-get-anywhere-else">What does Wellington College Sixth Form offer students that they won’t get anywhere else?</h3>



<p>The dedication of the staff for starters. I know all schools have dedicated staff, but there&#8217;s a lot of support in place for the students&nbsp;due to our longer boarding school days. In&nbsp;addition to the academic staff, tutor, housemaster, assistant housemaster, matron and Head of Year for Lower Sixth, we have a specialist team looking at life beyond Wellington – covering everything from Higher Education, UCAS and Oxbridge to careers and international unis. And&nbsp;we&#8217;ve&nbsp;barely scratched the surface.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We&#8217;re really encouraging degree apprenticeships, too,&nbsp;and will be having talks from various impressive companies next year, including Dyson, which has an excellent one. We are also able to support students who want to go into the military, drama school, music, college, art school and things like that. So all options&nbsp;are open.&nbsp;</p>



<p>There are so many staff who care very specifically about&nbsp;one aspect that can make a huge difference to someone&#8217;s life.&nbsp;Because we have good systems and we all work together very well, we&#8217;re able to support all these different things that students might want to do. And if something&#8217;s not on offer, we can make it happen.</p>



<p>We had some industrious students who wanted to set up a charity and do their own fundraising. To raise the funds they sell tracksuit bottoms that everyone at school wears – and have raised a huge amount of money. We can actually help them make those things a reality, because there are so many staff who are willing to give their time.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-want-to-know-more"><strong>Want to know more?</strong></h3>



<ul>
<li>Discover more about <a href="https://www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/news-events/state-of-the-art-sixth-form-facilities-to-open-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wellington College&#8217;s brand new Sixth Form Centre</a> and Boarding House.</li>



<li>Read the Muddy <a href="https://berkshire.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/wellington-college-crowthorne/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review of Wellington College</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://berkshire.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/interview-james-dahl-wellington-college-berkshire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Muddy meets Head James Dahl</a>. </li>
</ul>


Why moving school at Sixth Form is a savvy move for teens

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