Welcome to our Sixth Form Information page.
Sixth Form: A new dawn...
Presentation
Below is the presentation used at the Sixth Form Information Evening.
Former Head Boy - Finn
Finn joined the School in September 2018 and was appointed the School's Head Boy in September 2019. Here he explains how he settled at Warminster and the benefits he had through growing as a young man throughout his time in our Sixth Form.
Year 11 to Lower Sixth Transition - Olivia, a pupil perspective
Academic Offering - A Levels
A Level programmes continue to be popular both nationally and at Warminster. We offer a broad range of choices in traditional subjects, such as mathematics, English and the sciences, as well as three languages, photography, psychology and government and politics to name a few.
As well as offering a wide suite of A Level subjects we also offer vocational courses in business, engineering and sport & physical activity through the OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma (Equivalent in UCAS points to A Levels).
Four years ago we were able to introduce some additional, non-traditional, A level subjects through an online learning platform called Pamoja. The additional subjects offered are in Law and Accounting. We have had great success using this platform and A Level pupils following one of these subjects have done so whilst combining it with two or three traditionally taught subjects. This platform comes at a yearly cost and we would be more than happy to discuss this further if they are of interest.
Alongside A Levels we offer the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), an assessed A Level standard qualification. It is half an A level and not to be confused with an AS level. An EPQ is an independent project for which students earn a qualification. It involves writing an essay of about 5000 words around the research and how you approached your project, and a final presentation where the student talks through this essay and paperwork. Alternatively students can make an ‘artefact’ - this can be a piece of artwork, or something else they’ve physically made – and an accompanying shorter essay. We offer sessions to the pupils throughout and provide guidance on how to go about the EPQ, but students have to do most of it in their own allocated time, so they need to be able to organise their other subjects and commitments around this.
Perhaps the best thing about an EPQ is that the students can choose their topic and project title. As long as the topic and title give enough to talk about in an ‘academic’ style, you can do whatever you want!
Pupils at Warminster choose three or four subjects to study. Our recommendation is always three subjects plus an EPQ as this provides the right balance of demand on the pupils. It is always worth noting at this point that a university will only ever make an offer based on three subjects and often universities, including Russell Group universities, will reduce their offer based on a strong EPQ grade. Sometimes students will start on four A Levels and choose to drop one within the first term or first year. We monitor and support students throughout their time and ensure we offer advice tailored to those individuals.
The prospectus below is for the incoming Lower Sixth, but will be very similar for our current Year 10 when it is published in October.
Academic Offering - IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate is possibly less known amongst UK based pupils and parents as the traditional A Level route, however it absolutely sums up the holistic education that we promote here at Warminster.
The IB Diploma Programme, referred to as IBDP, is a gold standard, worldwide qualification. It offers more breadth than A Level programmes as well as additional skills such as:
- Theory of Knowledge (ToK), an assessed course looking at how we think, not what we think.
- Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), a mandatory core component of the IB Diploma Programme . It aims to provide a 'counterbalance' to the academic rigour of the educational programme.
- Extended Essay (EE), an assessed research paper of up to 4000 words, giving students an opportunity to conduct independent research or investigation on a topic that interests them.
Pupils will choose six subjects to study, three at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL). Pupils must choose from five categories to satisfy the IB requirements with a free choice in the sixth subject. Categories are:
- Language and Literature (This is a first language course in literature)
- Language acquisition (Learning or extending a second language)
- Individuals and Societies (Traditional humanities)
- Sciences
- Mathematics
- The arts or a free choice from one of the above
Sometimes pupils are put off by having to continue with languages or mathematics in particular, however our advice is always not to be put off and to be open minded. There are 'ab initio' language courses for beginners and four different mathematics courses available ranging from those who gain a 5 at GCSE to those looking to study a maths related degree at university.
The idea of the sixth "free choice" is to allow pupils who are not necessarily artistic to focus on their strengths, whilst still having a good breadth of subjects. Strong science students can study two sciences and maths, linguistic students can do two languages and English literature, students with strengths in the humanities can choose two subjects from this category to excel in. The combinations and possibilities are extensive.
As with A levels, we offer a range of subjects via Pamoja, an online learning platform. The subjects include Philosophy and Business Management.
Universities hold the IB Diploma in very high regard. The rigour and all-round nature of the IBDP makes it the perfect set up for starting university, not just down to the extent of the individual subjects themselves, but also from the added extras including ToK, CAS and the EE.
Please find below four short videos from former Warminster IB pupils about their time studying the IB Diploma and what they are doing now.
The prospectus below is for the incoming Lower Sixth, but will be very similar for our current Year 10 when it is published in October.
Academic Offering - IB Career-Related Programme
The IB Career-Related Programme, or IBCP as it is known, is the newest addition to our Sixth Form offering. In it's third year now we have had a host of pupils succeed on this interesting and uncommon programme where academic rigour and vocational learning combine.
An IBCP package comes with a vocational course (OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma, equivalent in UCAS points to an A Level), between two and four IB Diploma subjects and a core element. The core element is perfect for setting up a pupil to go off to study independently at university or to set the pupil up for life beyond school. The core element contains: personal development programmes, a reflective project (assessed and contributing UCAS points), a language development course (non-assessed) and service learning.
Our IBCP pupils have all gone off to university to study courses from hotel management to accounting and finance to business management.
The most common vocational course over the last three years has been the business course which our pupils have combined with a number of different IB Diploma courses including maths, English, French, psychology (via an online learning platform) and economics. We also offer a vocational course in sport and physical activity and engineering which can be taken as part of the IBCP route. The best thing about the vocational aspect is that 80% of the assessment is through coursework or in class assessments, with the remaining 20% via formal examinations. Unlike A Levels, each IB Diploma subject also comes with a 20% internal assessment component so pupils who prefer this method of assessment can benefit.
The short video below explains a bit more about the IBCP.
We are delighted to have recently agreed an exciting new Sixth Form partnership with the Swiss Education Group.
The Swiss Education Group has developed an IB schools partnership network in Business & Hospitality. There are many benefits for our IB/IBCP pupils, including access to an authentic career-related study course as part of their IBCP, hosted summer introduction courses and a two-week internship in a variety of hospitality and business management organisations in Switzerland.
Please check out our news article in the link below and the introduction video from the Swiss Education Group.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"
Whilst the Sixth Form years are about progression academically and growing as a life long learner, one of the most important aspects of being in the Sixth Form is the social interactions with peers and staff alike. Below are a few snapshots of life as a Sixth Former, both academically and socially.
Without doubt the highlight of every year for our Sixth Form pupils is the Sixth Form Ball held on the penultimate Friday of the Summer Term every year. This is a chance for the Upper Sixth to formally say their goodbyes and for our Lower Sixth to realise that they are now at the top of the School.
Life after school ...
Despite being on the path to adulthood, Sixth Form pupils still need support, both pastorally and academically. Our Sixth Form are very lucky to have a dedicated and outstanding team looking out for and supporting them during their journey.
This support includes preparation for adulthood, the workplace and university.
Whilst the majority of our Sixth Form depart for university after their Sixth Form studies, not all do and will begin apprenticeships or work. Throughout the Sixth Form pupils will embark on important Life Skills sessions, including managing finances, working with others in enterprise, community engagement and life at university.
Last summer 95% of those applying to university gained a place at their first choice institution with the remaining 5% either gaining their insurance place or entering clearing. Our UCAS support starts early in the Sixth Form with bespoke support and advice depending on the path pupils wish to make.
Our Sixth Form last year departed to a variety of universities including: Loughborough, Birmingham, Bristol, Queen's Belfast and Bath to study a wide range of courses from medicine and molecular medicine to politics and aeronautical engineering. Our current Upper Sixth are awaiting their results before beginning the next steps in their journeys.
Next Steps
We hope you have enjoyed reading through this page. The next 12 months will fly by in no time and along the way there will be important decisions to make and we want to be here to help with those.
We really hope you are able to join us on Wednesday 4th October 2023 for our Sixth Form Open Evening.
Please also do not hesitate to contact our key staff if you have any questions about Sixth Form life, their details can be found below:
- Mr Mark Sully - Deputy Head (Academic) msully@warminsterschool.org.uk
- Mrs Gillian Walmsley - Director of Sixth Form and Pathways gwalmsley@warminsterschool.org.uk
- Mr Simon Hall - IB Coordinator shall@warminsterschool.org.uk