Sixth Form Learning

Overview

The Sixth Form curriculum is the culmination of the Kingswood learning journey but also serves as a launch pad to the world of Higher Education studies. At Kingswood, we want students to embrace both depth and breadth in their studies. Following on from the broad experience of GCSEs, students typically choose three subjects in which to specialise in at A Level (four subjects for Further Mathematicians). It is our expectation and goal that students develop deep expertise in their favourite subjects; it is through A Level study that students begin to think in a new way, developing the analytical and creative habits of mind that lead to genuine enquiry into ‘the most important things that have been thought and said’. Our A Level programme will provide ample opportunity for intelligent young people to step away from the sometimes fixed and restricting requirements of GCSE study, developing real passion for their subjects and for the learning process itself. Indeed, the A Level programme at Kingswood is about much more than just gaining grades for university entry: it is our mission to help our young people develop sharpness of mind, depth of knowledge and expert articulacy, so that they can enter the world of adult learning as powerfully educated human beings.

Partnership

Our Sixth Form lessons are typified by university-style seminars, with students working in small groups alongside expert teachers to discuss key concepts and debate apparent truths. It is our intention that students and teachers should form a partnership of learning. Teachers know their students well and seek to provoke them to think for themselves through demanding questioning and rigorous intellectual exercise. Students are treated as young adults, and partners in the learning process. As with all things at Kingswood, this learning partnership is suffused with kindness, patience and good humour, ensuring that all students are seen, heard, valued and understood.

Support

Whilst the ultimate goal is one of intellectual independence, another hallmark of a Kingswood education is bespoke and personal support. The Sixth Form classroom at Kingswood is fully inclusive in its approach to demanding standards. Students of all abilities are challenged and supported to achieve their best possible outcomes; it is usual for Kingswood Sixth Formers to receive personal support from their teachers during lunchtimes and after school as they seek to grapple with advanced material and processes.

It is also typical at Kingswood to find students supporting one another in their learning – our Dixon Sixth Form Centre is a hive of collaborative effort. Our young people understand that the best learning is a product of generosity, that through sharing our knowledge we only deepen it for ourselves.

Breadth

Although one of our key aims is to ensure that all our Sixth Form students achieve the best grades possible, the learning experience is about so much more than examination success. We encourage our students to embrace the breadth on offer beyond timetabled lessons. A successful Sixth Form experience should not just provide the essential knowledge for Higher Education, but also the independent study skills required to thrive in a highpaced university environment. We therefore aim to provoke our students into wider reading and research, whilst also providing an expansive range of supra-curricular options to deepen learning. Many of our students, for example, pursue an EPQ, a programme which has proven hugely successful over recent years as students have researched and explored a topic of interest with great depth and creativity. Alongside the EPQ, Sixth Form students are given a range of other opportunities for intellectual growth, some of which are detailed elsewhere in this publication. The point of all this is not just to improve a CV; rather, it is an invitation to a more mature and developed mind, with a level of critical thinking that not only ensures success in Higher Education, but also serves as the root of an enlightened and intellectual life.

“Students are treated as young adults, and partners in the learning process. As with all things at Kingswood, this learning partnership is suffused with kindness, patience and good humour, ensuring that all students are seen, heard, valued and understood.” “Kingswood has given me freedom and independence in my studies. I enjoy the discussion-based learning allowing me to concentrate on the subjects that I am most interested in.”

Tom

Sixth Form Student