Welcome from the Sixth Form Tutors

Welcome

From the Sixth Form Tutors

The Head of Sixth Form, Yolanda Saunders, leads a team of four Sixth Form tutors. The Sixth Form has a vertical tutorial structure. Each tutor group consists of up to eight Year 12 and eight Year 13 students. This means that the tutors get to know you very well during the Sixth Form years and Year 12 can benefit from the experience and wisdom of their older peers. In Year 13, the tutor will also act as your UCAS referee. Your academic well-being and progress is supervised by your tutor whom you meet regularly at one to one tutorials. These tutorials follow a coaching model, empowering you to take responsibility for your own progress. A rigorous tracking system is used to monitor academic progress using national data and individual aspirational targets. The Sixth Form team maintains close links with parents. There are four Parent/Teacher Interview evenings during the Sixth Form period and a formal report is written at the end of each academic year. Form Tutors also keep in touch with parents to update them with progress reports or concerns from subject teachers whenever necessary. We have an open door policy at St James Senior Girls’ School and parents can request an interview with one of the team at any time.

Sixth Form can be one of the most challenging yet rewarding phases of a young person’s education. At St James we aim to empower our students to take charge of their own development, both academically and pastorally, allowing them to engage whole heartedly in life beyond the classroom. To help them take on these challenges they receive one-toone support from our excellent team of tutors as well as guidance and encouragement from their peers across both Sixth Form year groups. It is always a privilege to witness the growth our young people make throughout their Sixth Form careers and to see them leave St James ready for future success.

Steve Allen MA (Cantab) MSci PGCE, Assistant Head of Sixth Form

It’s such a joy to see the girls give everything to their chosen subjects, start shaping their future and truly come into their own. The Sixth Form is the time for depth, passion and drive, for becoming who they are. Learn and thrive!

Mylène Chaudagne Licence MA PGCE

Working with the Sixth Form students, teachers and tutors is a fantastic experience. Our Sixth Form continues to grow and prosper: we seek to cultivate responsible, hard-working and balanced individuals, well-equipped for all the challenges that life will offer them once they leave school. We try to do this in a humane, civilised and friendly way. Life is beautiful: embrace the future with confidence!

Dr Josef Craven BA MPhil PhD

We believe that success is not just about academic achievement, but also making sure that students can find and realise their true personal potential. In our small tutor groups, we support this by ensuring each student is given individual attention and our academic enrichment activities provide all our students with a rich and character-building educational experience.

Negussie Abebe BSc PGCE