Welcome to the Sixth Form

The Sixth Form is an extremely formative period in a pupil’s education, which is why, at Sherborne Girls, we aim to maximise everyone’s achievements in a caring and supportive environment. Each pupil is of exceptional importance to the teachers, tutors, house staff and Sixth Form team, all of whom seek to create an optimal educational environment. The Sixth Form years lay important foundations for future success throughout life, and the decisions at this stage are made in consultation with teachers, who are experts in their fields, as well as parents. Pupils have more autonomy than before in their subject choices and extra-curricular activities, but at all times they are fully supported by dedicated staff. An education at Sherborne Girls will pay dividends throughout life.

Mr David Banks

Director of Sixth Form

We offer an extensive range of subjects, a few in conjunction with Sherborne School. Academic work is complemented by a large range of activities outside the classroom and certainly too many to list. These activities provide opportunities for leadership, teamwork, self-reliance, public speaking, creativity, academic challenge and inspiration. We continue to review and expand the joint activities with Sherborne School and pupils are leading more of their own societies than ever. In the Sixth Form we manage the transition to much more independent work and study. We provide the pupils with the toolkit of skills they require to go wherever their ambitions point with all L6 pupils having an Academic Enrichment lesson each week. Each pupil starts an Extended Project Qualification, the physical manifestation of the skills they learn in these lessons and fantastic preparation for their first-year university work.

At the time of writing it is six years after Brexit, well over two years since the first Covid-19 lockdown and again the clouds of economic uncertainty are gathering, but despite all of this, Sherborne Girls’ Sixth Form goes from strength to strength.

Sherborne Girls continues to send pupils to some of the world’s most prestigious universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Exeter, Bristol, Kings, UCL, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Durham. Some also achieve success further afield with pupils choosing Ivy League institutions such Columbia and world-famous universities such as New York University as well as universities in Europe and Asia. In addition, many pupils come to us to make post- A Level applications and seek guidance years after they have received their A Level results.

Our pupils are a diverse group and apply for a wide range of degrees such as Mathematics, Classics, Linguistics, Medicine and Psychology. Central St Martin’s is a popular successful destination for Art and Design courses. We take great pride in the consistent success of our Sixth Form pupils since they invariably perform very well at university, which we believe is partly because of the resilience and determination formed in the Sixth Form at Sherborne Girls.

We have larger year groups in the Sixth Form than lower down the School and there is always a healthy number of new pupils in addition to those who will have been at the School for several years. All will be excited by the challenging and engaging opportunities afforded to them. The L6 pupils are in mixed-age houses to ensure they can experience camaraderie with the younger years, supervising their prep, saying ‘goodnights’, directing and acting in House Drama, and organising Sports Day. Our U6 girls enjoy the privilege of being in Mulliner, an U6 only house.

We see our Sixth Form pupils as leaders who represent the School’s core values. As we near the School’s 125th anniversary, we have recruited academic and pastoral talent from far and wide to ensure that your daughter receives an outstanding Sixth Form experience that she will always treasure.