Welcome from the Headmaster

The Sixth Form is a unique and privileged experience. You have the freedom to make your own subject choices and thereby tailor an individualised programme of study that plays to your strengths and interests. In choosing your Sixth Form courses you make decisions that will have a significant bearing upon your future Higher Education and career options and thus the path you embark upon as an adult. Your Sixth Form choices are consequently of great importance and warrant very careful consideration.

Being a member of the Sixth Form at Sherborne is also a very different experience from your previous years at School You will find that lots of things have changed For example, although you will have lessons in a smaller number of subjects, the volume of work you will tackle in each of them is much greater, and you will go through it at a much faster pace You will have more study periods than before, but you will be expected to complete a good deal more work in them You will need to commit to regular independent study (i e work that you have chosen to complete yourself) and you will need to read and research more widely around each of your subjects You will also have more preparatory work (more Hall) Class sizes are generally smaller, meaning your teachers will be able to give you more individual assistance and guidance You will also find that your classes have a different dynamic and will often feel more like a university tutorial than a traditional School lesson The key message is that, although more is expected of you academically, you will be very well supported

One of the most important characteristics of the Sixth Form is the shift in the balance of responsibility In the Lower School, boys tend to be given quite prescriptive guidance and their study habits are closely monitored and influenced by subject teachers and House staff In the Sixth Form, you will have greater control over your own work and will be expected to take more responsibility for managing your workload As boys already in the Sixth Form will tell you, this is an exciting and motivating experience It is also a privilege that demands responsibility, maturity and self-direction You will find that boys in the lower years look to you for leadership, you will become a role model in your House and your Housemaster will increasingly expect and rely upon you to set the tone for other boys W ith this responsibility comes greater freedom and a very different social programme, including ‘The Stick’ on Saturday nights and plenty of opportunities to mix and make friends, including with pupils from Sherborne Girls

In essence, your Sixth Form years at Sherborne will see you work harder than ever before, whilst at the same time developing new skills, forging lifelong friendships and having a lot of fun I know you will enjoy it and I am sure you will derive great fulfilment and success from the next two years.

c Luckett and CEO