Important note to parents of current students – if you have a pastoral matter you wish to raise with the School regarding your son or daughter, please write to their Form Tutor. For urgent matters, please telephone the School and ask to speak with Mrs Burden, the Sixth Form Pastoral Assistant.

The two years spent in the Sixth Form are a significant period of transition between schooling and university or work.

The School is proud of its ability to balance the requirement of allowing students to find their way as young adults while simultaneously guiding them down the correct routes necessary to achieve.

The School has a large team of staff dedicated to supporting our Sixth Form students. Each student is allocated to a tutor group of about 18 students, and the smaller nature of those groups allows the Form Tutor to provide bespoke guidance and support for each individual. Each group meets daily for registration and once weekly for a Form period. Beyond that, each student will meet formally with his or her Form Tutor once every half term. In addition, pastoral staff provide extra support to students new to WHSB.

In the early stages of the Lower Sixth, meetings with the Form Tutor will focus on the transition to Advanced Level study and how the student has settled into the routines of the Sixth Form. As the year progresses, the focus shifts towards developing knowledge and study skills. Lower Sixth also provides many opportunities for students to explore the pathways open to them upon leaving School. At the end of Lower Sixth and during the Autumn Term of Upper Sixth, students are assisted in making their applications to Universities or Apprenticeships. The focus then turns to preparation for the A Level examinations. Summing up, in Lower Sixth, you find your dream, and in Upper Sixth, you realise it. The Form Tutor is the student’s immediate source of advice in both these regards. However, the School provides more specialist support through a dedicated Higher Education Co-ordinator and a Careers Advisor who arrange mock career interviews for Lower Sixth students and assist in securing work experience placements for those who seek them. Progress Leaders responsible for each academic Year group are on hand to offer students advice and counsel at any stage of their courses, as is a dedicated Sixth Form Pastoral Tutor.

Assemblies, presentations and discussions in Form groups, bespoke ‘Breadth Studies’ lessons and Enrichment Days provide information and develop broader skills and awareness on a wide range of issues affecting young people and, indeed, our wider community. The Enrichment Day in Lower Sixth is devoted to ensuring students have an appropriate framework for staying mentally and physically healthy during their A Level years.