Like Exeter School!
Our sixth form space has just had a makeover. We love the newly refurbished area, with its games room, collaboration room, large study spaces, improved changing and storage facilities, fabulous new café, plus a kitchen for the pupils to use themselves, and a quiet room, in which the boys and girls can chill out and take a break from the busyness of the day. It is a far cry from my own sixth form common room – and it certainly is tempting to step back into the classroom, choose four subjects and go around again!
Opening ceremony
Today we will cut the ribbon on the space, thanking our colleagues who have supported the development, and the contractors who have delivered such a high-quality job – and on time too, though it was a bit close to the wire at the end! Governors will be here to see the space for themselves, and this will give us a chance to thank them for supporting the project, and investing in our sixth form, to give them a space that provides the very best experience for them as they complete their Exonian journey with us.
Pupils continuing their education with us after GCSEs
Yesterday evening, we gave our Upper Fifth (Y11) pupils and their parents a sneaky peek at the space, welcoming them for a drink, a nibble and a tour around. It was remarkable how quickly they inhabited the space with the pupils looking very much at home both on the comfy chairs of the main common room area and also in the games room, where the pool table and table football were popular both with the girls and their male classmates.
More importantly, they heard from three current members of the Lower Sixth, all three of them just a few weeks into the sixth form journey, and their reflections on what Exeter School sixth form feels like today, and what a great experience they are having. Of course, they talked about the space, the fact that it supports their innovative approach to study, their collaboration, their endeavour in their studies, and their relationships and interactions with each other. But, more importantly, they talked about the ethos and the spirit of the sixth form; something that is very special to our school and will be with them for life.
They shared their enjoyment of increased independence, the opportunity to choose where they work and the freedom that they have now to spend time with different groups of people and to choose how to work and where. They talked about the new friendships they had formed, including with people that had known for years as they had progressed through the school, stating that the new space facilitates these new relationships brilliantly. All three of our speakers (two long time Exonians and one who has only just arrived) are loving their subjects; enjoying the intellectual challenge and the rewards of being in a large sixth form with plenty of option choices, in good sized A Level sets which encourage interaction and collaboration, whilst still leaving time for their teachers to get to know them all individually. For our new pupils (we usually have about twenty new joiners each year and this year is no different), there is a warm and friendly welcome, with the aim to quickly integrate our new pupils and make them feel very much part of the sixth form from the outset.
Academic and pastoral support
All of this is supported brilliantly by Mr Luigi Chu, our Assistant Head (head of sixth form) and the team of tutors, heads of year and study supervisor who all do a fantastic job. Sixth form pupils need excellent pastoral care, and that is what they experience here at Exeter School, with close working relationships with parents to support their daughters and sons as they progress through the final and most important stage of their senior school journey and prepare for life beyond school. It is not always easy, and those strong and deep relationships between pupils and staff are crucial to helping to ensure that the road is smooth, and that any challenges are dealt with promptly and well.
So much more than academics
The year group had started their year off with a bang last week with a social, ten pin bowling, which they loved, and next week they are off to Bristol to look at the university and get to know each other better in an out of school context.
A good proportion of the sixth form attended a very stimulating Crossing Club talk this week delivered by Professor Andrew Shaw of Exeter University: ‘A testing time in the pandemic’. Professor Shaw’s research group have developed diagnostic tests using biomarkers and he described how his research team helped to assess the efficacy of different treatments in the early days of the pandemic. Their focus now is on identifying gaps in the profile of antibodies present in patients with Long Covid. Aspiring medics and scientists alike enjoyed engaging with some ground-breaking research.
These enrichment and social events are key to driving our sixth form community forward and giving them a strong identity within Exeter School as a whole. And they are great fun too!
Our sixth form is, without doubt, the best school sixth form in Devon and we are very proud of the pupils as individuals as well as their collective impact on our wonderful school community. We hope that you will be keen to come and find out more (and see the space of course!) at the sixth form open evening on Thursday 7 November 2024 or any of our future events. We would love to see you then.
