Beyond the Sixth Form Curriculum

Sixth form is a particularly formative time for our pupils. Exeter School offers excellent academic success, a wide range of extra-curricular activities and a supportive and caring staff. Our aim is to allow pupils to develop a sense of responsibility, teamwork and leadership skills as they prepare for life beyond school. Support and encouragement are offered as pupils make decisions towards achieving their future goals. 

Our philosophy of character education is centred on our values of challenging ourselves, collaborating, acting with kindness and integrity, and serving others. Alongside academic studies, at the heart of our philosophy also lie the pillars of sport, music, art, and drama, which often play pivotal roles in the lives of our pupils. 

Beyond the 40-period academic week, the school provides a rich tapestry of opportunities for curriculum enrichment, featuring an extensive array of vibrant clubs and societies available throughout the year. For example, a typical term at Exeter School would offer activities spanning art, chess, coding, Christian Union, dance, drama, debating, design, electronics, lifesaving, Medical Society, Model United Nations, photography, reading groups, sewing, science, and Warhammer. This kind of comprehensive list complements the many sporting clubs, musical ensembles, and drama rehearsals that are an integral part of our educational programme. For a more detailed glimpse into the diverse offerings, we encourage you to explore our clubs and activities booklet, specifically tailored to our senior school pupils. 

Find our more about Academic Enrichment 

 

Friday 8 programme

Exeter School offers a distinctive ‘Friday 8’ programme in the senior years, allowing pupils to choose between serving in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), comprising Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and Army Sections, or participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme (DofE). In the sixth form this programme expands further, allowing pupils to instead engage in community service, become sports leaders, collaborate as part of The Exonian magazine editing team, join the musical ensemble known as SWUNK, complete an Arts Gold Award through drama or art, or participate in our community volunteering group. 

Trips

There are also plenty of opportunities to take part in exciting trips during your time in the sixth form. These include annual sports tours to a variety of national and international locations, with the hockey team having recently visited Holland, and a UK cricket tour and a rugby tour to Portugal lined up for later this academic year; a biennial music tour to Europe, visiting Barcelona in summer 2022 and now preparing to travel to Lake Garda in summer 2024; subject-specific trips to a range of exciting locations, including the geography trip to Iceland, the recent classics trips to Italy and Greece, history and art trips to Berlin, a physics trip to CERN in Geneva, an economics trip to London and a business studies trip to the Midlands; a language exchange trip to Germany and homestay trips to Spain and France in alternating years; field trips including a biology residential and numerous geography trips to the surrounding area, including Hinkley Point; trips relating to senior pupils’ ‘Friday 8’ options are also offered, with regular flying trip for members of the RAF section and summer camps available for all three sections, in addition to the Field Day excursions; expeditions on Dartmoor and in the Brecon Beacons for pupils participating in Gold DofE; day trips also include a lower-sixth induction trip to Bristol; last but not least, pupils all have the opportunity to embark on an international expedition during their time in the sixth form, with the most recent trip to India seeing pupils explore Delhi and Ladakh, hiking across a mountain range and spending time with a local community; a driving trip to Egypt is planned for summer 2024.

Leadership opportunities

Our senior school structure empowers sixth formers with greater autonomy to pursue their individual interests, including taking on leadership roles in clubs that cater for younger pupils. Further leadership opportunities in the sixth form include prefects taking up posts of responsibility around the school and in departments, pupils exploring their future potential in areas ranging from marketing and editorial skills to entrepreneurship and design, and plenty of additional leadership roles arising from ex-curricular activities such as music, art, sport, drama, CCF, outdoor pursuits, and so on.