Welcome to the Sixth Form
“Learners achieve exceptionally well in the sixth form” Ofsted 2016
Dear Student
As you read this introduction to the Sixth Form at Bishop’s Hatfield, you are in the process of making a decision which may well influence the rest of your life. We hope that we will be able to give you the necessary information to find out if “Bishop’s” is the right place to meet your needs.
The Sixth Form is a happy blend of newcomers, consortium students and students continuing with the Bishop’s Hatfield experience. All come together to contribute to a diverse, stimulating and interesting school community.
We will have high expectations of you: We look for commitment to and responsibility for your own learning and we will encourage these through good teaching, advice and support. We will help you to learn to manage your time efficiently and to develop independent learning skills to pursue your studies and to lead a happy, healthy and full life in and out of school. Our expectation is that you will set yourself the highest of standards and will not settle for second best.
The school enjoys an excellent reputation for being a place of genuine opportunity and advancement and we hope that on joining the Sixth Form you would strive to maintain and enhance that reputation further. Our Sixth Form is genuinely open to all who can benefit from what we have to offer.
The Sixth Form at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School plays a major part in the overall success of the school. It is a tribute to the quality of teaching provided by the staff as well as the commitment shown by students that in 2016 Ofsted the Sixth Form was rated outstanding. This standard has been maintained since then, with an overall pass rate of 100% in 2017, with 61% of A level grades being A* to B.
It is right that a school should be judged on the quality and achievements of its Sixth Form and the school’s success owes much to the many contributions made by Sixth Form students.
The high standards are reached through the hard work of both students and staff and by their constant review and re-assessment. Like that in the main school, the atmosphere in the Sixth Form is relaxed and friendly but always purposeful and encouraging of self-discipline and independence. Students leaving this school after following a Sixth Form course are invariably mature, self-assured and keenly aware of the possibilities open to them in the future.
Individual students will always have their own reasons for joining the Sixth Form but here are some of the factors that commonly play a part in their decisions:
- the school’s recognised reputation for high standards of teaching
- the high quality personal and vocational guidance given by very experienced staff
- the Sixth Form is large enough to provide a good range of viable courses but not so large that individuals are overlooked
- excellent collaborative links within the Welwyn Hatfield Post-16 Consortium which increases the wide range of courses available to students
- the Sixth Form has a very good reputation for supporting students of all abilities and helping them to gain good results
- individual support and guidance given to enable students to progress on to the next stage in their education or to employment
- thorough and detailed UCAS references provided by teachers who have had personal knowledge of students over several years
- the individual support given by tutors and subject teachers, often in small groups helps students to gain confidence and develop the independent learning skills essential for higher education
- the wider life within the Sixth Form which offers students the opportunities to develop their skills and abilities further
- the range of enrichment activities including overseas visits, subject master classes, higher education fairs, visiting speakers and summer schools
- the opportunities to develop leadership skills by making varied contributions to the life of the school, e.g. counselling and mentoring younger pupils, running enirichment activities, acting as Form Prefects, supporting younger pupils in lessons. Students may also be elected to take on positions of responsibility such as House Captains, Senior Prefects and Head Girl
- the social life of the Sixth Form encourages good personal relationships and helps create new friendships
- all Sixth Form students are valued for the contribution they make to the whole school and for the ways in which they promote the school’s reputation within the community
- the Sixth Form common room, café and dedicated study room.
