At Francis Holland Regent’s Park, our Sixth Form vision is guided by our four core pillars of knowledge, compassion, perseverance and spirit. We aim to inspire students to pursue their academic and co-curricular passions, and to leave us as young adults equipped with resilience, courage and empathy.
Our curriculum offers academic rigour, as well as choice and flexibility, with 81.5% of A level students achieving A*-B grades in 2023. Dynamic and inspirational teaching brings subjects to life, enabling pupils to truly connect what they learn in the classroom to the wider world. This excellence in teaching and learning has recently been recognised in the school winning the Muddy Stilettos Best Schools “Excellence in STEM” Award, with one former Sixth Form student who went on to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge commenting, “Thanks to Francis Holland, I developed a love of science. They really broke the mould of what I had assumed a ‘sciencey-type’ of person was, discovering that I loved being able to understand principles and apply them.”
“We aim to inspire students to pursue their academic and co-curricular passions, and to leave us as young adults equipped with resilience, courage and empathy.”
Our Sixth Form is based in our state-of-the-art centre, Linhope House, which provides 663sqm of dedicated Sixth Form space combining an elegant, Georgian exterior with a cutting-edge interior. Only a two-minute walk from our main school building at Ivor Place, Linhope features superb collaborative and individual learning and study spaces, such as soundproofed study booths, a Think Lab with integrated technology and a spacious Common Room. Sixth formers are connected to the rest of the school as they travel between buildings for their lessons, offering a ‘college’ feel and a perfect transition between school life and higher education.
A Sixth Form education is about so much more than academic achievement. The working world is changing, and the speed of this change is accelerating. It is our job as educators to encourage and empower our students to learn how to take risks, learn from failures and embrace the challenge, as well as the opportunities, of tomorrow. Skills such as creativity, curiosity, compassion, perseverance, storytelling, emotional intelligence and fostering a lifelong love of learning could not be more key.
These skills are fostered through a broad co-curricular offering and a vast array of academic enrichment opportunities. A weekly lecture programme and Life Skills lessons take place, on topics including life at university, AI, law in practice and public speaking. We also have an elective programme to provide additional breadth and foster intellectual curiosity. Our Hale Lecture Series, a student-led interactive interview series, goes from strength to strength. Sixth Formers orchestrate these visits from start to finish, developing their confidence and soft skills such as research, public speaking, and making informed and sensitive conversation. Encouraged to take on various leadership responsibilities, students can help run clubs and societies, become House Captains or Prefects, or take up volunteering opportunities arranged by our student-led Help Fund.
All students can apply to be on the Head Girl’s Team, with positions including Deputy Head Girl, Senior Prefect, President of the Help Fund, Sixth Form Delegate, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Ambassador and Environmental Captain. The team meets weekly with the Head of Sixth Form, and liaises regularly with younger students, acting as role models. We value student voice; at the regular year group forum, suggestions for improvement are heard and often acted upon.
FHS pastoral care is outstanding; with a committed tutor team; each student is supported on her unique journey. Our strong higher education provision offers bespoke support and advice, whichever pathway a student decides to follow, whether it is university in the UK or abroad, a degree apprenticeship, drama or art school. We strive for every student to achieve her potential. The two years of Sixth Form are demanding yet empowering: our goal is to be to the bridge that leads our students from school to bright futures.
EMMA WILLIAMS
HEAD OF SIXTH FORM
