Divisional Heads:
Miss Helen Tebay hpt@sevenoaksschool.org
Mr Peter Kino pik@sevenoaksschool.org
Dr Matt Edwards mte@sevenoaksschool.org
The great majority of our Year 11 move into the Sixth Form and about 80 boys and girls join us at this stage from other schools. The Sixth Form differs from the Middle School in that the year groups are larger (over 400 students in total) and many of the students come from overseas. A typical Sixth Form year group will contain students from as many as 30 different countries. The international boarding houses have a unique atmosphere and the six-subject International Baccalaureate Diploma, taken by all Sixth Form students, is a major contributing factor to the international outlook of Sevenoaks School. Further information about the IB Diploma is available from the IB Co-ordinator, or the separate IB booklet (which can be downloaded from here).
The day to day life of the Sixth Former is managed by tutors, grouped in three ‘Divisions’ under the leadership of a Divisional Head. Individual attention is guaranteed both in the close-knit boarding houses and the day houses with an average of seven students per tutor in each year.
In addition to the academic requirements of the Upper School curriculum, all Sixth Formers undertake a programme of PSD. This work covers a wide range of topics from entrance into university and organising life there, to investigating matters of personal health and well-being. Students are challenged to reflect on important issues in the immediate - and not so immediate - world around them. Sixth Formers also take part in a wide-ranging games programme and the various weekly voluntary activities run at the School. In addition, Sixth Formers take a lead in the co-curriculum provision of the School, taking on roles of responsibility in the various activities that take place each week. Most Sixth Formers become school prefects, which means that as students enter the senior stage of their school careers they take a leading role in establishing the good running and atmosphere of the school community.
Virtually all of our Sixth Form leavers go on to university. All receive specialist individual attention and general guidance from tutors and the Careers Department. The Careers Centre is fully up to date and equipped with the latest computer software. Great care is taken to ensure that pupils make the right choices from an ever-expanding range of options and institutions. Advice is also available to pupils who wish to continue their studies in America or elsewhere. Our candidates have been particularly successful in gaining places at Oxford and Cambridge in recent years with over 40 in a year group meeting the demanding entry criteria. Further information about universities and careers is available from the Higher Education and Careers department.