The Sixth Form

The ideal preparation for university life

We seek to provide all our Sixth Form students with a wide range of opportunities for developing their knowledge, their skills and their personality to the full. We are confident that Durham offers you the very best in Sixth Form education in an environment that is as beautiful as it is friendly and supportive. The co-educational community (combined with our single-sex House-based pastoral care system) provides the ideal environment in which you can grow in confidence and independence towards the next stage of your life, especially, but not only, if that happens to be the university of your choice.

Learning to work on your own

At the top of every Sixth-formers list of priorities is, quite rightly, academic achievement. Whatever your level of ability, we will help you to fulfil your academic potential and achieve your goals. When you leave school you will be expected to work on your own in a way that you have not experienced up to the end of Year 11, even with the revision work you will have undertaken for your GCSE examinations. We will introduce you gradually to the pleasures and the difficulties of working independently. You will have an area in your House where you can work in your Private Study periods (one each day for most Lower Sixth Formers and two per day for most Upper Sixth-formers). We will set you clear deadlines for your work to be completed but you will be encouraged to manage your workload and will be shown how to plan your work in advance so that deadlines can be met without panic.

Ensuring you succeed

Although you will be encouraged to work more independently than you have perhaps done previously (this is an absolute necessity for any university student), you will not be without guidance for these two very important years. You will have your own academic tutor who will keep a close eye on your progress, meet up with you regularly and be available for help and advice whenever you need it. This will particularly be the case when you are planning the next stage of your career. For many this will mean choosing a suitable course of study and the best universities or colleges for you to apply to. In conjunction with our Head of Sixth Form and the Director of Studies, your tutor will guide you through every step of this often puzzling procedure. We are confident that you will not find a school where more or better attention is given to this vital part of planning your future.

All work and no play….!

However, life at Durham School is not all about work. Your development into a rounded and quietly confident young adult is as important to us as the grades you will achieve in your A-level examinations at the end of your two years with us. Because we believe a Sixth Form education should be broad in a very real sense, we build some form of non-academic activity into every school day. You will be encouraged to take an active part in a sport of your choice, as we believe this will ensure that you stay fit in mind and body. If you are a keen sportsman or sportswoman, you will be able to do sport on most days of the week and our team of specialist sports staff will encourage you to reach new heights of performance. Perhaps you are more interested in music or drama, in which case you will find no shortage of opportunities to develop your interest and expertise. The standard of both music and drama at Durham School is very high indeed. In recent years students at Durham School have participated in World Challenge expeditions to Rajasthan, Mongolia and Argentina. There are frequent walking and climbing expeditions during the half-term holidays. You may like to join the Combined Cadet Force and enjoy the many activities that take place under its auspices, including Adventure Training in the Scottish Highlands. There are frequent sports tours abroad, including an annual ski trip to the French Alps during the Easter holiday. At a more modest level, you will be able to take part in regular Sixth Form debates followed sometimes by a formal dinner or join our Young Enterprise scheme.

Why is co-education best?

Whether they spent Years 7-11 in a co-educational environment (such as here at Durham School) or whether they attended a single-sex school before joining us later, our own leavers consistently tell us that they appreciated learning side-by-side with the opposite sex in the Sixth Form. Hardly any universities or colleges are now single-sex and very few work places consist exclusively of men or exclusively of women. Although Durham School has been fully co-educational only since 1998, our Sixth Form has been so since 1985, so we have plenty of experience in educating Sixth Formers of both sexes. Furthermore, at Durham School you get the best of both worlds: the School is co-educational but the House you belong to is single-sex. Music and drama are the best examples of the many activities which benefit hugely from the fact that boys and girls are able to work alongside each other.

Leadership opportunities

In the Sixth Form you will have plenty of opportunity to develop your leadership skills. Both universities and potential employers are looking increasingly towards skills of this nature, as the competition for university places and jobs becomes ever tighter. Whether you have been at the School for many years or whether you joined in the Sixth Form, you could be a prefect (by long tradition we call them “monitors”) in your House, or even a School prefect with responsibilities beyond your House. You could captain a sports team, organise a society, orchestrate your House's entry in the annual Music and Drama Competitions, take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme or a World Challenge expedition to a far-away and exotic location or take a leading role in the Combined Cadet Force. These and many other opportunities will develop your skills and help you to discover whether you have got what it takes to be a leader, now and in the future.

Young achievers

It is our declared aim to bring out the best in every pupil and, with all that Durham School has to offer you as a Sixth Former, it is not surprising that our students, regardless of their ability level, achieve their full potential in every way. The vast majority of our students win a place at the university of their choice and we are proud of the fact that they leave us as quietly confident young adults ready to face the next stage of their lives.

For such a relatively small school we have more than our fair share of very high achievers. Every year two or three students win a place at Oxbridge. Others have proceeded to Drama School or one of the specialist Music colleges. We also have a long list of list of boys and girls who, while at school, have represented their county, their region or even their country at their particular sport. Some have gone on to become professional sportsmen.

But by no means everybody is capable of such achievement and we rejoice in every success of our Sixth Form students, no matter how great or small. For example, not every candidate can or will achieve the highest AS and A Level grades. Some will achieve modest academic success after much hard work and help, yet their achievement is regarded by us as a triumph just as much as that of the academic high-flyers.

next event

CCF Summer Camp departs for Cornwall
Saturday, 05 July 2008

More forthcoming events.

recent news

Pupil awarded organ scholarship
David Quinn earns place at prestigious Bath Summer School

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photo gallery

See more photos of the senior school in the photo gallery.

Testimonials

"The longer school day has provided our son with a rich mix of academic studies and musical and sporting interests. His abilities and interests have been nurtured and encouraged in a wonderful school community. Taking a full part in what life at Durham School has to offer has enabled our son to mature into a well adjusted, happy and confident young man."
Mrs Cowie Smith and Mr Smith