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Whether you are staying at The Downs School after Year 11 or joining us from another school for the first time, we are delighted that you have chosen The Downs Sixth Form for the next stage of your education.

Sixth Form is intended to provide a personal challenge as well as an academic one. You will be studying subjects that you have chosen, alongside other students who have made those same choices and who are equally keen to do well. Across our A Level and Level 3 courses, you will find yourself in classrooms where people are increasingly knowledgeable about, and interested in, the subjects they are studying. That creates a very different atmosphere: lessons become more specialised, discussions more thoughtful and students have much more to contribute themselves.

Make the most of the people around you. Talk about what you are learning, exchange ideas, revise together and keep one another going when the work becomes difficult. There is something particularly rewarding about being surrounded by people who are striving towards their own goals while also wanting their friends and classmates to succeed. It makes Sixth Form intellectually challenging, but it should also leave plenty of room for friendship, laughter and the wider enjoyment of school life.

The emphasis in Sixth Form increasingly shifts towards you. Your teachers will continue to teach, challenge, advise and support you, but you will be expected to become a more independent learner and thinker, taking greater responsibility for your own progress and beginning to make up your own mind about the subjects that interest you, the future you might want and the person you would like to become.

Nobody expects you to arrive in September already knowing how to do all of that. Independence is something you develop. You will learn how to organise your time, manage deadlines, study effectively outside lessons, respond to feedback and recognise when you need to ask for help. There will also be opportunities through enrichment, FutureU, leadership and wider Sixth Form life to develop your confidence, skills and sense of responsibility. These experiences matter because, when you eventually apply for university, an apprenticeship, employment or another opportunity, there should be much more to you than the qualifications written on your certificates.

It is worth remembering, however, that time in Sixth Form moves very quickly. A course described as lasting two years provides considerably less than two full years of teaching before applications, assessments and final examinations begin to arrive. Year 12 therefore matters enormously.

The students who achieve the strongest outcomes are generally those who make good use of their independent study time from the beginning. Lessons alone are not enough at this level. Reading, practising, reviewing work, completing wider research and consolidating what you have been taught are all part of Sixth Form study. Establishing sensible habits early will make an enormous difference later, particularly because many of the decisions and applications you make during Year 13 will be based on what you have achieved during Year 12.

We also hope that you arrive with some enthusiasm for the subjects you have chosen. Sixth Form gives you the chance to go considerably further into them than GCSE allowed, and some of the most rewarding moments will come when something takes you beyond the specification or makes you look at a subject differently. Be curious, ask questions and take an interest in your own education.

There should, of course, be plenty of enjoyment along the way. Sixth Form brings new friendships, greater independence and opportunities to contribute to the school in ways that were not available to you when you were younger. Work hard, but take part as well. Some of the experiences that develop your confidence and stay with you longest will happen outside the classroom.

Wherever your path eventually leads, whether to university, a higher or degree apprenticeship, employment, specialist training or a gap year, your time at The Downs Sixth Form will be an important step towards it. Our role is to give you excellent teaching, good advice and every opportunity to build the knowledge, skills and confidence that will allow you to make those choices well.

For today, enjoy your GCSE results and recognise everything that has brought you to this point. Then, when September arrives, start as you mean to go on.

Work hard, make good use of your time, take the opportunities in front of you and enjoy being part of The Downs Sixth Form.