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6THSIXTH FORMPROSPECTUS

The Bishop’s Stortford High School

TBSHS Sixth Form:Opportunity, Responsibility, ExcellenceWherever one looks, the Sixth Form of The Bishop’s Stortford High School provides the

sort of opportunities to suit individual needs and desires. Whether it be scoring a try

for the First XV, practising hard in the school band, performing a leading role in the

school play, studying in the library, thinking, writing and discussing with vigour in the

classroom, you will find life in the Sixth Form is a full and worthwhile experience.

How often do we hear the request from universities and employers for a well-rounded

personality? That is precisely what we hope you will achieve by taking up the

opportunities we offer.

Our Sixth Form will, therefore, bring a new dimension to you both in terms of

privilege and responsibility; the two sides of the same coin. In return, we expect a

high level of self-discipline and personal responsibility along with a willingness to take

leading roles within the running of the school. We expect all our Sixth Form students

to set a good example to the younger members of the school and the Student

Leadership Team, led by the Head Boy, Head Girl and their deputies, makes a

significant contribution to the day to day running of the school.

All is before you and I look forward to welcoming you to our Sixth Form.

Tom Capewell

Head of Sixth Form

Welcome from the Headof Sixth Form

“The Sixth Form brings change, challenge and

opportunity and your response to these will go a long

way to determining the quality of your life after you

leave school”

6Dear Student,

As you approach the end of your time in compulsory education many exciting avenues

open up to you. The Sixth Form brings change, challenge and opportunity and your

response to these will go a long way to determining the quality of your life after you

leave school.

Sixth Form students study fewer subjects in greater depth. They are given more

responsibility for their own work and enjoy greater freedom to organise their own

time. We live in a world where change has become the norm. New technologies

succeed each other at a bewildering speed – what is high-tech today will be obsolete

tomorrow. It is essential therefore, that as tomorrow’s workforce, you acquire the

finest personal and academic skills to face the challenges of the future and to gain the

necessary qualifications for Higher Education or employment. We can offer you that

chance.

We have an extremely well qualified and talented staff with a long tradition of

successful teaching at this level and our wide range of courses is second to none.

The vast majority of our Sixth Form move on to Higher Education. With over 350

students in the Sixth Form and a breath-taking programme of extra-curricular

activities, life is never dull!

We expect our students to work hard because examination success has never been

more important for our future career prospects, but we also offer many opportunities

for our Sixth Form students to develop personal interests, take on roles of

responsibility and to become involved in the wider life of the school. Our Sixth Form

students are senior members of our school community and this brings both privileges

and responsibilities.

The school has a reputation for excellence in academic results across the board, and

for the outstanding variety of extra-curricular activities of the highest quality in many

disciplines including Music, Sport and Drama. We offer “a truly all round education”.

If you are excited by these challenges and opportunities, and are the sort of person

who is determined to make the most of them, then we hope you will apply for a

place in our Sixth Form.

Andrew Goulding BSc

Headmaster

Continuing your study at The Bishop’s Stortford High School

www.tbshs.org I The Bishop’s Stortford High School

At TBSHS we are able to offer the very best in Sixth Form provision. As you consider

where to follow your Sixth Form studies you will be looking for a school or college

that offers good teaching and a track record of successful examination results.

In the Sixth Form at The Bishop’s Stortford High School we offer the broadest

possible education to the highest possible standard. We therefore provide expert

tuition in a wide range of subjects, high quality academic standards, and a wealth

of opportunities to achieve your full potential. We are able to achieve this through

close personal support and guidance.

Our Sixth Form Centre has been extended and modernised in recent years to

include a discrete study area and easy ICT access for all students at school and from

home via our Virtual Learning Environment.

The school has a large and well-equipped library to support students in their study.

The school library has an extensive careers section, a comprehensive collection of

university prospectuses and a wide-range of computer databases. The library also

subscribes to newspapers and many academic and cultural journals. Students use

the library’s discrete Sixth Form area during private study.

The best in Sixth Form provision

“I gained research skills, and learnt

about the importance of statistics &

quotations. There is a lot of reading

to be done and the library is a

fantastic resource”


The key to success in the Sixth Form is hard work.

Advanced level study requires significant commitment each week in addition to the

time you spend in school. This requires careful planning to ensure you make the best

use of your time. Your teachers and tutor are there to advise you on how to adjust to

the increased workload and, for example, how best to allocate time for revision

throughout the year. Your study schedule will also need to plan for the time you

spend in the band, on the stage, debating, or on the sports field. You must make

good use of the library in private study – all subjects stress that wider reading is

essential in deepening your understanding.

In addition to your chosen subjects, Citizenship and the Sixth Form enrichment

programme allow you to broaden your education. Prestigious outside speakers play a

vital role in enriching the Sixth Form experience. Recent speakers include politicians

John Bercow and Boris Johnson, journalists Alastair Stewart and Martin Bell,

sportsmen Stuart Pearce and Stephen Hendry and Radio 1 DJ Greg James. Outside

speakers include pressure groups, environmentalists, authors and academics.

Hard work is the key to success

Your form tutor is a key person in helping you to settle in to the Sixth Form and in

ensuring your all round success.

At The Bishop’s Stortford High School we place great emphasis upon the central role

the tutor plays in a student’s social, personal and academic development.

Every tutor works hard to ensure that each student has the best possible pastoral

support while at TBSHS. The tutor is a confidante, advisor and role model. We also

believe in the important part the tutor plays in the academic development of every

student. Through our Tutoring for Learning programme we ensure that every student

is taught not only what to learn, but also the best way to learn it, taking into account

their own preferred learning styles and methods.

Your tutor will guide you in your progress, and will be there to offer help and advice.

As you move into the Upper Sixth you will be able to draw on their experience to

assist you in making a choice of career or university. The relationship between the

student and the tutor is one that we are particularly keen to foster and regular

individual meetings with your tutor will therefore take place.

Tutor guidance and support

Music and Drama flourish at The Bishop’s Stortford High School. Students

with an interest in performing artistically are provided with a wide range of

opportunities during their time in the Sixth Form.

The school’s music department runs an extensive array of orchestras, bands

and groups for musicians, supplemented by a full calendar of concerts. All

musically-minded students are provided with manifold opportunities. Choral

singing is very important at the school and our choirs sing at the school’s

annual services and several termly concerts. The school runs an annual Music

Festival, and recent Music Tours have visited Holland and Germany

Students are also provided with opportunities to participate in school drama.

Through our many productions, Sixth Formers are encouraged to take leading

roles both on and off stage. The school recently opened Broadway, a brand

new purpose-built music and drama centre with its own studio theatre.

Recent school productions have included: Guys and Dolls, Godspell, Jesus

Christ Superstar, Tom Sawyer, Oliver, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and Juliet,

Macbeth, Kes, Nicholas Nickleby, An Inspector Calls, Les Miserables, A Chorus

Line and Days of Significance.

Sixth formers are also encouraged to lend their support to the school’s

annual House Drama competition, and they are encouraged to present and

organise their own shows. Through the school’s many productions students

are provided with opportunities to develop skills in direction, lighting, set

design and stage management.

Music and Drama at TBSHS“Your study schedule will also need to plan for

the time you spend in the band, on the stage,

debating, or on the sports field”


Sport at The Bishop’s Stortford High School is outstanding. The school offers

a varied sporting programme, supported by the excellence of its facilities and

the dedication and commitment of its staff.

Sport is a key part of the Sixth Form curriculum. It helps foster an enjoyment

of sports and promotes an active, healthy lifestyle. The Sixth Form Enrichment

afternoon offers the opportunity to take part in rugby, football, cricket,

athletics, aerobics, badminton, basketball, golf, squash, swimming, table-

tennis, tennis, and yoga.

Centrepiece of the school’s sporting facilities is the £1 million Jobbers Wood

sports complex. Built on 35 acres of land on the edge of Bishop’s Stortford

the prestigious complex provides the school with seven winter rugby and

football pitches, as well as three cricket wickets during the summer.

We regularly provide two and sometimes three teams in the major sports.

There is strong competition for places in each of the three senior rugby

teams as well as 1st and 2nd XI cricket and football, A & B netball and boys,

girls and mixed hockey teams. In recent years Bishop’s Stortford High School

students have represented England internationally in football and rugby.

Students have joined Premier League and Championship football teams and

several train with Premiership rugby clubs.

The school runs regular national and international sports tours for its Sixth

Form students, including rugby tours to Australia, New Zealand and Hong

Kong, and cricket tours to the Caribbean.

Sport at TBSHS

“The tour was amazing. You get to play against

some of the best schools in the world, experience a

different culture and make friends for life, both on

and off the field”

The school is proud of its extra curricular provision. Through the range of clubs

and activities provided students are given the opportunity to develop leadership,

collaborative skills and responsibility. As well as sport, music and drama, the

school offers many clubs and societies.

The school offers the opportunity to follow the Duke of Edinburgh Award

Scheme to Silver and Gold standard. Many students have found this immensely

challenging and enjoyable.

Sixth Form students have the opportunity to take part in World Challenge

expeditions which helps them gain a perspective on life lived in very different

circumstances to their own. Sixth Form students have recently supported projects

in Ghana and Tanzania.

TBSHS has popular Debating and Public Speaking Societies. The school enters local

and national competitions, and has enjoyed considerable success in recent years.

Students in the Lower Sixth are also able to take part in the Young Enterprise

scheme that enables them to create and run a business of their choosing.

Many students choose to give up their time to help others through voluntary

work. Students provide assistance to younger children either in our lower school

or at local playgroups and primary schools. Others volunteer to work with the

elderly or with people with disabilities.

In addition to this, there is an extensive Community Service programme and

opportunities for students to become peer mentors and/or members of Interact,

the Senior Prefect Team, the Sixth Form Committee and the Sixth Form Council.

Extra curricular provision

“There is so much going on, even if you are not

particularly sporty or musical. My advice would be to

get involved as much as possible, make new friends

and gain new skills”


The Bishop’s Stortford High School is proud of its extensive programme of

Sixth Form community service and charity work – the fulcrum of which is

the charity Interact, which is supported by the Rotary Club of Bishop’s

Stortford.

Membership of Interact is open to everyone in the Sixth Form. It aims to

raise money through various events and activities for local, national and

international charities.

The club organises diverse charity events. There have been Auctions of

Promises, Sleep Outs, non-uniform days, editions of “The Weakest Link”

and “Deal or No Deal”, and other quiz nights. A highlight of the Interact

year is the annual Showcase talent show, which presents the performing

talents of TBSHS students.

All proceeds from such events go to Charity. In recent years, Interact has

raised money for Operation Christmas Child, The Railway Children Charity,

The Red Cross and Shelter.

Sixth Form students organise annual events to raise money for CRY, Caztest

and Help for Heroes, which help to foster a real sense of togetherness and

community spirit. The commitment of Sixth Form students to fundraising for

these charities in particular is something the school is immensely proud of.

Charity at TBSHS

“Sixth Form charity events are a huge amount of fun and

helping to organise them gives you a real sense of

achievement. They are the days you remember at the

end of your Sixth Form career”

6The majority of our students, approximately 90 per cent, go on to study in Higher

Education. Most of these students obtain places at the university or institution of

their choice.

The Bishop’s Stortford High School has an experienced and dedicated team in place to

help all our students make the best choices at Post-18. Whether your choice is to

continue to study at university, or to enter the field of work, we offer

comprehensive support.

The Sixth Form Management Team organises an extensive programme to help students

in making their choice of university or college. This programme includes:

• University visits

• Opportunities for current Sixth Form students to meet former students

who are now at university

• Expert advice and guidance

• Support with research into degree courses, universities and entry requirements

• Specific advice for Oxbridge, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and

Dentistry applications

• Individual guidance for students choosing to enter employment Post-18

In addition, staff provide individual counselling about career choices, and provide expert

advice in filling in application forms. We recognise that interviews can be daunting; so all

our students have the opportunity to produce a Curriculum Vitae and to gain experience

through a mock interview. We are also there to support students on results days.

The school has enjoyed great success in recent years in preparing students for Oxbridge.

The school encourages ambition from its students and is able to provide excellent

guidance and support with such applications.

Universities and careers programme

The Bishop’s Stortford High School is committed to the highest standards.

A place in our Sixth Form is conditional upon students agreeing to abide by a

contract outlining the following expectations:

MALE:

Formal jackets and trousers or suit

Formal plain shirt

Formal plain dark v-necked jumper

Sixth Form or Prefect’s Tie

Dark socks

Black formal shoes (not boots)

Hair must be neat and respectable with no extremes of style*

Students must be clean-shaven

No earrings or studs

Definition of neat and respectable:

• Clean hair, no longer than collar length and not covering the eyes

Definition of extremes of style:

• Hair should be its natural colour

• Hair should not be shaved and no shorter than a hairdressers number 3 style

• Hair should be no longer than collar length

• Hair should not cover the eyes

• Hair should not have ‘tram’ lines cut into it

• Hair should not have coloured streaks

• Hair should not be sticking up with an excess of gel

FEMALE:

Formal jacket and skirt (on or below the knee)/formal trousers or suit

Formal plain shirt-style button-up blouse but not a shirt

Formal plain dark v-necked jumper

Sixth Form or Prefect’s brooch

Plain dark tights and black formal shoes (not boots)

Hair must be neat and respectable with no extremes of style*

No jewellery except stud earrings/very small hoops and plain hair bands/clips

Definition of extremes of style:

• Hair should be its natural colour or one colour

• Hair should not have coloured streaks

The

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The Bishop’s Stortford High SchoolFoundation School. Chairman of Governors: Mr R Stock

London Road, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 3LU

t: 01279 868686

f: 01279 868687

w: www.tbshs.org

e: [email protected]

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