St Edmund's

I have now worked in education for twenty-five years. There have been many highlights. However, the most consistently interesting aspect of my work as a teacher, was always with Sixth Formers. Indeed, I was Head of Sixth Form at Sutton Valence and then The Perse Upper School in Cambridge before I joined St Edmund’s in 2013.

Working with Sixth Formers tests you in the classroom. I once taught a student who was taking seven A-levels and went on to get the highest marks in the country in three of them! That kept me on my toes and guaranteed very detailed lesson planning on my part. I have also taught students whose parents were Professors of History and Politics, (one was even a globally renowned economist and writer) – which made parents’ evening challenging.

Most enjoyable for me though is working with students on their university applications and personal statements. It is, of course, a crucial moment in their academic careers, and a time when as a teacher/head of sixth form, you can really add value and have a major effect on the direction of their future lives. It is a responsibility I have always taken very seriously, and I am delighted that I can still be involved in this area at St Edmund’s – helping occasionally on applications, especially those which are Oxbridge related.

It is a critical period for young people, when life-changing decisions are made, sometimes on a rather “ad hoc” basis! Let me give you an example…

I remember one student at a previous school, lets call her Alice, who did not apply for any universities in her Upper Sixth Year – she was a rather whimsical personality and had some vague plans about working abroad in a bar in Paris if memory serves me correctly. However, she turned up on results day in August and said, out of the blue, “you know what Sir, actually I’ve changed my mind, can we do a university application today?.” I was not best pleased, but we turned around an application for her in 24 hours. She won a place to study English and Communications at a Russell Group university. Alice had a highly successful career there and is now a very high-ranking executive at a global social media company. All of that flowed from a single change of mind at the end of her sixth form career and her interaction with a team of sixth form staff willing to help her.

That means it is vital to have expert support at hand. I am very proud of our sixth form provision, headed by Mr Symaka (Head of Sixth Form) and Miss Chenery (Deputy Head of Sixth Form). They provide students with the time, expertise, empathy and critical friendship to ensure that they make the right decisions (at the right time).

Our Sixth Form Open Evening is coming up but if any of you would like to discuss the amazing opportunities available in St Edmund’s for Year 12 and 13 students, please email me at head@stedmunds.org.uk to arrange a personal meeting.