We hope that our Sixth Form students will be busy people, involved in activities beyond their studies and ready to make the most of opportunities presented to them.  Happily, the vast majority of our current students are only too eager to involve themselves in school life outside lessons.  We hope you will be too!

 The whole range of House activities, from Drama and Music to Sports, Public Speaking Competitions and the Christmas Fair, provides all Sixth Form students, not just House Captains and their Deputies, with an opportunity to play a constructive and enjoyable part in school life.  There is little doubt that this involvement also is very good management training!   Students learn to work   together in teams, solve problems, manage people and, above all, lead.

There are regular House Officers' meetings, chaired by the Deputy Head Boy or the Deputy Head Girl.  These are opportunities for House Captains and their Deputies to meet with Heads of House to discuss and plan the programme of House activities.

‘Sixth Form students have excellent opportunities to take responsibilities and leadership roles in the school. especially within the house system.’  (OFSTED Report, October 2006)

Fund-raising for charities

 Sixth Form students have been active for many years in organising fund-raising activities to support local, national and international charities.  We are currently planning our fund-raising days which will take place in March 2008.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is very strong at Guildford County School and certainly flourishes in the Sixth Form.  The Scheme was introduced to the School in 1981 and it has grown from strength to strength.  Every year well over a hundred pupils throughout the school participate in the Scheme at the various levels. Sixth Form students often act as advisers for junior participants

Young Enterprise

 Young Enterprise is a well-established, very popular activity for Sixth Form students.  Each year Lower Sixth students set up mini-companies, under the guidance of specialist advisers, and gain valuable business experience in operating them. Companies usually meet on one evening a week to discuss the operation of their businesses or to make their products.  We have been delighted with the success of our companies over many years.

Trips, visits and exchanges 

Departments organise visits and trips to lectures to supplement work done in class.  There are English workshops, Sociology and History conferences, theatre visits, foreign exchanges and so on.  Our Languages Department facilitates work experience placements for advanced level students and organises theatre visits to see foreign language plays. Geography and Biology students attend field trips.   An annual trip to Brussels, visiting sites of interest such as the European Parliament and the Waterloo battlefield is open to Economics, History and Government and Politics students.

The annual Sixth Form ski trip to Italy in February is always popular.

Music 

 Music has traditionally been a very important part of the life of Guildford County School and naturally continues to be so following our being awarded specialist music college status from September 2004. 

The school enjoys a very wide range and high standard of music-making activities and we offer over thirteen different ensembles, including several different choirs. Our work embraces all styles of music from classical, contemporary and traditional jazz, recitals, performance and composition workshops, multi-media events and, of course, our annual House Music Competition.  

We have long been fortunate in the enthusiasm and quality of talent shown by Sixth Form students, some of whom are Junior Exhibitioners and London music colleges and many go on to gain places at music colleges. 

There are many opportunities for all students (not just those specialists studying advanced level courses in Music or Music Technology!) to become involved in music-making.  Our ensembles specifically aimed at our senior students include the Senior Choir, Schola Cantorum, Chamber Orchestra, chamber music, rock and pop bands and jazz and brass ensembles.  High quality musicals in recent years have included Oklahoma, West Side Story and, of course, our hugely successful 2006 production of Les Miserables.

As part of our specialist status, we liaise closely with our feeder junior schools and the local community.  Our Sixth Form musicians play a vital role in providing excellent role models for our younger musicians.  Sixth Form students are invited to help with the running of ensembles and all musical events.

We offer students the opportunity to have instrumental and singing lessons and all advanced level Music and Music Technology students are also offered timetabled practice time.

Drama

Drama productions continue to be a regular feature in the school calendar.  Apart from the wide opportunities presented by the House Drama Competition, there are major productions each year in which students are invited to participate on stage or as members of back-stage and technical teams.   

Regular theatre trips, open to students and their friends, are organised not only to local theatres but also to see West End productions.

Public Speaking and Debating

The Sixth Form at Guildford County School has a proud tradition of taking part  in Public Speaking Competitions.  As well as the House Public Speaking Competition held each July, students have regularly participated successfully in events organised by the English Speaking Union and the Rotary Club of  Guildford. 

Clubs and Societies

Sixth Form students at Guildford County School play a large part in organising school clubs and societies, notably the Christian Union.  Occasionally, students may wish to establish a new club to reflect their own particular interest or  passion. 

Do you have a burning desire to set up a 'Tiddly-Winks' club, a War Games club, Bridge club or a Pooh Bear Appreciation Society?

Sport

 There are no compulsory sports lessons for Sixth Form students; however, all students have the opportunity to attend a sports lesson once a week, in which they can take part in games or other fitness-related activities. 

Some students are very active in sports clubs or in helping with sports teams from junior year groups.  Students are able to take part in sports teams, if they so wish.  We organise Sixth Form games fixtures with other schools and colleges in which our students invariably participate with lots of enthusiasm and mixed success!

Social Events

The Sixth Form organises its own social events midst all of the activity outlined above.   

The annual Upper Sixth Form Dinner, a formal dinner for students following the completion of their public examinations, is a well-established and popular highlight of the Sixth Form calendar.  2007 was our twentieth-fourth consecutive Dinner.

Each year, students organise a 'good-bye' Reception for the out-going Upper Sixth Form and a 'welcome' Reception for the new Lower Sixth.

Contributions to the school              

We encourage students to contribute widely to the life of the school, including conducting tours of the school, organising clubs, running stalls at our Christmas Fayre and helping at Parents' and Open Evenings. 

Some students work with younger pupils to help them with their reading (ERIC assistants) or in the organisation of sports practices.  Such involvement is often time-consuming and demanding, but also valuable and enjoyable!

A recent major development has been the creation of our ‘Talk To Someone’ scheme (TTS) which is a counselling service manned by Sixth Form students who make themselves available to main school students who may be experiencing difficulties.   

Members of the Sixth Form Council sit on the school's Student Council which is chaired by the Head Girl and Head Boy.

We have a splendid tradition of Sixth Form students taking on responsibilities within the school community.  We have no doubt that the school benefits enormously from such commitment.  Equally, we have no doubt that the students themselves find such challenges worthwhile, enjoyable and satisfying.

'wider key skills'

 We take great pride in the way that our students develop what are sometimes called ‘wider key skills’ during their Sixth Form careers.  These essential life skills are usually classified as working with others, problem-solving and improving one’s own learning.

You only have to look at the variety of opportunities available outside the classroom to see what we do.  Think, for example, about all the project management skills that are necessary if you to be part of a successful team producing an entry for the annual House Drama or House Music competitions. ‘Working with Others’ and ‘Problem-Solving’ have long been essential aspects of so much that our students do, for example, in the companies set up under the aegis of the Young Enterprise scheme or in raising money for our major fund-raising projects or in the operation of our Student Council.

‘Improving one’s own learning’ is an integral part of our policy of encouraging students to set targets in their work, agree what they need to do to reach them, and then review how they have done and what they need to do next.  Naturally, we hope that the opportunities and encouragement which we provide will enable our students to become effective independent learners.

We encourage all our students to take on more and more responsibility for their own success.  We provide opportunities for students to learn to solve problems, work in teams, develop skills in leadership, manage their time, set targets and work to deadlines.

‘Sixth Form students have excellent opportunities to take responsibilities and leadership roles in the school especially within the house system, and are good role models.’ (OFSTED Report, October 2006)

‘Students make an outstanding contribution to both the school and the wider community.’ (OFSTED Report, October 2006)

So … what do you want to do?