Choosing the right path for the Sixth Form

In our latest blog, Head of Sixth Form, James Ralphs gives us his top tips for identifying which academic route is right for you...

The Sixth Form is a wonderful part of school life. It is a chance to widen your horizons from both an academic and co-curricular perspective. Even before you step through the threshold of the lower sixth, you are asked to select what you are going to study.

So, where do you start?

A levels, IBDP or IBCP?

At Bryanston we offer three different academic routes for the Sixth Form: A level, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP).

	A level	IBDP	IBCP
No. of subjects	Minimum of 3	6 (3 at higher level and 3 at standard level)	Cambridge Technical and 2 Diploma subjects

For some pupils, the idea of being able to study a broad range of subjects through the IB is an exciting one. For others, having to learn English, Maths and a language, even at standard level, is a non-starter and therefore A levels would be the appropriate path to take. Although there is overlap between the subjects offered at IB and A level, the course content can vary considerably. Therefore, a careful consideration of each subject and programme is essential. Talk to your current teachers and make the most of the information available to you. Bryanston pupils attend a Sixth Form choices fair in the spring term of Year 11 as well as having access to the Sixth Form choices guide, which gives a detailed breakdown of each subject.

What are your strengths?

Although not a perfect science, performance at GCSE does have a correlation with progress made in the Sixth Form. Choosing subjects in which you have a particular strength would be wise. At Bryanston, all heads of department will be looking for a 6 or higher at GCSE in order to access the A level or IB higher level subject content. The step up in workload, per subject, is considerable from GCSE to Sixth Form. Having a particular interest in your choices will make the work outside the classroom a lot easier. It is important that you have a desire for deeper learning, and a willingness to read around each of your chosen subjects in order to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. Are you somebody who would benefit from less weighting on exams? Choosing a subject or programme with coursework would spread deadlines throughout the year.

What is your next step?

What you choose can have an impact on your options after school. One of the ultimate goals for studying in the Sixth Form is to qualify for entry into whichever route you would like to go down next. If this is university, then you will want to choose subjects which give you the best opportunity of achieving top grades. Some degrees will have specific pre-requisite subjects. For example, studying Medicine usually requires both Chemistry and Biology (at higher level for IB) and the majority of the top Economics degrees require Mathematics. If you don’t have a particular degree or career in mind, pick subjects which complement each other and play to your academic strengths.

The decision of what to study in the Sixth Form shouldn’t be taken lightly. Discuss the advice above with your tutor throughout the rest of the autumn and spring terms. Speak to older pupils about their courses but ultimately ensure that the choices you make are right for you.

A uniquely human and humanising activity: a reflection on why music education matters

After an insightful Music Education Conference at Bryanston yesterday, the Director of Music, Stephen Williams, reflects on why music education matters...

Even during the high-octane political turmoil of recent weeks, news about the decline of music education made it onto the BBC News at Ten. The BBC’s theme – that the serious underfunding of music provision will have an impact for generations – is supported by an increasing amount of evidence. No one is immune; the effects are being felt in independent and free schools, in academies, in the maintained sector and in the county music hubs. Two of our leading institutions, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, have issued a joint statement: This is a matter of significant importance not only for the higher music education sector but also for the pipeline of musicians of all types for this country and beyond.

The UK’s recorded music industry has contributed over £5 billion, in music exports, to the UK economy since 2000. We have some of the finest orchestras, soloists and choirs in the world; we are an undoubted international leader in all forms of music-making.

Music has a positive impact on the well-being and mental health of the nation and stimulates the developing brain in the way that no other activity can. Not just that, it represents a refuge for those who live with dementia and Alzheimer’s; singing and playing should clearly be prescribed.

We have just hosted a national Music Education Conference. Delegates came from around the UK to hear specialists talk about the ways that we can stem that decline. Jimmy Rotherham is the remarkable music teacher at Feversham Primary School. Set in an impoverished area of Bradford, and after many years in special measures, the school took the bold decision to saturate the day with music; singing in assembly, sums to a tune, a staff choir, literacy through singing, percussion work for co-ordination and composure. The results were remarkable and led the school to achieve ‘outstanding’ status. Behaviour, attainment and attendance were all transformed.

Three of the speakers talked about that popular myth of being either intrinsically (genetically?) ‘musical’ or ‘unmusical’. It is in fact the case that every one of us absolutely can make music. Indeed, research into the origins of our species shows that our larynxes were designed initially for song rather than speech. We, musicians, need to hold up our hands and recognise that we have a crucial role in discouraging the negative feedback that leads young children to believe that they are either unmusical or unable to sing.

We believe that ours is a uniquely human and humanising activity. With that in mind, the whole D year group (Year 9) are learning songs from Les Misérables to sing in the London Concert on 25 October. Their focus and singing have been remarkable and their conversations about the themes of those songs – love, loss, alienation, rejection, injustice and compassion – have been powerful. Words and music are such a potent mix; meaning and emotion coalesced. At this week’s Musicians’ Showcase we witnessed Honey H creating a uniquely compelling silence as she communicated the text of her song. Every week we are fortunate, as music teachers, to witness these special moments.

Simon Toyne spoke at the conference about his work as Executive Director of Music in 34 academy schools. Echoing earlier speakers, he talked about the impact on behaviour and achievement across all of those schools and the civilising influence of music even on the pupils who hear it as they walk past morning rehearsals.

A 25% drop in the number of pupils taking GCSE Music nationally over the past ten years and a consequent reduction of A level numbers by 40% is sobering and that is mirrored in a reduction in those who take part in music ensembles. At the same time our understanding of the deep, positive and lasting neurological impact of music on our sons and daughters increases every day. Every teenager in the UK undertakes several subjects and activities that they wouldn’t otherwise choose to study. As the research into the developmental importance of music gathers pace, perhaps we will soon make it our universal practice to include ensemble singing and playing in that compulsory portfolio of subjects.