A guide to Sixth Form Survival!

Bishop Heber Sixth Form – A friendly, fun loving atmosphere full of new opportunities to meet new people and more importantly, get those well deserved A-levels “at the end of the day” after lounging about in the Common Room doing nothing during those long free periods… debateable.

Alongside this idyllic misconception of what sixth form’s going to be like formed by young, naïve year 11s after slogging away at those GCSE’s, are a number of ‘essential’ rules which must also be taken account of before and during your time at the Sixth Form.

1. Year 13s. Unless you are well acquainted with one or they are known to think nicely of exasperating yr 12s who have invaded the privacy of their humble abode (the common room), then the year above should be left to their own devices. If you would like to avoid looks that can kill and a reputation of being arrogant and irritating, it is widely suggested that you remain on your own side of the common room (which is predetermined by the Yr 13s) and accept the fact that once again, you are not yet top of the school.

2. The Common Room. This is where the majority of the Sixth Form reside during all breaks and frees and is well known to get extremely full. Considering the fact that there are only a few comfy sofas in there, it is natural that they are going to cause competition as to who can get to them first and acquire the “privilege” of sitting on them i.e. they can be on the bottom of the pile-on rather than the top, as many people believe sitting on someone on a sofa is still better than sitting on one of the other perfectly reasonable chairs. Don’t bother. It is pointless and uncomfortable the majority of the time.

3. Free Periods (or should I say Private Study?!) Over the last few weeks, yr 12s have been imprisoned in the private study room during frees with a strict attendance policy. This is the say so of those in authority and is not to be taken lightly. Trying to “conveniently” miss private study is pointless as it is registered (believe me when I say we’ve tried) and unfortunately, unless you have no supervisor they are unavoidable. However, the future looks bright, as this sentence is soon to be lifted due to our impeccable behaviour and acceptance of this rule so, be sure to keep up the good behaviour and you might well be rewarded!

4. Dress Code. You think you can wear anything you want in the sixth form? You can’t. There is a strict no shoulders, feet, or midriffs on show rule due to various peoples’ strange fetishes for such things. Secondly, remember girls that all that time spent in the mirror perfecting hair and make-up and deliberating about what you are going to wear generally goes unnoticed. Regrettably, it takes most about 2-3 weeks to realise this and give up on making themselves looking ready for a night out. It would be much easier for this realisation to take place before you even start yr 12 and save a lot of your precious time after all you are going to school where nobody really cares.

5. The Socials. These are the events which the majority of yr 12 and 13 understandably look forward to the most. Socials generally involve lots of drinking, subsequently crazy dancing and of course socialising all of which equals a great night out. However, during 5 hours of being surrounded by people in varying states of intoxication (often including yourself) it is incredibly easy to do something you will deeply regret the morning after and ultimately humiliate yourself in front of your fellow classmates. This situation is recommended to all as something you wish upon someone else, not yourself so take note! Remain aware of what you are doing at all times and do not trust your instincts at the time (as you probably won’t be in your usual state of mind!!)

All in all, I love the sixth form and our own rules and recommendations. It is friendly, with a fantastic atmosphere and everyone seems to enjoy themselves during their time there. We all have unique memories (and hopefully many more to come!) from Bishop Heber Sixth Form of times spent with each other at socials, in the common room, etc.

What’s your Sixth Form/College like?

Jo Marsden 12KC