A great benefit of our small class sizes, is our ability to tailor-make not only the perfect academic programme, but the whole sixth year experience.
Preparing for life beyond school is at the heart of the St Margaret's sixth year experience. Whilst continuing to realise academic potential, we strive to equip girls with the necessary life skills to enable them to embrace and meet challenges with confidence. At the end of sixth year girls leave us as accomplished young women ready to take their place on the world stage.
This session we have introduced a comprehensive series of lectures, workshops and presentations, delivered on a weekly basis, employing the expertise of industry professionals, university personnel and in-house specialists. The programme strikes a balance between essential life skills such as independent living, financial planning, effective note-taking and economic engagement, with a focus on maintaining wellbeing through sessions ranging from mindfulness and relaxation techniques to nutrition and self-defence. The contents of the programme are entirely driven by the needs and interests of our sixth year girls.
Ahead of girls returning to school in August, we hold our sixth year conference, which allows girls to begin to focus on the critical decisions that they will make about their future in the months to come. The theme of the conference is ‘Be the best you can be’ and throughout the day girls are addressed by a number of inspirational female speakers who shared stories of their journey to success. The key messages this year were of resilience, adaptability, creativity, open-mindedness, positivity and determination. One thing that our speakers had in common was that they each saw failure as an opportunity rather than a setback.
Our leavers take up places at some of the world's most prestigious universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Stanford. This success is attributed to the high level of teaching and the expert team advising, preparing and supporting girls through the application process for universities in the UK and globally.
Our sixth year experience concludes with the much anticipated leavers’ week. Our preparation for life beyond school continues as girls take part in, amongst other things, a two-day cookery school on a student budget and a certificated first aid course. This is also a time to celebrate the success and achievements of our leavers, which are many and varied. A glance at our leavers’ destinations highlights the individual talents and interests of our girls; it is for that reason that the Sixth Year experience is a personal service tailored to needs of each girl. No two journeys are the same, nor should they be!