Academic Curriculum
Developing a love of learning for life
Through our A Level curriculum, we believe in developing a love of learning for life, in stimulating intellectual curiosity and in enabling students to follow their passions and grow in independence, resilience and courage so that they can look forward to life’s challenges and opportunities with confidence.
Berkhamsted students are encouraged to aim high by setting themselves challenging goals, to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses and to work with teachers and pastoral staff to review their progress and realise their potential.
We pride ourselves on the consistently high academic performance and results achieved by our Sixth Form students every year, with the majority of students at Berkhamsted Sixth studying three core linear A Levels.
Our Sixth Form students are encouraged to develop the ability to self-regulate, to be resourceful, creative, adaptable and independent young adults who are able to rise to and relish the challenges of the modern and ever-changing world.
We also offer our students the opportunity to undertake an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
Each option provides students with an understanding of themselves as individuals, developing their teamwork and independent study in order to develop the skills they will need to succeed in the future.
Insights into Sixth
Alice – Berkhamsted Head Girl (2024/25)
“At Berkhamsted School, we not only strive for excellence in education but enjoy a vast co-curricular landscape, where immense opportunities are on offer, such as sports, drama, music, outdoor education, and much more. Here at Berkhamsted, there is something for everyone! Co-curricular offerings not only enhance academic life but also prepare us for the challenges of an ever-evolving world. The opportunities here are endless, and if you come to Berkhamsted with an open mind and a willingness to learn, you will gain valuable memories and experiences.”
Learning at Berkhamsted Sixth is not constrained by the bounds of the classroom or by academic ability. Across all subjects, students are encouraged to embrace a range of super-curricular pursuits.
Weekly Careers talks delivered by external speakers stand alongside the student-led Crawford Society, where pupils develop valuable soft skills through presenting on topics of interest. For me, a particular highlight has been co-running the Academic Ambassador Programme for scholarly Sixth Formers with a desire to Serve Others. Through the Programme, students pursue academic initiatives which encourage pupils of all ages to discover the pleasure that learning can bring.
Sixth Form itself is no walk in the park; your teachers will continually stretch and challenge you. But this is what has made my Sixth Form years the most enjoyable of my life! By being allowed to struggle at times, I have been able to experience the satisfaction of a hard-fought breakthrough in understanding. And at each breakthrough, my teachers have always been there to share that moment of fulfilment.
At Berkhamsted, teaching methodology stems from novel pedagogic research, which has student-led learning at its heart. So you can expect your teachers to guide you towards the right path, but allow you to traverse it freely. For example, I have had the opportunity to independently design and create a hydroelectric generator through completing the Extended Project Qualification. It is these independent pursuits that allow Berkhamstedians to develop the cognitive elasticity required by the jobs of tomorrow.
Academic opportunities are in an abundance at Berkhamsted. Bring an open mind, an attitude of curiosity and a readiness to seize these opportunities and your Sixth Form journey will be exciting and rewarding.
Hear from our 2023-24 Head Boy and Head Girl
A-Level Options
At Berkhamsted Sixth we offer our students a choice of 26 A Level subjects plus the option of an EPQ (extended project qualification).
| Art, Craft & Design | Biology | Business | Chemistry | Computer Science |
| Design & Technology | Drama and Theatre Studies | Economics | English Literature | English Language and Literature |
| Food and Nutrition | French | Geography | History | Latin |
| Mathematics | Further Mathematics | Music | Religious Studies – Philosophy & Ethics | Photography |
| Physical Education | Physics | Politics | Psychology | Sociology |
| Spanish |
*An EPQ is equivalent to 1/2 an A level in applications to University
At Berkhamsted we encourage our Sixth Form students to study three subjects at A Level, devoting their time to achieving the highest possible grades in their chosen subjects.
In some instances there may be some students who can take four A Levels or in rare circumstances, more than four. Prospective students will have the opportunity to discuss their options before joining the Sixth Form.
We aim to inspire students to show a passion for their A Level subjects that goes beyond the curriculum by promoting wider reading, by encouraging participation in internal and external academic competitions and by offering a number of further enrichment opportunities such as involvement in academic societies.
We believe our system maximises our students’ chances of achieving their potential of the highest grades at A Level, enabling them to secure a place at their chosen university or on a respected apprenticeship scheme.
The majority of our students earn a place at their first choice of university, taking up places at the top institutions in the UK including Oxford, Cambridge and the Russell Group universities. A number of students also go on to undertake Degree Apprenticeships.
We also provide substantial individual careers advice for those who are interested in choosing a professional pathway immediately after Sixth Form.
Curriculum Statement
Universities require three good grades at A Level and are typically more interested in depth of knowledge than breadth.
We encourage our Sixth Form students to devote their time to studying three core subjects at A Level, focusing on achieving their highest possible grades through wider reading around their subjects, attending lectures and entering competitions.
Our system maximises our students’ chances of achieving the highest grades and securing a place at their first choice of university.
The majority of our students take three A Levels, but some take four. In rare circumstances, students may take more than four A Levels. Students will have the chance to discuss their study options with our Head of Sixth before joining Berkhamsted Sixth.
If a student at Berkhamsted Sixth is taking Mathematics and Further Mathematics, they will be expected to study four A Levels.
Students may be able to study for four A Levels if they are highly academically motivated and enjoy independent study and wider reading. Such students are likely to have an outstanding academic record and would feel that achieving three A or A* grades at A Level would not challenge them sufficiently.
If a Sixth Form student is bilingual, it may be possible to take an extra A Level in the language in which they are already fluent.
There will be less lesson time available to study for a fourth A Level, so any student choosing to study four subjects must be self-disciplined and able to work independently.
All Year 13 students at Berkhamsted have the opportunity to complete a community service placement, the Extended Project Qualification while some students complete a Student Consultancy project in conjunction with the University of Oxford careers service.
Ahead of the UCAS application process, we organise a Higher Education, Careers, Apprenticeships and Gap Year Fair where around fifty universities visit Berkhamsted to provide our Sixth Form students and their parents with advice and information about their chosen course.
We provide a comprehensive programme of careers events and also offer our students the opportunity to seek individual advice and guidance on their future career plans.
Three full-time members of staff lead our careers department. They do not teach and have joined us from industry.
We run a weekly careers lunch programme during our Michaelmas and Lent terms which offers Sixth Form students the opportunity to hear external speakers talk about their own career stories and the best routes into a number of popular industries including accountancy, medicine, law and engineering, plus the Armed Forces.
To support future pathways and foster personal development, all Year 12 students are encouraged to complete a minimum of two days of work experience before the start of Year 13, ideally during weekends or school holidays. Work experience can be either in-person or virtual.
The Careers team produces an annual guide to sourcing work experience and publishes a monthly newsletter, shared with all Sixth Form students, highlighting live opportunities across a wide range of sectors. The Careers team is also available to students for individual guidance in finding experiences tailored to their interests and goals.
Additionally, Berkhamsted School integrates Unifrog, an award-winning online university and careers platform, into its educational framework to support students in their academic and career planning. Students and their parents have access to Unifrog to assist with course selection and comparison during the university application process.
Berkhamsted Sixth students must obtain a minimum of a grade C at the end of Year 12 in order to progress to Year 13.
Students take a set of rigorous internal examinations which are designed to provide a challenging test of the year’s work. The examinations are designed to make sure that all students will attain grades that are of value in their A Levels.
There is a standardisation process across all departments so that the school can base its A Level predictions upon substantial evidence of attainment.
Students who do not obtain a minimum of a C grade in a subject will have the opportunity to retake the examination before the end of Year 12.
Students who still obtain a grade D or below will be advised that it is not in their best interests to continue their A Level studies in that subject and, as such, they will not be able to continue this subject in Year 13.
No student may progress into Year 13 to study only one A-Level subject in the curriculum. Each student will be treated individually and exceptional circumstances may be taken into consideration.
If a Sixth Form student has shown ambition to succeed and a positive attitude and approach to learning, they may be offered the opportunity to repeat Year 12.
They will be given support to make the necessary improvements for progression to Year 13.
A metacognitive approach
At Berkhamsted we use the latest research in cognitive science, behavioural psychology and neuroscience to inform our teaching and to ensure that our students are best supported in their learning. We have also been influenced by the work of Professor Guy Claxton and his learning powered approach. Metacognition encourages students to think about their own learning and teaches them specific strategies for planning, monitoring and evaluating how they learn. The Education Endowment Foundation (a leading educational research body) has found it to be the most successful intervention schools can make to improve student progress. The academic research is clear that the brain is like a muscle inasmuch as its intelligence grows with exercise: in short, learning is learnable. Berkhamsted students don’t just learn the content they need for exams, they learn how to best learn this content and have the chance to develop key learning skills which will serve them both in Higher Education and in the workplace. Furthermore, the language we use when talking about learning is significant, and at Berkhamsted we have a rich but common vocabulary for talking about what learners do, thus allowing students to make links between different topics and indeed the things they learn, within and beyond the classroom.
The labour market is becoming more dynamic with most of today’s teenagers having had between 10-15 different jobs by the time they are 40. People are also living longer and are likely to be working for a longer period of their lives. Our approach encourages teachers to place as much emphasis on how we learn, as what we learn. Establishing the concept of learnable intelligence, and helping students to understand how they learn, will stimulate independent learning, which in turn will allow pupils to develop their resilience and flexibility when confronted with difficulty. This is something that will serve them well as they move through the school and beyond, to Higher Education and the workplace.
At Berkhamsted Sixth, teachers help students to understand the importance of these dispositions and how they can aid learning. As students move through the school, we start to make links between these dispositions and cognitive science. In the classroom teachers explain why students are completing work in a particular way and the cognitive science research is explained to them. We encourage students to reflect on their strengths and develop targets and interventions to develop them further. Students are encouraged to reflect on how they work to determine which strategies work best of them. In learning how to learn our students also gain confidence, regulating their thinking and emotions around learning.
Our metacognitive approach to learning is also evident in our reporting systems. School reports are addressed to the students themselves and focus on learning skills rather than on content. Once reports have been read our students write their own reflections and set their own targets for improvement. Likewise at our Learning Consultations students lead by reflecting on their relative strengths and weaknesses and suggesting what the way forward should look like for them.
Digital Device Provision
Our core mission is to prepare young people for the world in which they will live, study and work. Educational research shows that putting students at the heart of their own learning helps develop strong metacognition, and digital tools enhance enquiry, collaboration, organisation and self-direction. Students value the opportunity to develop these skills, and will benefit in their future lives from a strong blend of digital and analogue literacies.
At Berkhamsted, we believe that digital devices have an important part to play in creating engaging lessons in the classroom. We also aim for students’ learning beyond the physical classroom to be as rich and intellectually stimulating as possible; capitalising on the interactivity and immediacy of our suite of tools. Pupil devices allow for a seamless learning experience between School and home, and the best possible resilience against disruption to education.
Watch the video to see the students experiencing the change to learning Microsoft devices have provided in the classroom.
OPEN EVENTS
Why Berkhamsted?
Clearly an academically driven department […] the students get the support and encouragement to find and follow their own path whatever that may be – from setting up their own business or doing an apprenticeship.
