Welcome from the Head of Burlington House Sixth Form
Dear Students and parents,
I am very pleased to welcome you to Burlington House Sixth Form in Hammersmith. I believe that we are able to offer the best Sixth Form experience in London and below I will outline why I think that and why I love the job that I have as Head of Sixth Form. Year 11 is a challenging time for young people, when they are not only preparing for important exams, but also looking at multiple college options and preparing for life as the young adults they are about to become.
To help our young adults navigate through the two or three years that they are with us, we need to get three key areas right for each one of our students.
Firstly, we must course them correctly and ensure that we are giving them the best possible chance for academic success. We must also work with the strengths of each individual student to enable them to access employment, and finally we must empower the students to believe in themselves through our excellent programme of therapeutic and pastoral support.
If we get those three things correct then each one of the young adults who leave our Sixth Form will be in a much better place than they were upon entry. I truly believe that in our short history as a Sixth Form we have created the right balance and that this is at the centre of what is a unique and outstanding offer.
I am very proud of our academic success and a student who gains a GCSE via our retake route should be celebrated as much as one who has passed an A Level with an excellent grade. We have a range of courses to cater for students at different starting points and this flexibility is one of the specialisms of the Sixth Form. Many Post-16 options have more of a one size fits all approach. A distinct adult-vibe emanates from the Sixth Form, according to a recent visit by the Good Schools Guide, and that is exactly what we hoped to achieve when we set out on this project. Complementing the academic support is the opportunity to take up weekly work experience in one of a number of local businesses. We have carefully tailored these to the interests of our students with a range of options now ranging from Baristas and Sound & Lighting Technicians through to Illustrators and Teaching Assistants.
We are very keen to make sure that the Sixth Form equips the students for life in the modern world and the challenges that will inevitably come their way with age. The therapeutic support at the Sixth Form is so valuable. As a trained SENCo, it is only at Burlington House that, for the first time in my career, I can meet with our Counsellor, Occupational Therapist or Speech and Language Therapist by walking down a corridor. These staff, alongside the wonderful support of Teachers, Tutors and Learning Support Assistants mean that we are able to provide the right interventions at the right time. I am regularly amazed by the progress that students make in their time with us, and I believe that this is down to the team getting to know each student so well.
I invite you to come and see our Sixth Form, meet our students, see our wonderful site which is a couple of minutes away from Ravenscourt Park Tube station. I am convinced you will like what you see.
Best of luck to those of you in Year 11 who are taking exams this year and good luck on finding the right college for you.
