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Curriculum

In Sixth Form, pupils can choose to study three or four subjects. Each subject is allocated eight periods of 35-40 minutes per week and group sizes are capped under normal circumstances at 14, though most groups are smaller than this. There are no requirements to study any particular subject(s).

In Year 13, pupils studying four subjects may choose to revert to three subjects but many continue with four. In addition they will attend an imaginative Enrichment Programme. There may also be extra lessons for those applying to Oxbridge, preparing for Olympiads, or keen to extend their knowledge beyond the A-level specifications.

Curriculum from September 2019

Click here to see the details and specification of the subjects on offer for those joining the WGS Sixth Form in September 2019 – please note that Classical Civilisation is now an A Level option at Withington Sixth Form from the next academic year.

Curriculum for our current Sixth Form

The following subjects were offered to our current A-Level pupils

Art	French	Further Mathematics
Biology	Geography	Music
Chemistry	German	Physics
Computer Science	Government & Politics	Psychology
Drama & Theatre Studies	Greek	Philosophy and Theology
Economics	History	Spanish
English Language	Latin
English Literature	Mathematics

Click here to see the details and specification of all the above subjects.

Enrichment Programme

Our own Enrichment programme was introduced in September 2016. The new course contains core elements of PSHCE, Careers, Professional Skills, Financial Literacy and a Speakers Programme. All girls are expected to take part in some physical activity and some voluntary service. Beyond those compulsory elements, girls have a choice of the following subjects:

Coding Food Painting Yoga Mindfulness Football

Knitting Studio Recording Disney Archiving Business finance Running

Food and nutrition Knitting Musical Theatre Photography Communication Skills Classics

These courses are ten weeks long, and lessons are between one and two periods. Girls are made aware of the time commitments they are making when they make their choices, and must all choose optional courses for the Autumn and Spring term to complement the compulsory elements of the programme.

Following the results of the GCSE mock examinations, current pupils will have a personal interview with the Careers Department to discuss their future plans.

Pupils will then be required to make firm decisions regarding their A Level choices in February. The subjects are arranged in ‘blocks’, based on the subject combinations chosen by the girls. Most will be able to study their selected subjects, but there may be a very few girls whose preferred options cannot be fitted into the blocking system along with the choices made by other students.

Some pupils may change their minds after making their choices. This is, of course, understandable and will be accommodated as long as subject sets are not full and the combination of subjects is possible within the existing blocking system. However, pupils must bear in mind that the timetable is constructed on the basis of which subjects they initially choose, and group sizes are balanced at that point. Some changes may not be possible after the timetable has been constructed because of the implications for other groups of girls switching between blocks. This especially applies to practical subjects such as Sciences, where the ability to run certain experiments may be compromised in larger groups.

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