One of the joys of being an OHS Sixth Former is the freedom you enjoy, not just in what you study but the way you study. Unlike other Sixth Forms, we encourage our students to enjoy a campus lifestyle in which girls dress as undergraduates rather than feeling constrained by business suits. The message here is not one of informality but equality: what matters most to your teachers is not your appearance but the quality of your thoughts and the content of your character.
And what better place to enjoy these newfound freedoms than the Ada Benson Building, our centre for Sixth Form and the Arts, opened in February 2020. This dynamic and inherently egalitarian space provides a hub for our Sixth Formers to meet and eat, to share ideas and relax, to bond like never before. Read more about life in the Ada Benson Building here.
But it’s not just about the buildings. Life in the OHS Sixth Form is about so much more.
Find Your Voice
Life in the OHS Sixth Form is about finding your voice and learning to use it without fear or apology. Our students continually seek out ways to express their passions and interests, or to support a cause in which they wholeheartedly believe. That’s exactly what Emma (2021 leaver) did when she decided to organise and run a virtual conference all about the environment and the economy, which brought together 10 leading experts and was attended by numerous other schools throughout the UK. Inspiring multitudes of other OHS Sixth Formers to arrange their own conferences, this event was the first in a long line of student-led conferences, covering topics from US Foreign Policy and Sustainable Fashion to Law and Classics. This drive to pursue a passion, to implement change and to give back to others defines an OHS student.
Discover Your Potential
Life in the OHS Sixth Form is about discovering your potential, whether that’s in the classroom or beyond it. Studying in small, seminar-style classrooms will unlock new intellectual vistas, while the enrichment opportunities outside lessons will galvanise your development intellectually, culturally and professionally.
It is this combination of academic challenge and co-curricular opportunity that enables our students to win prestigious international competitions, to launch successful new businesses as part of the Young Enterprise initiative, to embark on brave new worlds of academic research with the Warnock ERP as dozens of our students do each year, and to explore the myriad of other opportunities available to our students.
Explore
Life in the OHS Sixth Form is about exploring – whether that’s uncovering the joys of Oxford’s museums during a day out in Oxford or joining a club in anything from Astrology and Beekeeping to Young Enterprise and Robotics. Some of our most popular clubs are the most unexpected. Origami Club, for example, has taken off to such an extent that we now run a House Origami Competition. Whipworm Club, meanwhile, sees students in Years 10-13 collaborating with the Wellcome Genome Campus in mapping the 15,000 genes in the human whipworm genome, with a view to curing Trichuriasis, a Neglected Tropical Disease which contributes to malnutrition in large parts of the world. Robotics Club provides another hotbed of invention and competitive one-upmanship, while those who value outdoor pursuits can get involved in Sailing Club, Eco-Club, Equestrian Club or the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.
Challenge
A thread that runs throughout the OHS Sixth Form experience is the idea of ‘challenge’: to seize every opportunity, to try new things and to step outside one’s comfort zone. This idea certainly came to life in September 2021, when our Sixth Formers were invited to a top-secret here at OHS: our very first Sixth Form Challenge Day. The mystery event saw our student partake in a wide range of thrilling activities which were designed to both challenge and surprise. From rock climbing and kick boxing to learning how to graffiti and salsa dance, the day was full of energy, enthusiasm and delight.
Are you ready for a challenge?
