PASTORAL SUPPORT
PASTORAL SUPPORT
The Sixth Form is a vibrant and busy community, where students set high standards for themselves and quickly feel at home
One of the strengths of Sevenoaks School is the pastoral system, which aims to guide students through the challenges they face in their lives. Finding a healthy and effective balance in all aspects of school life can be difficult at first, so each student has a tutor, responsible for their pastoral and academic welfare, who sees them every day.
Day students are placed into small tutor groups of 14-16 students, split between Upper and Lower Sixth, and thus integration between years is encouraged and experiences can be shared. Boarding students are also placed into tutor groups, and are treated in the same way as day students throughout the school day.
Tutors are the first line of contact for parents, in matters pastoral, academic and co-curricular, and are there to support students over their Sixth Form careers.
All Sixth Formers undertake a programme of Personal, Social, Health and Economic( PSHE) education. This work covers a wide range of topics from entrance into university and organising life there, to investigating matters of personal health and wellbeing. Equally important are the twiceweekly assemblies, where students are given an ethical dimension to their education through short talks on a variety of topics.
We have a well-developed induction day, allowing students to get to know each other and the details of the Sixth Form; an early highlight is the Freshers’ Ball within the first fortnight.
The integrated Sixth Form culture means that stopping and asking questions of students and teachers is a way of finding out answers and meeting new friends. Students have a wide range of advice and support beyond that, should they require it. This includes their Tutor, Divisional Head, the School Nurses and the Counselling Team.
All Sixth Form students wear a suit, making them smart and ready for work. This and many other features of their day-to-day life will make them feel part of a community which is as kind and inclusive as it is dynamic and diverse.
Jon Lidiard Deputy Head Pastoral
THE IB AT SEVENOAKS | THE SIXTH FORM 53