Pastoral Care
Sixth Form is a very important time in your education as you prepare for examinations which may shape your future for years to come.
It will be the first time you have been given so much independence to manage your own workload and the autonomy to make important decisions about your future, whether that be about which courses to choose at university or looking at opportunities in the world of work. Whilst it is an exciting time, we know that it can also at times be both challenging and stressful.
We take mental and physical health and well-being very seriously at Headington and have a comprehensive pastoral structure in place throughout the School.
Each Sixth Form girl has a whole team of staff looking out for them including:
- Form tutors and Senior Tutor
- Pastoral Director of Sixth Form
- Housemistress and Assistant Housemistress (for boarders)
- Deputy Head Pastoral
- Director of Wellbeing
Open Door Policy
All staff operate an open door policy and girls know they can raise any concerns or issues with any member of staff. As well as the hierarchical pastoral team, we also have two counsellors, a chaplain, a Health Centre (24/7 for our boarders) and nursing team.
Peer Support
Our vertical tutoring system offers some built-in peer support for our younger girls in particular. Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth are in mixed tutor groups and spend lots of time together. We encourage you to build friendships and support networks across the year groups. Our prefects, including a dedicated wellbeing prefect, or our student leaders are another port of call if you prefer to talk to one of your peers.
Boarding in the Sixth Form
As the academic workload increases as girls progress through the School, many of our day girls choose to convert to full, weekly or half-weekly boarding as they reach the Sixth Form.
We also welcome many new girls from the UK and all over the world as boarders to Headington in the Sixth Form as our intake increases.
For lots of families, the flexible boarding offer means girls can cut down dramatically on the time spent commuting and take advantage of our many extra-curricular activities without compromising on all-important family time.
The Houses
The Sixth Form boarding houses, Celia Marsh and MacGregor, are based in our Sixth Form Centre and set up just for Sixth Form boarders. These are tailored to the specific needs and requirements of girls as they deal with the increased academic workload of A Levels, with lots of extra support.
What kind of boarding is right for me?
No two families are alike and no two boarders are alike – so we offer a wide range of different options, from occasional boarding for up to 10 nights a year, to full boarding. Each of these have different advantages depending on individual families’ needs.
Bridging the gap
Boarding in the Sixth Form can be the perfect bridge between Sixth Form and university. You will have more independence and more responsibilities – while still benefiting from structured pastoral support.
As you take more responsibility for your own learning and self-organisation, you will find yourself facing for the first time many of the challenges that you will encounter at university or in the world of work. Managing the increased freedom being a boarder in the Sixth Form brings is excellent preparation for learning and life beyond Headington.
