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Choosing a Sixth Form is one of the most consequential decisions in a young person's education. The right environment shapes not just A Level results but how a student thinks about themselves, what they believe they are capable of, and how ready they are for what comes next.
In Dorset, families have a range of options: state sixth forms, sixth form colleges, and independent schools with dedicated Sixth Form provision. The question is not which is objectively best. It is which is the right fit for your child.
How Many Students Are in Each Teaching Group?
This is the single most important structural question. Ask specifically not "what is your average class size?" but "how many students are typically in a Sixth Form teaching group in this subject?"
The difference between a group of eight and a group of twenty-two is not marginal. In a group of eight, a student who is struggling is found within a lesson or two. Discussion is real. Ideas are challenged. In a group of twenty-two, a student who goes quiet can go unnoticed for weeks.
At Leweston, Sixth Form teaching groups are typically between six and eight, in some cases slightly higher and in others, lower.
What Does the School Do with Students Who Are Not Sure What They Want to Do After School?
A good Sixth Form takes uncertainty as a starting point, not a problem. Ask how the careers and university guidance programme works, specifically, whether it starts in Year 12 or only when UCAS applications are due. A Sixth Form that waits until Year 13 to begin meaningful post-18 planning is leaving students inadequately supported.
Ask also: does the school support students who are considering alternatives to university? Degree apprenticeships, creative foundation courses, direct employment, these are all valid pathways. A Sixth Form that treats non-university routes as afterthoughts is not genuinely preparing students for life after school.
What Is the Pastoral Support Like at Sixth Form Specifically?
The Sixth Form years coincide with a particularly demanding period of adolescent development. Ask who a Sixth Form student goes to first if they are struggling, not with work, but with how they are. Is there a named tutor? Is there a counsellor available consistently, or only on a visiting basis?
At Leweston, Sixth Form students have form tutors who know them individually, a Head of Sixth Form who maintains close oversight of each student's progress and wellbeing, and access to our school counsellor. Boarding Sixth Formers have houseparents who live within the boarding community.
What Are Students Doing After They Leave?
A Level results tell part of the story. University destinations tell more. But what tells the most is the range of what students do after Sixth Form and whether the school actively supported them in getting there. Ask for recent leavers' destinations. Look for breadth as well as prestige.
Can You Meet the Sixth Form Students?
The most useful part of any Sixth Form visit is five minutes of unrehearsed conversation with current Sixth Form students. Ask them directly: do you feel like the staff know you? What do you do between lessons? What would you change about the school?
Leweston Sixth Form: What We Offer
Leweston's Sixth Form is a community of around seventy to eighty students, large enough to be genuinely social, small enough for every student to be known individually. We offer a full A Level programme alongside EPQ and enrichment activities. University guidance begins in Year 12 (even younger if you are already here). Every student has individual support for their post-18 planning, whatever that pathway looks like.
Ready to find out more?
Call 01963 211015 or visit leweston.co.uk to book a visit or speak to the team.
Leweston School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Sherborne, Dorset, offering Prep, Senior and Sixth Form on a single campus.