.jpg)
A Level study in a teaching group of eight is a different educational experience from A Level study in a group of twenty-two. This is not a matter of opinion, it changes what teaching looks like, what learning looks like, and what happens to a student who is falling behind.
Every Student Is Visible
In a large teaching group, a student who is struggling can hide. In a group of eight, there is nowhere to hide and that is an advantage. A teacher who works with eight students knows, within a few lessons, what each of them finds easy, what they find difficult, and what their work looks like when they are struggling versus when they are coasting. For a student doing well, this means their teacher can stretch them further. For a student who is struggling, it means they are found and helped before a small difficulty becomes an entrenched one.
Discussion Is Real
A Level subjects at their best are about developing an argument, evaluating evidence, defending a position under questioning. In a seminar of eight, that kind of discussion is possible. Every student participates. Ideas are challenged. The thinking gets harder because it has to be defended to people who are actually listening. In a group of twenty, discussion tends to be a handful of confident students talking while others observe.
Timetabling Flexibility
A smaller Sixth Form can be more responsive. An unusual subject combination, Further Maths alongside Music and French, is more likely to be timetabled around a student's needs when the Sixth Form is small enough to manage individual timetables flexibly. Students with non-standard ambitions are less likely to be told their combination is not possible.
The Relationship With Teachers
By the end of Year 13, a student in a Sixth Form teaching group of eight knows their teacher well and their teacher knows them. A Level personal statements and university references are stronger when written by teachers who genuinely know a student's thinking, their development, and how they have changed over two years.
Individual Support Without Stigma
In a small Sixth Form, individual support is the norm. The barrier to asking for help is lower, which means students ask sooner which means problems are addressed before they become serious.
At Leweston
Leweston's Sixth Form teaching groups run between six and fifteen students depending on the subject with the average size being 5-6. Our Sixth Formers are not anonymous members of a large year group. They are known by their teachers, their tutors, and the Head of Sixth Form — as individuals, with individual strengths and individual ambitions.
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, for pupils aged 3 months to 18, offering Nursery, Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior and Sixth Form on a single campus.