Academic Life - St Albans High School for Girls

Academic Life

Let your curiosity loose

World-class teaching and extension beyond the examined curriculum, including wide-ranging academic opportunities involving visiting speakers and alumni, mean STAHS Sixth Formers achieve the very best A level results and go on to places at top universities in the UK, and abroad, and springboard into phenomenal careers.

STAHS Sixth Formers are very able and all students start their A level journey with four subjects. We value learning for its own sake and encourage students to carry on with the subjects they love – even if those are well outside the norm for their desired degree choice. Decisions about A levels have far-reaching implications on the options available after school – selecting four A levels gives our students more choice as their higher education and career ambitions evolve. We encourage all students to consider doing an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) alongside their A levels, engaging with academia and broadening their horizons. Some students will drop one of their subjects through the course of Year 12 and complete three A levels, often with the addition of an EPQ.

Our thoughtfully-structured super-curriculum, with weekly timetabled sessions takes academics at STAHS beyond the boundaries of examination specifications. Every academic department devotes significant time to our super-curriculum, enabling student-led, individually-developed project work or further learning beyond the confines of the examined curriculum. Students are paired with subject mentor teachers for university entry, including support with personal statement writing and any additional entrance tests. Our lecture series is an integral part of our programme. Whether hearing from an astronaut, a campaigner, a CEO or a creative trailblazer, Sixth Formers are informed and educated by inspirational people from all walks of life.

The STAHS Sixth Form is a busy, bustling environment with scholarship at its very heart. Our outstanding results only tell part of the story: not only do our students achieve spectacular A level results, gaining places at the most prestigious universities in the UK and beyond, they leave with the independence and intelligence to complete their higher education and enter the world of work with confidence and determination. Our ‘Teach to 25’ philosophy underpins all we do in the STAHS Sixth Form, and it is this approach to education that stands our students and alumni in such good stead.