Hello everyone… happy Friday!
My name is Charlotte, and I have been at Notre Dame School since I was a little Year 5 student and am now getting ready for Year 13.
My time at Notre Dame has gone unbelievably fast, and I cannot believe I am going to be entering my final school year this September as a Year 13 student. Notre Dame Sixth Form is such an inclusive, happy, (and most importantly) fun place to be, and I would not have it any other way. All of these reasons are what have inspired me to write this article today—to share all the upbeat experiences us sixth formers luckily get to be involved in on a daily basis.
Joining ND6 is a really nice step up from being in Year 11 for many reasons. You have so much more freedom in what you do, and you also get such a nice, close relationship with all your teachers, especially as the Sixth Form is such an intimate space with a close-knit feel. The workload can be quite overwhelming at times, but as our lesson classes are so small (4–12 students), you really do (individually) get all the help and support you need. One of my favourite things about ND6 is our kitchen, where we can prepare ourselves meals and drinks whenever we feel like it, and also a freezer where we have many ice lollies waiting to be eaten on a hot day. In our Sixth Form space, we also have a large variety of really comfy seating areas where we can chill when necessary, and also work desks when we need to properly focus on our work. And of course, we can’t forget our Sixth Form fish—watching them swim around the tank always adds a calming and cheerful atmosphere to the space, and they’ve definitely become part of the ND6 community.
I genuinely believe (and many would agree) that Sixth Form is a significant step forward in developing maturity, particularly in time management, self-discipline, and independence. These qualities are incredibly important and will greatly benefit us as students in preparing for life after Notre Dame. I believe this growth happens because, at this stage of education, we’re treated more like young adults. Small privileges, like being allowed to leave during lunch, do give us a sense of responsibility and encourage us to manage our time carefully to ensure we don’t miss lessons.
The social aspect of ND6 is amazing, as every student will always be so kind and inclusive with each other. Coming out of Year 11, there are no more stereotypical groups, and everyone will always be polite and approachable to each other, which is such a positive environment to be in. Whenever there is an issue (as no place can be perfect), we have such an amazing support network around us in ND6—from our peers all the way up to Pastoral Care. It is also so lovely in our community that us sixth formers have two fantastic teachers who are always ready to help us and continuously put such lengths of effort into making life at ND6 amusing, and that is our Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Marker, and my Head of Year, Mrs CD. Without their positivity and empathy, life at Notre Dame Sixth Form would be very different, to say the least.
To give an example of one of the many fun things we do once a week in our Sixth Form is our ‘PILLARS’ sessions. For example, last week we had a really interesting session with a nutritionist who gave us insightful detail on the types of foods we eat and how to live a healthy lifestyle (specifically for women—for example, how certain things affect our menstrual cycle, etc.), which I, as well as my peers, found super helpful and satisfying. We have a space in ND6 where we can comfortably be open about these types of topics without any shame.
So, to round off my first year as a Sixth Form student, I would say Notre Dame is entertaining, calming, and wonderful when it comes to preparing you for the future. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue writing up my experiences in Sixth Form, and I cannot wait to write about—and face—this academic year ahead.
