The Sixth Form at Latymer is intellectually stimulating, with a curriculum that offers both depth and extension, alongside breadth and opportunity. Students’ studies range beyond A Level subjects to include exciting Electives and research projects, encouraging a lifelong love of learning. Our Sixth Form is an excellent preparation for university life: an academically rigorous, emotionally nurturing space in which our community of bright young people form firm friendships for life.
Sixth Form curriculum
The curriculum has three main features: a common core, elective courses and extracurricular activities that combine to create a Latymer Diploma or Leaver’s Certificate. We believe that this intellectually rigorous curriculum captures the best of a traditional academic education whilst offering breadth, depth and opportunity that will enable our students to flourish at university and excel in the complex adult world more generally.
Details can be found in the Sixth Form choices booklet here
Core curriculum
All students will follow the core curriculum, studying three full A Levels or Pre-U courses – the academic requirement that universities expect – with the option to do a fourth A Level as an elective course. In addition, we help to prepare students for university study by including a 10-week course on Research Skills and different types and theories of knowledge. All students take Games once a week, undertake at least a term of Service in the Community and complete a series of Life Skills units.
Full list of A Level and Pre-U subjects:
| Art and Design | Politics |
| Art History (Pre-U) | Greek |
| Biology | History (Modern) History (Early Modern) |
| Chemistry | Latin |
| Design Engineering | Mandarin (Pre-U) |
| Drama | Mathematics |
| Economics | Mathematics with Further Mathematics (two A Levels) |
| English Literature | Music |
| Extended Project | Philosophy and Theology |
| French | Physics |
| Geography | Photography |
| German | Spanish |
Elective courses
Students also have the opportunity to take a number of exciting elective courses, giving breadth to their studies beyond their core subjects. We are especially keen for students to pursue the Extended Project Qualification or the slightly shorter Latymer Research Report, and to take a selection of the non-examined Latymer Designed Courses that are a distinctive, enriching component of our Sixth Form provision.
Elective options include:
- Extended Project Qualification
- Latymer Research Report
- A choice of a range of 10-week academic Latymer-designed courses, internally created and certificated
- A fourth A Level or Pre-U course
- Maths, English Literature or a Modern Language to AS Level
- Extra service in the community
Some examples of Latymer-designed courses:
| American constitutional law | CADCAM |
| Churchill, Lincoln, Luther King: the ancient art of rhetoric | Effective altruism |
| From Beatles to Brexit | How to set up a small business |
| Pop music from 1960 to present day | Playwriting |
| Sports psychology | Parasitic and tropical disease |
Latymer Diploma (Leaver’s Certificate)
This recognises a student’s achievement across the range of school activity. To qualify for the Latymer Diploma students must have fulfilled the requirements of the core, maintained a personal, reflective Learning Journal, and garnered at least six credits from the electives and co-curricular activities on offer in the Sixth Form.
“I realised I had made the right choice in choosing Latymer for the Sixth Form when I met some of the most politically, emotionally and world-aware students I have ever come across. Rarely does a day go by without a conversation on ‘can an act be truly selfless?’, ’should we have a second referendum?’ or ‘which is the blue subject: Maths or English?’. Whilst this might seem intimidating, to me it really adds an extra element of curiosity which is what school is about”
– New Sixth Form joiner