Simon Balle All through School has always been known for the way it places great emphasis upon the education of the “whole” child. We encourage the highest academic standards alongside promoting both wellbeing and character development. This continues into the sixth form, where the vision of “creating tomorrow’s citizens today” is increasingly relevant. 

We actively encourage all students to take part in “enhancement and enrichment” activities. This supports both academic achievement and adds to their wellbeing. Many sixth form students enjoy participating in sports and in sports leadership programmes. Many represent the Simon Balle community by competing and running house sports days and competing and officiating in regional competitions.

Music is a real strength at Simon Balle All-Through School. Sixth form student ambassadors mentor younger musicians, including our primary students in the Larch centre. They can participate in chamber groups, choirs, big band, concert band, rock groups and orchestras. These provide entertainment throughout the school year, marking important events such as Remembrance Day and Christmas.

Both sport and music run popular tours each year, including trips to Ghent and the Royal Albert Hall for exclusive performances. 

Volunteering flows through the heart of our school. Sixth form students are able to support students in the younger years, providing them with mentoring experience that develops key skills to prepare them for life beyond Simon Balle. There are opportunities to become “Teachers of tomorrow” by providing assistance in the classrooms of science, sport, music, drama, MFL and humanities. Passion for their subject can be used to run lower school clubs in science, history, geography, art and design, to name a few.  

Sixth form students also work closely with The Larch Centre, working with our youngest primary students, hearing them read, running lunchtime clubs and activities. In addition, many of our students volunteer within our local community, for example we have very close links with Amwell View, a local nearby school.

Our academic departments organise a variety of trips to both enhance and enrich their curriculum. Students can participate in a number of local and national competitions, for example in last year’s physics students won a competition to experience an exclusive workshop to build their own particle cloud chambers on their recent visit to Cern in Switzerland. 

Other trips include European cities, art galleries, areas of natural beauty, including a geographical tour of Iceland,  lecture series for history, sociology, psychology and the sciences.  Our English department trips are very popular, visiting Bronte countryside or trips to the West End theatre district. 

The yearly “Model United Nations” competition at Haileybury is always popular. In addition, a number of speakers and professionals come into school to work with our students.

The support and guidance we offer is outstanding. Students are supported and encouraged with every aspect of their planning for their next steps, post sixth form. Form tutors and the sixth form leadership team guide and support students through this process, including trips to universities, careers information, apprenticeship fairs, help with applications and interview practice.

At Simon Balle All-Through School, we believe that the relationships and sex education and health education should be an integral part of the life long learning process. In the sixth form, this education develops the qualities and attributes students need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society. It continues to develop the emotional, social and cultural development of the student. 

In the sixth form, students will need up to date information on a wide range of issues and also a strong voice in determining the curriculum content. Students receive guided support from a dedicated tutor team covering topics including relationships and sexual health, especially how to access support services, independent study skills, alcohol and drugs, financial and careers related advice as they progress to becoming young adults and the citizens of tomorrow.