Where everything flourishes

Senior School

16+

A very warm welcome from the Senior School Team

The Senior School is an energetic and dynamic place of academic adventure and personal development. Our students immerse themselves in lessons which are an exciting journey towards a deeper understanding and broader horizons. Learning in the Senior School stretches far beyond the curriculum; extra-curricular life is a chance to take on real leadership and make an impact both within school and in the wider community. A combination of significantly greater freedom and personalised one-to-one support prepares our students to flourish in the world beyond school.

We look forward to meeting you and answering your questions during our open day. In the meantime, please contact admissions@spgs.org if you have any specific queries.

Best wishes,

Rupert Try
Deputy Head, Director of Senior School

Rosie Selby
Head of VII (Year 12)

Gillian Abbott
Head of VIII (Year 13)

Nina Williams
Senior School Administrator

Students in senior school common room
Welcome to the
Senior School

Academic

Academic study in the Senior School is highly engaging and rewarding. Lively scholarship fills the last two years of study as students specialise in the subjects about which they feel most passionate.

The Senior School is, above all, a place for the stimulating exchange of ideas, whether in small group lessons or in the common room, within a supportive, familial atmosphere that encourages intellectual risk. The confidence students develop in this environment is exciting and deeply valuable.

Student studying in garden building

Academic endeavour is supported by initiatives such as the St Paul’s Programme, an exciting part of the non-examined curriculum, which includes electives and an independent research programme.

This sits alongside the traditional Friday Lecture series. Every week the whole Senior School gathers to hear eminent speakers from all walks of life open windows onto their work and thought. These inspiring examples expose students to a diverse range of perspectives and lived experiences.

Independence

In the Senior School students enjoy much greater independence, preparing them for the self-directed study expected at university. The Senior School is based in the Garden Building, a modern, purpose-built hub opened in 2017 which contains a common room, a kitchen and a variety of workspaces specifically for use by senior students.

students working the common room

This is a relaxed, sociable place where students can get on with work or catch up with friends over tea and toast. Relationships with members of staff become much more collaborative and debate and discussion are at the centre of all learning. Students are given greater freedom to organise their own time; they have private study periods and are allowed off the school site at lunchtime when they don’t have timetabled lessons. Support is personalised and plentiful, but students are trusted to pursue their own interests, equipped with the tools to succeed.

Role models

Responsibility and leadership are at the heart of Senior School life and senior students play a major role in the running of the school. They run a myriad of societies for younger students, catering for everything from political debate to improvised comedy. They take on key roles in school performances and sports teams, run the school council, edit a variety of student magazines and much more.

Senior School common room
Life in the
Senior School

Responsibility

The VII and VIII (Years 12 and 13) are remarkable in their passion and dedication to a wide range of causes, leading groups such as SPEAC (St Paul’s Environmental Action Committee) and the Charities Committee, which organise a vast range of events and projects throughout the year. Students are encouraged to take the initiative; if a club or committee doesn’t exist to support their interest, they are empowered to make it happen.

In the VIII (Year 13) students can apply to join the Head of School Team. They meet weekly with the High Mistress and help to shape the school’s agenda. However they choose to participate in the co-curricular life of the school, senior students lead the way as role models.

Volunteering and service

Much of this activity involves the wider community. Every member of the VII (Year 12) spends time in service to the local community. Opportunities are always changing but they include working in care homes, community centres and primary schools. It is vital that all Paulinas leave school as active, responsible citizens with care for those around them.

Students studying in the Garden Building.

Support

An extensive network is in place for senior students to guide and support them through their final two years of school and beyond. Daily meetings with their tutor ensure advice is never far away. The Senior School pastoral team (comprising Heads of Year, the Senior School Administrator and Director of Senior School) is based next to the common room and staff are always on hand to help with questions, big or small! Students are guided through decisions about life beyond school by a highly experienced higher education and careers team.

Whatever courses you take, and whichever path you choose, you’ll find the Senior School a wonderful place to be.

Studying in the Senior School

A levels

The Senior curriculum

In the Senior School all students study four core subjects in the VII (Year 12) from a choice of 24 options. All students also have dedicated time with their tutor, their choice from a wide range of sport, a PSHE session and a weekly lecture as part of their main timetable. Students also follow the St Paul’s Programme on a Friday afternoon.

Students entering the main building.

VIII (Year 13) students may either continue with four core subjects, a choice popular with further mathematicians and applicants to American universities, or drop to three. We encourage students to focus their time and energy on three subjects in their final year where possible. This allows greater opportunity to research areas of special interest independently, and develop the scholarly engagement that is central to our ethos.

In the VII (Year 12) there are no public examinations which allows students time for rich and diverse academic exploration. It also gives time for students to play a full role in the leadership and extra-curricular activities on offer.

St Paul’s Programme

Alongside academic lessons, the St Paul’s Programme is a significant, highly exciting element of the non-examined curriculum offered in the Senior School. It is unique to the school and aims to help students develop the confidence and independence to thrive at university and into their future lives.

Electives

The programme takes place on a Friday afternoon when students have no other timetabled lessons and it runs throughout the academic year. As part of the programme students take electives, running for five weeks, which may be practical, academic or general; recent courses range from ‘Renaissance world-view’ to ‘3D environments’ and ‘algorithmic sounds’.

Senior Scholarship

This sits alongside the St Paul’s Senior Scholarship, an independent research programme completed by students in the summer between the two senior years. Students are given supervisory support from teachers to research, develop and write on literally any subject of their choice, producing a final scholarship piece which could take the form of a scholarly essay, fieldwork report or a creative production such as a performance, novel or computer programme. Students are inspired to delve deeper and let their intellectual curiosity take them far beyond the curriculum.

Students studying in the Garden Building.

Friday Lecture

The Friday Lecture is a treasured St Paul’s tradition. Despite the prominence of some speakers (George Osborne, or Lady Hale, the first ever female Supreme Court judge), the Friday Lecture is not a fame parade. It is an opportunity to think about life in a new way.

From the first person to circumnavigate the world under human power to the country’s foremost expert on how to bury a king; from restauranteurs to army medics, artists to diplomats, nothing encapsulates the enquiring atmosphere of the school better than the guests who address it and whose work is debated vigorously every week.

Here are some recent highlights:

Distinguished Guardian journalist and alumna, Amelia Gentleman spoke about her uncovering of the infamous Windrush scandal, where it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.

The Rt Hon Stuart Lawrence gave a powerful lecture for Black History Month on how we can combat racism and racial injustice.

Arabella Simpkin, Assistant Professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, discussed careers for women in STEM and the importance of complex problem solving in the medical field.

Amelia Gentleman joins the school as part of the Friday lecture series.

University destinations

University No. of students
Oxford 30
American and Canadian universities 15
Cambridge 14
Edinburgh 10
UCL 10
Durham 7
Bristol 4
Imperial 4
European universities 4
St Andrews 3
Exeter 3
Queen Mary 2
Bath 1
Birmingham 1
Glasgow 1
King’s College London 1
Lancaster 1
Loughborough 1
LSE 1
Manchester 1
Newcastle 1
SOAS 1
UAL 1
Warwick 1
University No. of students
American and Canadian universities 22
Oxford 21
Cambridge 16
UCL 10
King’s College London 6
LSE 4
Imperial College London 4
St Andrews 3
Durham 2
Edinburgh 2
Warwick 2
Bath 1
Glasgow 1
Leeds 1
Manchester 1
St George’s 1
York 1
University No. of students
Oxford 23
Cambridge 21
American and Canadian universities 19
UCL 15
Imperial College London 10
Durham 8
Bristol 3
Edinburgh 3
Manchester 3
AA School of Architecture 1
Bath 1
Birmingham 1
European universities 1
Exeter 1
King’s College London 1
LSE 1
St Andrews 1
St George’s 1
UAL 1
University No. of students
Oxford 30
Cambridge 13
American universities 12
Durham 11
Edinburgh 11
UCL 10
St Andrews 6
Imperial 5
European universities 3
Warwick 2
UAL 2
Bath 1
Bristol 1
Cardiff 1
King’s College London 1
LSE 1
Manchester Met 1
Nottingham 1
University No. of students
Oxford 23
American Universities 17
Cambridge 15
Durham 14
Edinburgh 9
Imperial 8
Manchester 5
UCL 4
King’s College London 3
Warwick 3
Bristol 2
LSE 2
Bath 1
Birmingham 1
Cardiff 1
Nottingham 1
Kent 1
St Andrews 1
York 1
University of Arts 1
University No. of students
Oxford 32
Cambridge 16
American Universities 14
UCL 8
Durham 7
Edinburgh 7
Bristol 5
St Andrews 3
LSE 3
Imperial 2
King’s College London 2
Bath 1
Cardiff 1
Manchester 1
Newcastle 1
Royal Veterinary College 1
UEA 1
University No. of students
American Universities 21
Cambridge 21
Oxford 20
UCL 11
Bristol 8
Durham 7
Imperial 7
Edinburgh 5
Glasgow 1
King’s College London 1
Leeds 1
Manchester 1
Nottingham 1
St Andrews 1
UEA 1
University No. of students
Oxford 26
Cambridge 25
American Universities 13
UCL 8
Bristol 7
Edinburgh 5
Durham 4
York 3
Bath 2
Exeter 2
Imperial 2
King’s College London 1
Cardiff 1
LSE 1
Birmingham 1
Manchester 1
Nottingham 1
Queen Mary, London 1
Southampton 1
St Andrews 1
Swansea 1
Warwick 1
University No. of students
Oxford 26
Cambridge 18
American Universities 12
Edinburgh 8
UCL 7
Bristol 6
Imperial 4
Warwick 3
York 3
Durham 2
Manchester 2
Newcastle 2
Nottingham 2
Bath 1
Birmingham 1
Essex 1
Exeter 1
Leeds 1
LSE 1
Queen Mary, London 1
St Andrews 1
UEA 1
University No. of students
Oxford 27
Cambridge 22
American Universities 16
Edinburgh 8
Durham 7
UCL 7
Imperial 5
Bristol 4
Courtaulds 3
Leeds 3
York 2
Canadian University 1
Queen Mary, London 1
Richmond American International University 1
St Andrews 1
Trinity College, Dublin 1
University No. of students
Oxford 23
Edinburgh 15
Cambridge 11
American 10
Bristol 9
Durham 9
UCL 8
LSE 4
Imperial 3
King’s College London 3
Newcastle 2
Nottingham 2
Keele 1
New College of the Humanities 1
Queen Mary, London 1
Roehampton 1
Southampton 1
Warwick 1
University No. of students
Oxford 21
Cambridge 14
USA 11
Durham 8
Imperial College 8
Edinburgh 7
King’s College 6
Bristol 5
UCL 4
St Andrew’s 2
LSE 2
Nottingham 2
York 2
Manchester 1
Oxford Brookes 1
QMUL 1
Royal Veterinary College 1
University of the Arts London 1
University No. of students
Oxford 19
Cambridge 16
Bristol 10
Durham 7
UCL 7
USA 6
Imperial College 5
Edinburgh 2
St Andrew’s 1
Courtauld Institute 1
Glasgow 1
King’s College 1
Sheffield 1
Warwick 1
York 1
University No. of students
Oxford 26
Cambridge 24
USA 9
Bristol 8
UCL 7
Edinburgh 4
Durham 3
Imperial College 3
King’s College 3
Bath 2
Manchester 2
Birmingham 1
Courtauld Institute 1
Goldsmiths 1
Newcastle 1
Sheffield 1
University No. of students
Oxford 25
Cambridge 21
USA 13
UCL 6
Durham 5
Imperial College 5
King’s College 5
Exeter 2
LSE 2
Trinity 2
Courtauld Institute 1
Manchester 1
Nottingham 1
St George’s 1
Warwick 1

Careers and Higher Education

We have an extensive and dedicated higher education team who provide Senior School students with personalised support as they begin to make important decisions about their futures. The Director of Higher Education works with Senior tutors, departmental academic mentors and higher education coordinators to help students discover the route that is right for them and the team are always on hand to guide them through the application process. From university preparation classes and alumnae university events to our extensive Higher Education Conference every spring, there are a host of opportunities to help Senior School students find their answer to the key questions: which course is right for me, and what is my chosen university looking for?

Students are also encouraged to attend a wide variety of careers events to help them identify the path that inspires them. The Senior School hosts a range of evening careers talks often focusing on one specific career path such as engineering, law and media. In addition students are invited to professional networking events, usually at a location in central London, where they can connect with inspiring role models. Our regular ‘working lunches’ give students in the Senior School a chance to meet with professionals from a multitude of sectors to discuss their work and career paths.

Careers

Higher Education

Visit
St Paul's

There is no better way to get to know a school than by taking a look around. Visit us to explore the school for yourself and discover some of our Paulinas’ favourite spots, from The Marble, the lively entrance hall situated at the heart of the school, to The Great Hall, home of assemblies, concerts, art exhibitions and more.

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Alumnae