Frequently asked questions: Stephen Perse Sixth Form College
Shaftesbury Road is just over a mile from Cambridge City centre. On foot it is about 20 minutes. Cambridge Railway Station is about half a mile away.
No. Independence is an important part of sixth form education and this extends to your choice of what to wear. We would ask that you come appropriately dressed for whatever activities you have on that day.
Our fees for the Year 2009/2010 are £4,200 per term.
We are keen that the Stephen Perse Sixth Form College educational experience is available to bright, enquiring and capable students. The College uses its Bursary funds both to enable students from lower income families to enter the College and to help those already in College who find themselves experiencing financial difficulties.
A range of merit based Scholarships are available at the College each year. These are for excellence in academic, music, art and/or sporting activities and there are separate scholarship examinations and interviews. Full details can be obtained from the Admissions Officer.
The College can accommodate a maximum of 160 students i.e. 80 in both the Lower and Upper Sixth.
To join the Stephen Perse Sixth Form College you will be expected to have a minimum of eight good GCSEs with at least grade A in those subjects to be studied at AS level or at higher level for the IB Diploma. You will be invited to take part in a series of interviews involving the Heads of Department for the subjects you are planning to study. In addition there will be a general interview with the Director of the College.
No. We are a day school rather than a boarding school. All of our students must have a parent or guardian living in the local area. If you are thinking about joining our College and live some distance away or live overseas you will need to enter into a guardianship arrangement. Please contact the Admissions Officer for more details.
Classes will have a maximum of 14 students. Many will be smaller than this, allowing a very personal programme of tuition.
The Stephen Perse Sixth Form College has evolved from the Perse Girls School. Perse Girls has consistently been one of the top performing independent schools in the country. In 2009 the School was ranked 2nd in the country by the Financial Times.
We know that your time spent outside the classroom is very important. We have created a relaxation space that allows you to meet up with friends, find a corner for some independent study or to just chill-out. The area is wireless-networked and has a stereo, TV and pool table.
The cafeteria is linked to the common room and provides a full range of snacks, drinks and light meals throughout the day. From soup and paninis to salads and sandwiches you should be able to find something, whatever time of day.
Registration is at 8.35am and your final lesson will finish at 4.00pm. However, the library and public areas is open after formal lessons have finished for independent study until 6.00pm.
Careers Education and Guidance is tailored to the needs and aspirations of each student through individual interviews with careers staff. Members of the Sixth Form team have extensive knowledge of the UCAS procedures and can advise on specialist university admission procedures, such as entry to Oxbridge Colleges or American Universities.
We offer the Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) programme to all students at the Stephen Perse Sixth Form College. For those studying the IB Diploma the CAS programme is a required part of their course. For those studying A Levels we believe the CAS programme will give you the chance to experience an incredibly exciting and wide-ranging enrichment programme. In CAS the creative element encompasses a broad range of activities from art and drama to design, dance or writing. The action component includes anything physical. Naturally sport can be a major element but at the same time so can expeditions, trips etc. Service involves interaction with the wider local, national or international community doing things with and for others. It could include helping children with special needs at a local centre, building schools in the Gambia or raising funds for favourite charities.
Yes definitely. However, we are not a boarding school so the College requires parents who do not live in the United Kingdom and whose son or daughter is under the age of eighteen years to appoint a reputable guardianship organization accredited by AEGIS (The Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students). You may access the list of AEGIS accredited Guardian Organizations through the AEGIS website: www.aegisuk.net.
All international students who wish to join the Stephen Perse Sixth Form College must visit the College in order to attend interviews and sit specific aptitude tests (if applicable). We expect students whose language of instruction has not been English to reach a satisfactory standard in the College’s English Entrance Test and to have at least 6.5 in IELTS Academic Writing. All offers are conditional on achieving the required results at GCSE or equivalent. Any international student that is offered a conditional place at The Stephen Perse Sixth Form College will need to return an Acceptance Form, with the acceptance fee, along with pre-payment of one term's fees.
Frequently asked questions: International Baccalaureate
We introduced the International Baccalaureate Diploma in order to offer you the widest choice. Since the introduction of AS Levels, sixth form education has been modular, with exams in both Year 12 and 13. This suits some subjects but in others, the linear course offered by IB, with exams at the end of two years, is more appropriate.
IB and A levels are well-regarded and well-established. A Levels offer a greater range of subjects while the IB Diploma is a more integrated programme. They differ from each other in structure and approach but neither is better or worse.
The IB Diploma is a proven, rigorous qualification, with a long history and well-established global support. The teaching staff at the Stephen Perse Sixth Form College have an exceptional track-record of delivering some of the top academic results in the UK. These factors should give you confidence that a high quality IB Diploma programme was introduced in 2008.
No. As with A Levels, the IB Diploma is designed for students of all abilities. Although you will study six subjects for the IB Diploma you do not have to be exceptional in all six. Only three are studied for higher level exams. The IB Diploma does require efficient organisation and good time management – both great skills for university and the world of work.
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