City of London Academies Highgate Hill (Islington) and Shoreditch Park (Hackney)

1. I take Maths, Further Maths, History and Economics, so I cover both areas I guess haha. Maths, History and Psychology are absolutely incredible here. I really cannot stress enough the excellence of the department, as well as the dedication of the teachers. Although there are slightly more STEM students, I'd certainly say that both STEM and Humanities are really good here. You'll also probably get a smaller class size if you take a humanities, which is really good for 1 to 1 help!
2. The overall vibe is very unique. As our current cohort is so small (30), we're like one big family. Everyone talks to everyone, and we all chill together which is super nice. Academic pressure certainly is there - we are regularly reminded that we are an academic 6th form - but I'd certainly say it's manageable. To be honest though, almost everyone here is self-driven, so external pressure isn't really that adamant. We all chose to be here for a reason! It's not that strict at all because the teachers and students have a really high level of respect for one another. As long as you adhere to the rules, you're fine. The rules are pretty calm as well, and it's pretty nice that our teachers focus on understanding, rather than just forcing stuff. I.e. they try to understand why you broke a rule, rather than just giving you a detention. Nobody breaks rules though so it's very very rare. If you were to break the rules, other students would probably get a bit annoyed though - "year 6 behaviour"
3. The pastoral support is genuinely incredible. I came from an all boys comprehensive where pastoral support wasn't really a thing, but I can absolutely say that this school goes above and beyond. Our Head of 6th form is excellent, and you'll probably end up developing a good relationship with her if you opt to join. Contextualisation is very important here so, if your grades start to drop, you'll have a meeting with the Head of 6th, and you'll basically diagnose the situation - what's going on at home, and how can she help - and create an action plan. The advantage of having so few students in the sixth form is that everyone is cared for thoroughly! You won't get left behind.
4. Sixth form and secondary are quite separate. We're basically ICS Sixth Form, at Highgate Hill. We share teachers and a site - and occasionally we tutor or mentor some of the lower school - but that's mostly it.
5. The thing that I like most here is how innovative this place is. As I mentioned above before joining, I was shocked that a state school was providing Ivy League support, and I was a bit sceptical too, but I'm flying out to the USA in a few weeks, for free! At my old school, you pretty much got out what you put in - fair enough. However, over here, there's a sort of multiplier effect - you get out 2x what you put in. That's the only way I can think to describe it. The Oxbridge support here is absolutely insane. We are partnered with City of London School for Boys (& the Girls School) which means that we get a ton of support from them - mock interviews etc - as well as Newham Collegiate Sixth Form. The partnerships are super cool icl - we got invited to a talk by a Harvard Dean at CLSG for free! The students have a lot of say in the 6th form because we are so new. For example, at the end of each term, we have a wellbeing week wherein we do activities as a year group each day! I'll link this to another point later, but it's honestly so fun. In our most recent week, we did a bake off, movie night, quiz night, sports night, and murder mystery! I don't think you'll get that anywhere else haha. We also do stuff like codebreaker courses which break down corporate secrets and etiquette and I've personally found that to be really informative - it's the sort of "unwritten laws" we are taught about within those sessions. We get given UpLearn (an AI Revision Platform - google it!) for free for the two years, and that's really helped a ton of students. I could go on, and if you'd like me to in another post, I will, but that's just a bit about what I like.
6. So, for me, there are two main things which could be better: size and location. In terms of size, 30 students has a ton of advantages for sure, but there are also disadvantages that I would be naïve to ignore. At my old school, I had a group of friends who were very very similar to me, and that was pretty nice as we were quite close knit. Here, given the small number of students, you are a less likely to find students who are on your exact wavelength. I guess it's more realistic and reflective of the real world, but it was a little bit annoying at first. However, nowadays, I've come to find that students are like you/do become like you, you've just got to look for who. I thought I'd mention it because it would be a lie if I didn't say I struggled with that at the start. Nowadays, I'm loving it though! Honestly, the people here are INCREDIBLE. The other thing is location. I phrased this location as I didn't really know what else to call it? Students travel from quite far to get to school in some cases (East London, South London, etc) and that means that going out with friends - to the cinema for example - can be quite tricky. However, we sort of countered this by launching well-being week, so it's not that deep. No matter where you are coming from, you'll probably have at least one or two students coming from the same area anyway! Judging from the fact you applied to Latymer too, I'm presuming you're from North London, so you'll be fine as the majority of students are too.
7. Good question about sixth form comparison! I guess I could compare it most to King's College London Maths School, just without the excessive Maths. They're a small cohort of super bright students and it's really chill over there. Everyone knows what they want out of their education, and therefore they'll do their best to achieve their potential. The support is excellent, with great teaching, and really good university admissions support. They lack the US Universities support, as well as the diversity of subjects, but overall it's an ok comparison. Once again though, ICS is VERY unique.
8. Yeah so HCS is one of our partner schools. The students there are really chill, and the cohort is even smaller! They have a nice building and stuff, but I think most of them are internal, which would be a little annoying. I can't say much, but I'd like to think that ICS is top tier, so take that as you may. The essay is a pretty crucial part of your application! I applied late, and apparently it was one of the only reasons why they let me in... They use it to assess a few skills like articulation, critical thinking, etc. Spend time on it! Applications close soon though I believe, so consider that too. Have you already applied?
9. 8s and 9s are very good. However, if you are currently at a normal state school, remember that ICS is very much a level playing field as everyone smashed their GCSEs. A-Levels are no joke too haha. Also, be prepared to meet a few actual geniuses here. I thought I had met some before coming to ICS, but you really don't know until you know!
10. Latymer is a lot more traditional. I can say that, going there, you will probably do fairly well. I personally didn't apply because I didn't want to go to a sixth form where everyone already knew each other, where teachers already knew everyone besides you, and where I thought I was likely to receive less support. I also just preferred the innovative nature of ICS. Once again, it's definitely a great option, but I wholeheartedly suggest ICS. I've had the pleasure and privilege of being here for a few months, and I am super grateful for it! It's been one of the best decisions I've ever made, and it really is paying off.

If you have any further questions, be sure to let me know! I can ask other students for input too. If you get an offer - and don't take it for granted as it's quite competitive - then you'll be invited to an event, and you'll probably meet me there too! Best of luck once again.

lol i go to the secondary school for ICS and i find it hilarious how they put so much effort for the year 12s but are literally letting most of the year 11s fail core subjects right now. where is the support for the GCSE students instead of screaming at them for not performing correctly. They are putting amazing opportunities for the sixth form and flying them out to different countries but couldn’t be asked to even take some of the secondary students on one singular trip. the favouritism is so blatantly obvious 💀

lol i go to the secondary school for ICS and i find it hilarious how they put so much effort for the year 12s but are literally letting most of the year 11s fail core subjects right now. where is the support for the GCSE students instead of screaming at them for not performing correctly. They are putting amazing opportunities for the sixth form and flying them out to different countries but couldn’t be asked to even take some of the secondary students on one singular trip. the favouritism is so blatantly obvious 💀

I have my 6th form interview next week. I’ve been asking around to make sense of how different the school is from 6th form. Apparently the 6th form is quite separate to the the lower school with a different leadership structure. The 6th form leads on all aspects so the person responsible for say exams in the secondary school doesn’t lead on that for the 6th form. That’s why it’s called ICS at Highgate Hill because it isn’t really the same. Best of luck with your GCSEs - do you have an interview next week as well? It so, what day. Maybe I’ll see you at an event.

I just got an offer to study there. Did you also get one?

Last week. Wasn’t sure I was going to get the offer but I get the impression that they just want to see that u have a love of learning and don’t give up by trying even if ur not sure of the answer. Tbf I enjoyed it and the students/teachers are so kind/welcoming. Students seem happy, SRSLY considering it. Let me know if u get an offer. Best of luck.

Congrats on the offer (From a current Year 12) 😊

Thank u 😊

Has anyone else had an interview and not an offer?

Don’t worry as my friend hasn’t heard back either. There were multiple interviewers so i
think it depends on who interviewed you.

I just got an offer to study there. Did you also get one?

Hello, I also got an offer. Did you see the email where we are invited to a trip to the parliament? The headteacher seems to actually care about students and education - just wants students to do well. Just hard to pick a 6th form because the have such different atmospheres. Y12s how would you describe it? Studious? Chilled?

I was invited to a lecture. Maybe we get different ones based on our interests? The Y12s seems really nice from what I can tell.

Hello, I also got an offer. Did you see the email where we are invited to a trip to the parliament? The headteacher seems to actually care about students and education - just wants students to do well. Just hard to pick a 6th form because the have such different atmospheres. Y12s how would you describe it? Studious? Chilled?

That sounds ideal tbh.

I don't think I will be able to concentrate the staff seem young and fit .

Congrats!! I sent a large message somewhere previously encapsulating some of my thoughts about the Sixth Form which you might find useful, but feel free to ask me any questions you have too.

In direct answer to your question - the atmosphere is very much that of work hard, play hard. It is definitely studious: everyone here is ambitious, and we really are aiming for A*s and As across the board. However, I feel as though we're quite lucky in that the Sixth Form is oozing with personality, and therefore, despite being quite studious at times, it's not the "plain studious" you see in films, but rather the more desirable studious wherein people work pretty hard, but then also have a good laugh when taking a break. I'm personally a HUGE fan of it, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea!

Once again, any further questions, do ask!