Harris Westminster Sixth Form

Yo guys, I just did my entrance exams for Harris Westminster Sixth Form and I was wondering how school life is at the sixth form cause I didn't get a chance to go to one of the open events before applying. Thanks in advance :smile:

Reply 1

TSR Jessica

Sorry you've not had any responses about this. :frown:

Are you sure you've posted in the right place? :smile:

Here's a link to our subject forum which should help get you more responses if you post there. :redface:

Just quoting in Amusing Elk so she can move the thread if needed :wizard:

Spoiler

Reply 2

dalalaachoui

My friend goes there so I can ask him for you? He's doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics

Reply 3

AAls

I have a friend who went there for the first day and then went back to his old school because he felt it was overrated.

Reply 4

Voltz7788

Original post by AAls

I have a friend who went there for the first day and then went back to his old school because he felt it was overrated.

Why did he think it was overrated?

Reply 5

Voltz7788

Original post by dalalaachoui

My friend goes there so I can ask him for you? He's doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics

Yeah it would be great if you could ask him! :smile:

Reply 6

earthtomadi

Original post by Voltz7788

Hi! I actually go to Harris Westminster so if you want you can ask me anything about it. School life is a broad subject here because there's so much you could talk about from like our timetables to the extracurricular stuff to the intensity etc. What do you want to know specifically?

Also, I know a lot of people say the school is overrated but I feel a lot of people also have hugely high expectations from the school. Before I applied I did a lot of research about it, and had expectations that were high but knew there would be flaws. It is a good school but it's a very intense school so you've got to be on top of your work at all times. Personally I love the school and am very happy here!

Reply 7

Truth321

Hi. I just got invited for an interview! Very excited! Can I ask you about how much work do you have to do outside of school hours? If you are meant to be at school till 4 every day plus Saturdays, do you get a life? Are you supposed to work the rest of the weekend? Also, does everyone come from state schools? Are there kids that come from private schools? I'm feeling a bit self conscious. Thanks for your help!!!

Reply 8

earthtomadi

Original post by Truth321

Hi! That's great, well done! For me, the interview was the best part. It's not as hard as everyone anticipates it to be, and I 90% guarantee you'll really enjoy it (90% because there's the odd person who says they didn't like theirs).
So school finishes around 4ish each day, except Saturdays, when we finish at 1. Particularly for me and for people I personally know, after school we spend about 2-4 hours of work - that could include homework and/or revision. Teachers recommend 2-4 hours of work (they usually mean revision but I tend to include homework in that too) completed for each subject every week. During the weekend, after school on Saturdays, I choose not to do anything and let my brain relax from all the work for a bit. Then Sundays is for completing homework.I know that sounds like loads, but to answer your question, yes, we do have a life apart from all the work 😂. Lots of students go out with friends, and spending time with family isn't much of a problem. Trust me, you just need to balance life and school. Regarding the students, it's highly unlikely you will find someone from a private school. The sixth form proritises students from deprived backgrounds, but ironically there are some rich kids that you'll come across. But they still come from state schools most of the time. I think the nice part is everyone is so different and come from all over London (and some even from further away) so the community is very diverse.

Reply 9

Beccarella123

does anyone know how many of the hwsf students did a certain course at university like medicine or law??? just asking because i went to the interview and i really enjoyed it. Totally considering coming to the school now

Reply 10

earthtomadi

I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it!! I was helping out yesterday with the interviews and made sure to tell everyone I spoke to about how much they will enjoy it.

I can't tell you specifically how many students have gone on to do Medicine or Law, but I do know there have been some. Courses like those at hwsf are extremely popular so the school does do their best in helping out with trying to make their students stand out and pushes us to do everything we can to get into Medicine or Law.

Hopefully I'll maybe see you next year!!

Reply 11

Beccarella123

Original post by earthtomadi

Thank you for the quick reply. I have a few questions if you dont mind...
1. how many lessons do you have in a day that you are your a-level choices and cultural perspectives
2. are the teachers really strict and how is the homework load?
3. how big are form classes and general lessons?
2. What venues do they hold the majority of their sports options??
I spoke to one boy who was doing badminton at southbank university. Where would they have the gym or tennis courts?

4. this one is a bit odd but how is the canteen food like?

Reply 12

earthtomadi

Original post by Beccarella123

1. Generally on a normal day we have 7 periods, and they could include single or double lessons, cultural perspectives which are single lessons (or in short CP's), free periods and a single period for Society (on Wednesday). These include Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. These are also days when we will either have assemblies or tutor time from 9 to 9:20. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have 5 periods before lunch, and after lunch we either have Lab (on Tuesdays) or Sport (on Thursdays). On Saturdays we have 5 periods including free periods until 1. You do 3 Cultural Perspectives out of 4 slots in the week so the 4th slot becomes your free period. There are 2 slots on Monday in the afternoon, one on Thursday and one on Friday.

2. The teachers are strict in the sense that you should be a good student and do your work and complete homework on time etc., but not unfun strict, if you get what I mean, lol. 😁The amount of homework is, I think, expected when doing A Levels; it is a lot, but it's doable if you manage your time properly. I'm usually doing work every night apart from Saturdays (unless I have loads that it will be impossible to finish if I don't do it on Saturday) BUT I am still able to watch a bit of TV or just relax for a bit. It's definitely probably 10 times more work than at GCSE though at this time of year.

3. From what I know, classes in general were smaller for the year before us than it is now. The current year 12 is quite large and your year will be slightly larger so there will definitely be more people in your classes. Form classes are fairly large, but it varies from class to class. That also applies to lessons. I have over 20 people in my Chemistry class but only like 15 in my English class. Don't worry though, the larger classes don't mean you'll be ignored by your teacher. If you need help, they'll give you help.

4. For Sport, there are 3 venues that I can think of atm. MGH - Mary Geraldine something (can't remember the name) - it's basically an outdoor set of courts; LSBU - London South Bank University - they have a few courts and halls where we're allowed to do Sport; Harris Falconwood - another Harris school that has sports facilites. HWSF has hired coaches for the sports that we do, and I think a lot are from LSBU. I currently do MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) at LSBU. We have to travel to these places, which most students do during lunch so they're there in time for their Sport session. MGH and LSBU are about 15-20 mins away but Falconwood takes a good hour I think, so people have got to leave as soon as lunch starts. The gym would probably be in LSBU, and the tennis courts are in MGH.

5. I think canteen food is a lot like normal school food. I've never actually had it because I've never wanted to walk all the way to the 7th floor 😁 and tbh it's quite easy to just get food from the cafés nearby. But a couple of my friends have it and it seems to be normal school food. I think it does still taste decent though so probably try it out if you come here next year.