26 September 2025
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
The future is bright and brimming with opportunity!
It was a pleasure to throw open our doors to Year 11 on Wednesday 24th September to showcase the amazing provision we have for Sixth Form education. Thank you to everyone for coming along and especially to our Sixth Form students for speaking so eloquently and candidly about their experiences. This moment from August 2025 is the reason we are here!
As the autumn term of Year 11 gathers momentum, the focus on what comes after GCSEs can bring great motivation to the cohort. We know that Year 11 is an incredibly stressful year for students with the volume of exams and pressure that is placed upon them. So, when times get tough, we travel to school in the dark and travel home in the dark, the controlled assessment and revision is relentless, it is hugely important for the students to keep a clear vision of why they’re doing it and what the rewards and outcomes will be.
For many of our young people, it will be a place in our Sixth Form and maybe a place on our Honours programme, Brilliant club or Seren network and the wider opportunities that are available. So, let’s shape that motivation and vision.
We will be supporting each member of Year 11 on a 1:2:1 basis over the coming months.
This was officially launched at the Open Evening where visitors were able to talk to staff about the entry requirements for each course and the suitability of these choices to higher education aspirations. The incredibly wide variety of subjects offered in LHS Sixth Form for September 2026 are listed below. These are accompanied by the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales (former Welsh Baccalaureate).
| Art and Design | Food Science and Nutrition | Music Technology |
| Biology | French | Photography |
| Business Studies | Further Mathematics | Physical Education |
| Chemistry | Geography | Physics |
| Computer Science | Health and Social Care | Politics |
| Criminology (L3 Diploma) | History | Psychology |
| Drama | ICT – Digital Technology | Philosophy, Religion and Ethics |
| DT: Product Design | Mathematics | Sociology |
| Economics | Media Studies | Sport (BTEC Level 3) |
| English Language | Medical Science (L3 Diploma) | Welsh |
| English Literature | Music | E-Sport |
Aspects of our Sixth Form experience and provision that we are most proud of include:
- Smaller group sizes that allow for more individual and personalised teaching and support
- Aspirational target setting and close tracking of progress against targets
- Regular parental involvement in progress and early intervention if we have concerns of any description, and vice-versa
- A steppingstone into a more independent style of study whilst being a member of supportive tutor group, accessing all wellbeing services in school
- All students have a dedicated and specialist Sixth Form tutor for Year 12 and 13 and support for the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate
- The opportunity to play a role as a senior member of our whole school community in a wide range of leadership roles that develop wider skills and experiences and provide a unique edge to UCAS and onward applications
- Access to a dedicated pathway to challenge and support more able and talented students
- Specific support for UCAS applications and specific support for those aspiring to Oxford, Cambridge, Russell Group and Sutton Trust Universities
- Support and guidance on apprenticeship schemes / alternative post-18 opportunities
- Opportunities for team sports, Enrichment and wellbeing activities as a year group
- A wide range of extra-curricular opportunities including the Duke of Edinburgh award through to local and foreign travel opportunities
- The opportunity to be part of a very inclusive Sixth Form that sets the standard for the younger year groups coming through the school
Wednesday night was just the start of the process of working alongside home to guide our students onto the next stage in life. Please also look on our school website for the Sixth Form prospectus which will offer even greater insight into our Sixth Form provision. This is an exciting time for students to join our Sixth Form as the school celebrates nine years of continuous improvement. Here are some further dates for your diary.
It is important to note that we also offer a range of support for students who will be looking outside of the school. Our onsite Careers Wales Advisor, Gethin Lock, and our onsite Youth Mentor, Jordan Williams, are very proactive and very knowledgeable about a wide range of options.
We’ve expanded!
The growing numbers in Sixth Form have posed a very positive problem for us in recent years so we were delighted to open the extended common room last autumn. We’ve doubled the size of the common room by knocking through into a classroom. Our Sixth Formers also have access to their original common room and canteen, their Private Study Area and 6th form computer room. They also have free loan of a Chrome book for the duration of their studies. So, here is how the expanded facilities look…
And with some human beings in situ….
Destinations! Where do students from LHS Sixth Form progress to next?
The class of 2025 have flung themselves far and wide. Over 89% of students who applied successfully secured a place at their first-choice university, 6% at their second choice and a further 5% reapplying for different courses next year.
45% of students secured places at a range of Russell Group universities to pursue a wide range of degree courses including Medicine, Law, Economics, Mathematics, Translation, Aeronautics and Philosophy to name but a few.
Our students also performed exceptionally well in Creative Arts with one student going on to study Music Performance in Drums, and others progressing to study Audio and Music Technology and Acting for Stage and Screen.
Through the support of the Geography department we also had a student go to UCL to study Urban Planning and Real Estate with a £10,000 a year bursary and a secure job at the end of her degree from Legal and General.
A number of students secured themselves apprenticeships this year in the areas of Marketing and IT.
For many students, their success in the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate was a contributing factor to their UCAS success with 98% of entries achieving the qualification and 60% of students using it to form their top 3 results.
We didn’t write their speeches…honestly!
We are completely biased about our Sixth Form. We have amazing and experienced Sixth Form teachers and tutors, and our provision is unique and very individualised.
So, we handed over to the Head Boy and Head Girl, Zach and Denise, to stand up and deliver their own experiences of Sixth Form. We promise we did not write/vet/edit their speeches. Well done both on speaking so passionately and articulately.
Many thanks to our Deputy Heads and Senior Prefects for running the car park and the tours!
Thank you to Ben, Hope, Eliza, Ruben, Amalie, Isaac, Fiona, Jack, Evie, Lucy, Isabella, and Morven. Thank you also to the Sixth Form students who supported the staff at the stalls! You tell it how it is and we think you are all marvelous. We look forward to supporting Year 11 in the months ahead.
News from outside of the classroom….
Next today is a young man in Year 11 who is no stranger to a medal. Huge congratulations to Kamil Omar for bringing home another prestigious Gold medal to Llanishen in the WABA Box-cup tournament. Kamil boxed for three consecutive days, progressing from the quarter final to the semi-final and then the final. Another outstanding achievement for this young man to add to his ever-growing resume. A name I think we will hear much more from…..
Enrichment – the next instalment
As the Enrichment curriculum continues to bed down, we continue to refine and tweak. Here are some highlights from the second session.
Well done to the girls who threw themselves into the ‘Girls only Rugby’ group with Miss Waugh. They really blew Miss away with their rugby skills and everyone engaged really well with the game and with each other. It’s amazing to see the way that different year groups are interacting.
In the words of Mr Prince who was on ‘golf’ duty… “The kids are absolutely loving it! There is a healthy bit of competition and students are progressing rapidly! We are also seeing some really good bonds growing and teamwork in terms of helping each other. A really brilliant first two sessions so far!” Well done everyone.. let’s see how your swing is coming along!
Another activity we celebrate this week is Portrait Club. Mr Foster said ‘I loved how all the different year groups mingled and supported each other.’ The work they are producing is amazing!
We have to commend the group that are embracing water sports at the reservoir. They have no fear. They have the soul intention of getting as wet as they possibly can, whilst we have the opposite intention! The paddle boarders are up on their feet and they are flying.
The photo above is the boys on a giant SUP. There is wrestling and general tomfoolery. Meanwhile, the Year 11 girls below are enjoying a more chilled vibe!!
In complete contrast again, the Enrichment programme has opened its own nail salon! Varnish, sparkles and gloss have been applied in abundance! It’s great to see so many of our students developing their nail art skills and sharing their creativity! You never know, we could start booking in clients after a few more sessions!
Extra-Curricular Drama Club
In addition to Enrichment activities, our after-school Drama club has begun! Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 have started working on performance work, fun games, and making new friends! All students in Years 7 to 9 are welcome to come along! They meet on a Wednesday after school! Mrs Brown was so impressed with the great turn out this week! All looking very dramatic!
Learning Support Star of the Week
Finally, we bring you our Learning Support SOTW. This week the accolade goes to Tyler Macdonald in Year 9. Tyler is growing in confidence all the time and has been working extremely hard in all lessons. Keep up the good work Tyler 😁
We sign off from a very busy week! Have a great weekend all and we’ll do it all again next week.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher