By Zara Talbot, Year 11 Journalist Leader

The start of Year 11 is off with a bang.  Our GCSE’s are looming and in this unsettling COVID environment, we have a huge decision to make which will shape our future; which school should we choose for sixth form and which subjects should we take for A Level?  These are very important life decisions.

Step forward NHEHS and their “Into the Sixth” event which flooded us with information.  This year, of course, had to be different with no parents able to attend who instead were able to watch videos and read the “Life in the Sixth Form” prospectus in the comfort of their own homes.

After a lovely tea, the evening commenced with speeches from the Headmaster, and Ms Copin, followed by the Head of Sixth Form, Miss Aherne, and finally a perspective from a current sixth former.  Next we were given the opportunity to visit Teachers in the Main Hall “selling” their subjects and the evening ended having socially distanced chats with sixth form students in classrooms who were enthusiastically ready to greet us with great practical advice.

Personally, the evening provided much needed information which I had not yet thought about.  Alongside the recommended 3 A Levels, it was interesting to hear about the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) that the school highly recommends for all girls and the additional short courses on offer.  These sounded particularly exciting – A/S Level Sports Science, Italian iGCSE, mini MBA or Photography.  The Sports Science grabbed my interest covering Physiology, Psychology and performance aspects of sport.

However, this was just scratching the surface of all the offerings alongside music, sport, university preparation, leadership opportunities, competitions, Olympiads and prizes, careers advice and lectures, the wide array of clubs, community and charity initiatives all encompassing the NHEHS spirit.  As an aside, apparently the cookies in the Sixth Form Centre are legendary!

Altogether, “Into the Sixth” was an extremely useful and enjoyable evening to start the decision making process of our future direction.