St Edmund's

Remember the In-Betweeners: Sixth Formers must not be neglected…

I spent a third of my teaching career as a Head of Sixth Form. It is a role that I can highly recommend. It was not without challenges though. At one of my previous schools for example, I received a phone call from the Police saying that a pupil had driven his car into the front room of an old lady’s house and given my name as he was scared what his mum would say.

Another group of rugby playing sixth formers of my acquaintance arrived drunk for the afternoon session of an A-level History revision conference in a London theatre after indulging in a liquid lunch. They arrived late, then staggered up the central aisle “shushing each other”, climbed over other students to find me in the middle of the front row and then two of them fell asleep. Incidentally, after the conference to say sorry they bought a copy of the speaker’s latest book on Stalin as a gift for me. The writer (Professor of Modern History at Oxford) had autographed the inside cover at their boozy request and written “Dear O’Connor, Good luck with this lot”.

Research consistently shows that this Key Stage isn’t one where students thrive by being left alone. In fact, they do best with close, personalised support—the kind that combines strong pastoral care with tailored academic guidance. Even at 17 or 18 (as my anecdotes above demonstrate) students are still developing cognitively and emotionally. This is because the brain continues to evolve well into early adulthood, particularly in areas responsible for executive functioning. The neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore reinforces this idea, noting:

“Adolescence is a sensitive period for the continued development of brain regions involved in executive functions and social cognition…the pre-frontal cortex continues to develop into the early twenties.”

So while students may look ready for independence, they are still actively developing the skills needed to manage it well.

This is where personalised pastoral care matters. At schools like St Edmund’s School, small tutor groups and individual mentoring help ensure that every student is known as an individual—not just a set of statistical expectations. That kind of relationship-based support gives students a safe space to ask questions, manage stress, and develop emotional resilience.

The academic demands of this stage are significant. Students are not only mastering complex subject content but also preparing for high-stakes A-Level exams that shape their next steps.

Personalised academic support—like one-to-one feedback, tailored revision strategies, and close monitoring of progress—makes a measurable difference. At St Edmund’s, this often takes the form of individual learning plans and regular academic check-ins, helping students build not just knowledge and skills, but confidence in how they learn. The Education Endowment Foundation has recognised that “high-quality feedback is one of the most effective ways to improve student attainment.” Our programme of subject clinics reinforces this. The gradual development of independence is key—because university won’t provide that same level of day-to-day guidance.

This stage of life is also closely linked to mental health vulnerability. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that “half of all lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14, and 75% by age 24.” That means many students are navigating emotional challenges alongside academic pressure. Steinberg argues “Adolescents are still developing the capacity for self-regulation, especially in emotionally charged situations”. Strong pastoral systems—like those emphasised at St Edmund’s (our House-Tutorial system, School Counselling, expert Safeguarding teams) — provide early intervention strategies and ongoing support to ensure that students don’t struggle in silence.

A big part of being 17 or 18 is figuring out what comes next. That can feel like a lot of pressure—especially when decisions about university courses and careers seem so final. The OECD highlights the value of structured guidance: “Effective career guidance helps young people make informed decisions about education and work pathways.” At St Edmund’s Mr Symaka, Mr Bournat and the Sixth Form team provide personalised university and careers advice and application support. This might include one-to-one guidance sessions, help with personal statements, and opportunities to explore different pathways. The result? Students make choices based on understanding and reflection—not peer pressure or guesswork.

According to Universities UK “the transition to university can be challenging, particularly where students are unprepared for independent learning.” It is estimated that up to 10% of UK university students do not complete their courses. The reasons for this are complex of course, but commonly include wellbeing issues, poor course choice, poor teaching or lack of support and difficulty adapting to living away from home.

Students who have experienced a more personalised, supportive environment in their final school years tend to cope better. At St Edmund’s, for example, independence is built gradually—students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning while still having access to consistent guidance and close support. Our sixth formers also learn about resilience, teamwork and self-management through our co-curricular programme.

So the evidence shows that supporting students at 17 and 18 isn’t about reducing independence—it’s about building it properly.

This is what we seek to achieve at St Edmund’s through:

• individual mentoring and pastoral care
• tailored academic support
• structured opportunities for reflection, planning and self-growth

Ultimately, the measure of success is to enable Sixth Formers to success progress to their chosen career pathways. One of my former “in-betweeners” drives Royal Navy battleships, another is a Professor at Cambridge, one is a successful football commentator, another works in Downing Street, two have appeared (separately) on Dragon’s Den and several have gone on to set up their own businesses. Sixth formers are the future. They deserve looking after.