Senior 6

At Heriot's we believe that the final year of secondary education should act as a bridge to what lies beyond: the vast majority of our students go on to university; some to college; some to charitable work abroad; a few directly to the workplace.

To achieve this goal, we encourage independent learning, allowing our students to adapt to the methods employed in Higher Education.We operate a flexible timetable which allows for virtually any combination of subjects to be studied. As well as the study facilities in the School itself, our students also gain access to several of the major libraries nearby. Each student is allocated to a small tutor group, and help with subject choice, university entrance and future prospects is given both by their Tutor and by the Careers Team.

To help our students expand their horizons, staff provide a series of Interest Courses to introduce students to areas not covered by the usual school curriculum. In recent years these have included Driving Skills, Sign Language, Psychology and Young Enterprise.

Great stress is laid on Voluntary Service in the Heriot's Sixth Year. Most students help in the School Nursery or Junior School or through our long-standing ‘Childline' - trained Peer Support system; however, more unusually, we are involved in a wide range of voluntary activities in the wider community. For several years we have worked with disadvantaged children through the Family Service Unit in Pilton; a large number of our students assist in The Astley Ainslie Hospital and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital; our work with Headway House, the charity for the head-injured, led to an award from the City of Edinburgh Council. Heriot's was conceived as a charitable foundation; our young people actively involve themselves in following the Founder's example.

In the closing fortnight of their school career, our Sixth Year students take part in the Sixth Year Fortnight, a specially planned programme designed to give them a memorable finale. This involves debate and discussion on politics, religion and current affairs as well as abseiling, environmental activities, a day at Alton Towers, and our annual Leavers' Ball.

The success of Heriot's Sixth Year is best marked by the very high proportion of our students who stay on at school to enjoy it; in recent years a number of students have joined us for Sixth Year and have been warmly integrated into the Heriot's community.