St. Aidan's & St. John Fisher Associated Sixth Form

The St. Aidan's & St. John Fisher Associated Sixth Form was created in 1973 as a unique venture in ecumenical education. The two schools, St. Aidan's C of E High School and St. John Fisher Catholic High School are both based on the South side of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, separated by five minute's walk. Its aim is to provide a Christian environment in which students aged 16-19 can fulfill their academic potential. This is achieved by pooling resources, staff expertise and the experience of the two schools for the benefit of all Sixth form students. The partnership has been used as a model for other associated sixth forms in Wolverhampton and Halifax and has recently been graded "outstanding" in an Ofsted report. [ [http://www.harrogatetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=17&ArticleID=1969414 Harrogate Today ] ]

The Sixth Form has increased in size dramatically since 1973 when with 70 students, the two sixth forms were too small to run separately. Today, with over 1000 students on roll, it is the largest school sixth form in the United Kingdom. This allows it to offer a rich diversity of subjects, catering for a range of interests. Although the majority of students enter the Associated Sixth Form from the two stem schools, students join from a number of other schools in the surrounding area, most notably, Wetherby High School, Wetherby and Nidderdale Community College, Pately Bridge.

Following their time at the Sixth Form, the majority of students choose to continue their education at Higher Education.

Representative Bodies

The student bodies at each school elect their own representative body from which the school's Head Boy and Head Girl are chosen. At St John Fisher school this body is called the Congress who meet once a week (usually on a Friday lunchtime) (until 2005 it was known as the Cabal) and at St Aidan's school, the Senate. Both groups meet regularly to arrange social gatherings, charity events and to discuss issues relating to the student body. The bodies are led by a mixture of staff and Student Heads. The current Head Boy for St Aidan's is Joe Smith, and Head Girl Sophie Fennerty. For St John Fisher, the Head Boy is James Webster and the Head Girl is Hannah Staunton.

Notable alumni

In alphabetical order

*Ben Derrick - Film director [ [http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2242298,00.html Hooray for Harrowood | Features | guardian.co.uk Film ] ]
*Tim Edwards- 12th Man
*Thomas Leeming aka 'Lafuma' - A member of the MCC U21s Cricket teamFact|date=April 2008
*Timmy Miles - Keyboardist of Royworld
*Robert Parkin - Guitarist of Royworld
*Timothy Reynard - Film director [ [http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,2242298,00.html Hooray for Harrowood | Features | guardian.co.uk Film ] ]
*Jake Smyth - Leeds Student Radio presenter LSRfm.com [ [http://lsrfm.com/shows/bee+hives+%28+ill+try+and+think+of+better+name+soon%2C+i+promise%29/ Beehive Radio Show] ]

Curriculum

The Sixth Form offers a comprehensive range of courses at GCE Advanced (A2), GCE Advanced Supplementary (AS), Advanced Applied and Intermediate GNVQ levels.

The range of options available has increased steadliy in recent years.

The Association enables the Sixth Form to offer a range of subjects far in excess of that which would be possible if the two schools operated independent Sixth Forms. Moreover, the Association has made it possible for students to select from different specifications in the same subject. For example, between 2002 and 2005 students could choose between the Edexcel and AQA specifications in GCE History.Also for the more gifted students the opportunity to study AEA (Advanced Extension Award) for 1 year at A2 Level.

The vast majority of students have lessons at both schools.

The courses currently offered are:

* Biology
* Business Studies
* Ancient History
* Applied ICT
* Chemistry
* Critical Thinking
* Dance
* Economics
* Engineering
* English Literature
* English Language
* English Language and Literature
* Fine Art
* Food Technology
* French
* Further Mathematics
* Geography
* General Studies
* Geology
* German
* Government and Politics
* Graphical Art
* Health and Social Care
* History (American)
* History (Russian)
* Human Biology (AS only)
* Law
* Mathematics
* Media Studies
* Music
* Music Technology
* Performing Arts
* Photography
* Physical Education
* Physics
* Product Design
* Psychology
* Religious Education
* Science
* Spanish
* Sports Studies
* Textiles
* Theatre Studies
* Travel and Tourism

pecialist College Status

The component schools each have subject areas in which they have Specialist College Status. St John Fisher School has been awarded Specialist College Status in both Arts and Humanities whilst St Aidan's School has Specialist College Status in Science and Modern Languages.

ee also

* St. Aidan's C of E High School
* St. John Fisher Catholic High School

References