Senior School

Senior School FAQs

• I’m excited that I might be coming to the High School, but I’m also a bit nervous about it. Should I be?
  We hope not! If you are successful in the Entrance Exam, we start you off on our ‘Welcome Programme’. We’ll send you a Congrats card and, if you are not from our own Junior School, we invite you to a ‘Welcome Morning’ in May with all the other new girls joining us. This gives you the opportunity to meet girls like yourself for the first time and to introduce yourself. Many girls then exchange mobile numbers and e-mail addresses. Parents are then invited afterwards to an informal meeting with our Headmistress, Mrs Dunsford and Mrs Stoddard, the Head of year 7, the new form teachers and the form prefects. We also give new girls a pen friend from inside School to write to them and pen friends will normally be in School to spend the Saturday morning with new girls. In July we invite you to our ‘Welcome Day’ when you spend a whole day in your new class with your form teacher. You have some fun lessons and see some of the teachers and you will know exactly who is in your form, where you are sitting in September and where your locker is. This really helps you to settle in straightaway in September.

• I come from quite a small school primary school. Won’t I find the High School a bit overwhelming?
  We don’t think so. The whole school has quite a lot of pupils but when you come to us in Year 7, you’ll find that the Senior School has only just over 400 girls. The Sixth Form girls have a separate base and they have a lot of their lessons there.

• The classes in my old school weren’t that big. Will I be in a big class when I come to the High School?
  Again, we don’t think you’ll find that much difference. Most form groups in Years 7 and 8 have about 25 girls in them, and what’s nice about being in a form of around 25 girls is that there are plenty of girls to make friends with. The average group size in a lesson is about 20. That’s because, in quite a few subjects, your form will be split into smaller groups, for example for maths, physics, chemistry, biology, technology and some languages. And that’s more good news when it comes to making even more friends in your new school! In Year 9, the 4 forms from Years 7 and 8 are split into 5 groups and that gives you another chance to make some friends! When you get into Years 10 and 11, the average group size is around 18. In A-level classes there is an average of 8 to a teaching group which means that girls get a lot of individual attention.

• Is there a choice of meals at lunchtime?
  Yes, there is a wide choice every day. For instance, you can choose from a hot vegetarian or hot meat/fish main course, a vegetarian or meat salad, or sandwiches if you prefer. There is usually a hot pudding, or yoghurt, or fruit for dessert. The menus change every day in a four week cycle: click here (61 KB Word file) to see some sample menus. All girls in Year 7 have a school lunch in the Dining Hall. From Year 8, girls may choose a meal from the cafeteria or bring their own lunch which they eat in the Dining Hall. Students in Year 11 are allowed to eat their own lunches in their tutor base in Moor Lodge. We also have a snack bar at break where you can buy toast, sandwiches and freshly baked cakes and cookies.

• And what about homework?
  The amount of time you can expect to spend on homework depends on how old you are and you won’t always have to do a homework by the day after you are given it to do.
  For example –
  In Year 7 you typically have 3 subjects a night, each lasting about 20 minutes
  In Years 8 and 9 you can expect to have between 2 and 4 subjects each evening with each subject taking around 30 minutes
  In Years 10 and 11 you can expect to have 2 × 30-minute homework tasks for each GCSE subject you are studying
  
  There is also a Homework Club in School twice a week and this is open to anyone who would like to do some of their homework at lunchtime. It can also be very useful if you have a busy night at home with extra interests. There are also computers that you can use at lunchtime for your work. This is useful if you can’t get on to the computer at home or if you need to catch up on your work. You can also stay after school and work in the School Library and one of the classrooms until 5.30 pm and we don’t charge you anything for that!

• What Clubs can I join?
  There are over 50 clubs and societies for you to join and most of them run at lunch times. They offer you a wide range of sporting, artistic and other activities and you can do different things in different year groups. For the current Senior Clubs and Societies timetables, click here.

• I haven’t done any French before. Will that be a problem?
  Not at all! If you choose French in Year 7, you’ll find that we have beginners’ and non-beginners’ groups and you’ll soon catch up with those who’ve done some French before. You learn 2 languages in Year 7 and you can choose from French, German or Spanish and you can even learn Chinese in a lunchtime club. We have lots of trips to different countries and pen friend links for you to practise your languages.

• Can we use mobile phones?
  Yes, but only at break and at lunchtimes. Of course, it must be switched off completely during lessons.

• What kind of school bag should I get?
  A backpack with two straps is best for your back.

• Is there school transport?
  Yes, from many areas in West and South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire. For more information, please click here.

• Will we find our way round the school easily?
  The School Location Map (click here (248 K Acrobat file) may help you, but you will have at least one day to become orientated before you start school.

• What sports are on offer?
  There is a wide variety and these are for all interests and abilities. The choice is yours! And what’s even better is that all our sports facilities are on our own School site so you don’t lose time getting to P.E lessons. You can play sport every day if they wish and everyone does trampolining, gymnastics and dance.

• Can I have music lessons at school?
  You will have lessons with your class but can also have instrumental lessons (see Applications – Fees) for more information on this.

• What happens if we feel ill while we are at school?
  We have a School nurse and a medical room and our trained staff will be able to help you.

• How many different subjects do we get?
  Will we have lots of exams and will they be hard?
  Are there any subjects that we’ve not done before?
  Will the work be harder for people who don’t come from the Junior Department?
  We understand that girls starting in Year 7 have come from different schools and we try to give you new and interesting lessons, whilst making sure that everyone has all the important knowledge they need. Teachers are friendly and helpful, so if you are stuck you only have to ask for advice. Your first exams will be in June at the end of Year 7 and they will test you on what you have learned since September.

• Can we get help to pay the School fees?
  Yes, help with fees is available and the Headmistress, Mrs Dunsford can give you details of how to apply for a bursary. Scholarships are given to girls based on how well they did in the Maths and English Entrance Exam. There are some Music scholarships too and we have auditions for those in January. Once again Mrs Dunsford can give you further details. Bursaries and Scholarships last for the whole time a girl is at the High School. There’s more information in Applications part of our website

• What happens if I am late?
  What should I do if I am away from school?
  What can I do if I don’t know anyone before I come to SHS?
  I haven’t done my homework, what should I do?
  Where do I go if I have a problem?
  What if I have trouble making friends?
  What if I can’t cope with the work?
  Who will I sit next to?
  All these questions will be answered for you by your form teacher. She/he will help you to deal with any problems you might have such as leaving a book a home or missing the bus in the morning. She/he will help you to make friends and give you advice if you are finding the work difficult. We also have our ‘Learning to Learn’ Course which helps Year 7 girls to develop study skills and to recognise how they learn best. On our ‘Welcome’ day, we give you an information booklet and that also answers a lot of questions you might have.

• Got another question?
  Then Contact Us!. We’ll do our best to answer any queries you may have.