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Concept
Sixth form
Summary
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-level or equivalent examinations like the IB or Pre-U. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the term Key Stage 5 has the same meaning. It only refers to academic education and not to vocational education.
Sixth Form describes the two school years which are called by many schools the Lower Sixth (L6) and Upper Sixth (U6). The term survives from earlier naming conventions used both in the state maintained and private school systems.
In the state-maintained sector in England and Wales, pupils in the first five years of secondary schooling were divided into cohorts determined by age, known as forms (these referring historically to the long backless benches on which rows of pupils sat in the classroom). Pupils started their first year of secondary school in the first form or first year; this being the academic year in which pupils would normally be 12 years old by August 31. Pupils would move up a form each year before entering the fifth form in the academic year in which they would be 16 years old by August 31. Those who stayed on at school to study for A-levels moved up into the sixth form, which was divided into the Lower Sixth and the Upper Sixth.
In the independent schools sector, the traditional public schools did not have a consistent naming convention, except for the Sixth Form. As well as the Upper Sixth and Lower Sixth, the public schools used and still use a variety of descriptions such as Shell, Remove, Lower Fourth, Upper Fourth, Lower Fifth, Middle Fifth, Upper Fifth.
In some private schools, the term Middle Sixth was used in place of Upper Sixth, with the latter being used for those who stayed on for an extra term to take the entrance examinations that were previously set for candidates to Oxford or Cambridge universities.
Official source
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