Learning & Academics

LEARNING, ACADEMICS, & CURRICULUM IN RYDE SCHOOL SIXTH FORM

Our broad, enriching, and inclusive curriculum encourages our students to develop the skills, character, and knowledge necessary for an ambitious, virtuous, and purposeful future.

The world however demands wider evidence of skills beyond academic grades and our curriculum and activities inform and develop these skills.

The lifelong learner is one who can adapt to change which is necessary in work and beyond, and at Ryde we build these skills right through to the Upper Sixth.

We offer our students three routes to meet the challenges of the modern world:

  • The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), an invigorated and inspired curriculum.
     
  • A Level Plus, academic rigour of A Levels alongside enrichment options.
     
  • International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP), combining academic IB courses with professional qualifications.

Ryde School Sixth Form pupil looking through a microscope


A Levels

The A Level Plus Programme provides a range of A Level subjects alongside additional enrichment subjects, offering much more than most schools. A Levels enable students to focus on subjects that reflect their personal interest and future career ideas.

All subjects are two year courses with examinations at the end of the Upper Sixth. A small number may include an element of coursework.

Students select their choice of three A Levels from four option blocks plus a fourth enrichment of an IB Standard Level subject, A Level Further Maths or the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). This enriched A Level course provides a point of difference for our students when they apply for university courses.

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The added A Level Enrichment Programme has two elements; a core and options.

Core: Students taking A Levels will also take The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). The Extended Project Qualification gives students the opportunity to demonstrate a wide range of academic skills and show prospective universities that they are proactive, capable of independent study and have wider academic interests in and around their subject choices. The EPQ is a well-regarded course and is worth the equivalent to an AS in UCAS points.

Options: The second part of the programme allows students to select an additional qualification from a broad range of options.

These courses could include taking: a subject from the IB programme, AS English Language, an Arts Award qualification, Sports Leadership, IELTS, Leiths Cookery course or Theory of Knowledge. For those students wishing to take A Level Further Mathematics, these lessons will be taught during this additional curriculum time.

International Baccalaureate

Diploma Programme

The IBDP provides both balance and depth, preparing students for success at university and beyond. Unlike many programmes, it explicitly teaches the learning attributes students are expected to achieve and whilst there are exams at the end of the course around one third of the assessment is based on coursework.

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Students study six subjects: three at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL); choosing one subject from each of the subject groups; Language & Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals & Societies, Sciences,
Mathematics, and either Arts or a second from another group.

This combination offers an appealing breadth of study whilst allowing specialisation, one of the reasons universities place a high value on the IBDiploma Programme.

Career-Related Programme

The IBCP comprises IB subjects, personal and professional skills and a career-related study, which at Ryde is taught through three distinct BTEC pathways. The IB subjects provide the theoretical underpinning and academic rigour,whilst the career-related study provides practical, real world approaches to learning.

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The IBCP core is designed to develop skills and competencies required for lifelong learning and this combination satisfies the entry requirements of the majority of universities.

The IBCP will suit students who have a strong interest in continuing academic study but also wish to develop skills for their career development.

Students study two Higher Level (HL) or three StandardLevel (SL) subjects, alongside a career-related BTECcourse and IB core subjects.

SIXTH FORM PROGRAMMES 2025 - 2027

SIXTH FORM COURSES 2025- 2027


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