Overview

“Teachers are enthusiastic and willing to give one-to-one tuition where needed.” Miranda, 2009 Leaver now studying English at Cambridge.

The overwhelming majority of our Senior School students join our Sixth Form to study their chosen A level and Cambridge Pre-U courses.

Our students achieve outstanding results by working closely with committed Specialist Teachers in seminar-sized groups. These groups encourage discussion, further build confidence and allow students to make optimum progress.

Most girls choose four subjects in the first year of the Sixth Form and continue with three or four in the second year. It is possible to take more, or fewer, courses, bearing in mind career aspirations and personal preference.

Sixth Formers are offered individual interviews to discuss careers and Higher Education plans, to devise the best possible programme for them.

Unusually students are able to choose subject combinations freely from the range of 26 subjects on offer, rather than from pre-determined blocks. It is possible either to specialise in Arts or Sciences or to diversify, depending on where individual strengths and interests lie.

Lectures, visits to galleries, productions, museums and residential courses are organised to support Sixth Form courses and all girls are encouraged to take a lively interest in current and world affairs. There are regular opportunities to travel within the UK and abroad.

Cambridge Pre-U

"I have no doubt that the excellent results achieved in the Pre-U , which is highly regarded by universities, have given our candidates the edge in what has been a particularly competitive year for university entry." Mrs Jill Milner, Headmistress

Walthamstow Hall, alongside the likes of Eton, Winchester College, The Perse in Cambridge and Charterhouse has been one of 59 trailblazing schools to enter students into the first Pre-U examinations in 2010, a number set to rise to over 100 in 2011.

Cambridge University International Examinations developed and introduced the Pre-U in response to demand from schools and universities for a qualification designed specifically for students who wanted to go on to university. Pre U courses have been designed to enable students to study their chosen subject with greater breadth and depth, employing study skills which better prepare them for Higher Education. The courses are linear with examinations after two years’ study which enable the most able students to achieve Distinction grades which exceed the new A level A* and top International Baccalaureate grades.

The courses are fully compatible with A levels and students can take any combination. Every student studying at least one Pre-U subject is eligible to access the GPR course, in addition to her main subjects. This involves following the Global Perspectives course, in Lower Sixth, followed by an Independent Research Report of the student’s choosing in Upper Sixth, leading to the full Cambridge Pre-U Diploma (145+ UCAS tariff points)

Walthamstow Hall’s first cohort of Pre-U students performed exceptionally well with 91% awarded Distinction or Merit grades equivalent to A level grades A* - B and above.

The Pre-U has been welcomed by top universities both in the UK and abroad . To date 111 UK universities and 30 medical schools have published formal recognition statements, with a further 59 doing the same in the USA and Canada, including Yale, Stanford and McGill.

"We welcome applications from students who are studying towards the full Cambridge Pre-U Diploma or certain Principal Subjects within the qualification alongside A levels. Conditional offers will be set on an individual basis but are likely to include achieving Distinction level grades." Cambridge University, quoted in CIE Update for Schools September 2010.

"Applicants offering the Cambridge Pre-u submitted exceptionally competitive applications in a challenging submissions year." University of York, quoted in CIE Update for Schools September 2010.

"Yale University would be pleased to consider applications from students with Cambridge Pre-U examination results."  Yale, quoted in CIE Update for Schools September 2010.

For further information visit the Cambridge Pre-U website www.cie.org.uk