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16 March 2023
On Wednesday 15th March 2023, we welcomed award-winning portrait photographer and FHS alumna Rhiannon Adam to open our new Sixth Form Centre, Linhope House on Linhope Street, NW1, which has increased FHS’s dedicated sixth form space by 300% (663sqm) and offers the perfect environment for the transition from school to university.
Rhiannon, who graduated FHS in 2003 before attending both Cambridge University and Central St Martins, is a true inspiration for our current students. She has been chosen as the only woman (as well as the first Irish person and the first FHS alumna) and to partake in a civilian trip to the moon as part of the dearMoon Crew, in recognition of her pioneering creative work which champions female empowerment. She fondly discussed her time at FHS, saying: ‘The academic rigour mixed with the pastoral care, and the independence that becoming a Francis Holland girl gives you, is completely life-changing’ and ‘FHS allowed me to dream and to achieve my potential’.
The Sixth Form education offered to students at FHS combines a strong scholarly ethos (where 73% of A Level grades were A*- A in 2022) with an inclusive and supportive family environment. Sixth Formers enjoy a truly transformational education with abundant opportunities to develop responsibility, initiative and leadership skills, and are regularly offered places at Oxbridge and other top UK, US and European universities.
Headmistress Katharine Woodcock has developed a ‘schooling for life’ approach to our curriculum which champions creativity, collaboration and communication, enabling our pupils to develop lateral thinking, leadership and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to apply empathy and dexterity in all that they do today and tomorrow. She has described how critical the pupils’ final two years at school are to this: “Whilst exam results are key to opening doors, we also focus on a holistic schooling for life, educating the women of tomorrow, future leaders, young people with a strong moral compass who will be the difference in the world.”
Linhope House, which has undergone a £5 million investment, has enhanced every aspect of our ability to provide an already exceptional Sixth Form offering. The building combines an elegant, Georgian exterior and traditional features such as the Reading Room with a cutting-edge interior including a Think Lab and collaborative learning and study spaces. Student voice is key at FHS and current students had significant input into the design of the interior, where natural materials, cool colours and abundant natural light have resulted in a calm and serene Scandinavian-style decor. The Common Room features a bio-farm plant wall, known to increase wellbeing, productivity and attention spans.
A Lower Sixth student commented on her experience of Linhope House to date: “From being motivated to study in the booths downstairs to being treated to a new coffee machine, the modern-looking space has given students an environment which truly mirrors that of a university setting”. Another student said: “Linhope has made progressing into A Levels a whole new experience, allowing us to grow in independence and providing more opportunities than we ever had in the lower school”.
If you would like to learn more about the Sixth Form education on offer at FHS and to view the virtual tour of Linhope House, please follow this link.
