Together, these provide solid foundations for each and every individual student. The collaborative approach in the sixth form ensures that our students are ready for whatever their futures hold. This can only be possible if everybody works together, cares for each other and looks out for each other and at Hasmonean, teachers and students do exactly that. Our students are treated as individuals and each one of them is provided with the care, guidance and support needed to flourish in the sixth form and to be fully prepared for life after sixth form.
Making the transition from GCSE to sixth form is a difficult one and all students and parents are supported in ensuring the right combination of subjects are selected from the wide variety of A Level and BTEC courses that we offer. In the sixth form, students are taught by teachers who are passionate about their subjects and who teach with enthusiasm and skill, transferring knowledge and expertise to ensure students have a positive experience and are prepared for their exams.
In the sixth form, students are also supported in making the best choices for life after Hasmonean. They are provided with help for Seminary and Yeshiva applications and with UCAS applications, to help them make the right choices for university. Support is also provided for students who choose alternative pathways, such as apprenticeships.
Students are given guidance in making career decisions and we host a variety of speakers who visit from universities and a range of careers. Students are also given opportunities to take leadership positions by applying to be Head Boy/Girl and to lead societies, including the Israel Society and Tzedokah (Charity department), where tens of thousands of pounds are raised each year for various charities.
We are incredibly proud of leading a sixth form which is inclusive and provides our students with the academic, personal and social development they need to leave as men and women who are ready to take on the world. We look forward to welcoming your son and/or daughter to the sixth form and if you have any questions, please be in touch.
UNIVERSITY
At Hasmonean, we pride ourselves on providing students with the support they need to get into university. Almost all of our students go to university and out of them, the vast majority enrol to Russell Group universities. Students are guided through the entire UCAS process, beginning in year 12 and leading up to their submission and more details about dates and events can be found below.
Whilst many apply whilst still in school, there are a number who do not apply until they are in Sem or Yeshiva; the support does not end just because a student has left the school. All alumni are provided personal statement and UCAS support and this ranges from meetings and emails to telephone conversations and Skype calls.
We sign up to a wonderful programme called Unifrog, which is an innovative search tool that allows students to find out more about university courses and universities across the country. The tool provides an incredible amount of detail about courses, including entry criteria, modules and fees and it also provides specific help with Oxford and Cambridge applications.
Hasmonean also has links with a variety of universities, such as King’s College, London School of Economics, UCL and the University of Cambridge and we visit the latter each summer so students can get a feel of the historic university and make a judgement as to whether it’s right for them. Every student is supported through the process, no matter where and when they wish to apply and individualised support is provided based on the needs of each student.
THE BEIS
The Beis was called by the Pekuch team “The Jewel in the crown” of the Hasmonean school and we are proud of the provision available to all sixth form boys.
The ultimate goal of the Beis is to prepare its students not only for Yeshiva, but for life. Therefore there is an emphasis on the whole making of an active Jewish life style. This includes Davening in a meaningful way, learning the basics of Jewish belief, exposure to Halacha (Jewish law) on a daily basis, and gaining the ability to comprehend the Gemara in a deep analytic approach.
But, above all, our goal is to instill in our students not only to be proud of their heritage, but to be inspired by it. This goal is achieved by having Rebbiem that practice what they preach, and who personify these values.
We cater to the wide student body of Hasmonean, by offering 4-5 different levels of religious learning in each year. We have high level learning in the top shiurim (lessons) and also provide an Active Kodesh program, which focuses more on the practicalities of Judaism and meeting successful people outside of school who the boys would look up to.
All of this is done to provide Hasmonean boys with the tools they need to learn successfully. It is also to prepare them for Yeshiva, where the vast majority of our boys spend at least one year, with many going on to spend further years in Yeshiva before they move onto to university or other career paths.
YESHIVA
At Hasmonean, we are proud of the fact that almost all n students attend yeshiva after leaving school, where they continue their religious learning in a structured environment and under the guidance of key religious figures and scholars. The range of different yeshivot the boys attend is varied and we provide all students with the support and guidance needed to help them get a place at their chosen yeshiva, no matter what level of religious observance it may have.
The Beis Rebbeim have strong links with the Hesder Yeshivot such as KBY, Gush, Hakotel and American Yeshivot such as Toras Moshe, Mercaz and Beis Yisroel. Boys also go to Reb Tzvi’s, Gesher and Derech amongst others. Our links continue to grow and each year students join yeshivot which we are able to form new links with, with recent additions including Torat Shraga, amongst others.
Representatives of each yeshiva visit Hasmonean in February to tell boys about their yeshiva and conduct interviews. Boys turn to their Rebbes for guidance to help choose the right yeshiva for them and to help them prepare for the rigorous interviews they must undertake.
Rabbi Hartman, Head of the Beis programme, as well as other Rebbes often visit boys while they are in yeshiva and many alumni return to school during Bein Hazmanim to visit the Beis and their Rebbeim. We are incredibly proud of the fact that so many of our boys go on to yeshiva and maintain links with the Beis Rebbeim, who provide the foundations they need to be great successes.
TRIP TO POLAND
Without a doubt, one of the highlights of Hasmonean sixth form is the Poland trip, which takes place towards the end of year 12. The trip allows our students to get a deeper and greater understanding of the tragedies of the Holocaust by visiting sites of both happiness and destruction. Students are expertly guided around various parts of Poland over a six day period and are exposed to the realities of the Holocaust in ways they may not have been before. Often called an ‘emotional rollercoaster,’ the journey around Poland really does take students through highs and lows and so many of them come back having experienced something life-changing.
The journey takes students through some of the key sites of Jewish history in pre-War Poland, such as Krakow, Lancut, Lezajsk and Warsaw, and also to some of the sites of destruction during the Holocaust itself, such as Auschwitz, Majdanek and Treblinka. Students get the chance to connect with European Jewish history like never before and there is no doubt that the trip has a positive effect on their development as young Jews.
JUMP PROGRAMME
Hasmonean is delighted to have links with ORT-JUMP, which matches students in year 12 with professionals in the students chosen field of interest. It is an invaluable mentoring programme which gives students a feel and a greater understanding of what working in industry is really like. They meet with their mentor a number of times throughout the year and follow a set agenda. Students are also required to complete the JUMP folder, where they log details of their meeting and also complete essays about their chosen industry.
In the past, students have been linked in a variety of fields, such as engineering, law and medicine. Where more unique fields are required, ORT-JUMP does its very best to find a suitable mentor. For example, in recent years, students have been linked to event management and to osteopathy, amongst others. Students who take part in the programme often maintain relationships with their mentors long after the programme has ended and they even get offered more formal work experience within their mentors’ field of work.
The programme is an incredibly enriching experience and we have had nothing but positive experiences from both students and mentors. Where, on rare occasions, things don’t work out, the staff at ORT-JUMP are always on hand to ensure things can be remedied and they go the extra mile to ensure our students feel fully supported whilst on the programme.
Not only is the JUMP programme an exciting and informative programme to be on, it also helps start the pathway for our students’ futures.
