We are very proud of our inclusive, high achieving Sixth Form.

Students at Benfield benefit from small teaching groups; specialist teachers and the support of a non-teaching Year Leader who is available throughout the school day to give advice, support and guidance.  

We are proud of the excellent academic achievements of our 6th form students and each year many leave us to take up high quality training courses or places at some of the country’s top universities.  We also enjoy great success on our vocational courses, which can lead to university study or work based learning.  

Our staff know all of their students extremely well and work hard to ensure they achieve their full potential.  When they leave many students look back with gratitude on the way their teachers believed in them and never gave up on them during their courses.

“I thought it was a pain at one point that my teachers were always on to me to get my work done and meet deadlines.  I’m grateful now though – I wouldn’t be going off to college if it wasn’t for them” – Year 13 pupil (leaving to study computing at Newcastle College)

“I didn’t really believe I’d get to a good university but my teachers did and they encouraged me so much I started to believe in myself a bit more.  I’m off to the London School of Economics now so I’m very happy!” – Year 13 pupil

“I was so well prepared for uni that I won a £1,000 scholarship in my first year because I’d already covered some of the stuff and was well ahead and on top of the work” – First Year Undergraduate student in English and History at Newcastle University (ex Benfield pupil).

Enrichment opportunities

As well as the wide range of courses we offer we give students the opportunity to take part in many different enrichment activities, both within school and the wider community, such as mentoring, charity work, environmental projects, coaching and leadership courses.


“Helping out with Year 5 and Year 6 transition projects was not only great fun but it helped me to realise that I wanted to work in a primary school so I am off to university to study to be a primary teacher” – Year 13 pupil

“I’m not great at sport but that didn’t matter when I did the Sports Leadership course.  I gained so much confidence and it was great to put on my university application form and job application forms” – Year 13 pupil

“I’ve really enjoyed all of the charity fundraising we’ve done.  It brought us all together as a team and it felt good to be doing something to help others” – Year 12 pupil

“I liked the environmental project we did in the local community.  I’m proud of what we achieved” – Year 13 pupil.

Financial support

Students may be eligible to financial support through the 16-19 Bursary Fund, which is a national government backed scheme.  There are two types of bursary available:

The Standard Bursary – available to students whose household income is less than £27,000 per year.

The Enhanced Bursary – available to students who are identified as vulnerable learners and amounts to up to £1,200 per year.

Full information about the criteria and the online application form can be found at the link shown.

Enrolling in Sixth Form

Many of our students stay with us into Sixth Form, while others join us directly from other schools. 

ENROLMENT FOR SIXTH FORM 2021-2022

Please contact Diane Goddard in our Sixth Form office to arrange a visit at a time that suits you:

Email: diane.goddard@benfield.newcastle.sch.uk

Tel: 0191 2656091 extension 395

Benfield Sixth Form Dress Code

Our sixth form dress code is smart/casual.

Jeans and trainers are permitted. However, we do ask that students dress modestly.

We ask that students do NOT wear vest tops, crop tops, ripped jeans or shorts 

For some subjects a different set of clothing is required for practical lessons (i.e. Sport/PE Performing Arts).

Please note that students will be asked to return home to change if they are dressed inappropriately.

Post 16 Course Information Videos 2021

 To help Year 11 students decide which courses they would like to study at sixth form, staff have recorded a range of videos to provide information, advice and guidance about each subject in Benfield sixth form.

Videos can be found on Benfield’s YouTube channel and by following this link: https://bit.ly/3tKDdtK