Sixth Form

The Sixth Form gives pupils the opportunity to pursue their main academic interests and to deepen their understanding and knowledge by taking A-level qualifications in the three or four subjects they
most enjoy.

Pupils choose their AS and A-level subjects from a broad range of options: Art & Design, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Economics, English Literature, French, Geography, German, Government & Politics, Health & Social Care, History, Mathematics and Further Mathematics, Moving Image Arts, Music, Nutrition & Food Science, Physical Education, Physics, Religious Studies, Software Systems Development, Spanish, and Technology & Design.

Pupils have many opportunities to extend their subject knowledge through activities beyond the classroom, and are encouraged to stretch themselves by entering competitions, such as the UK Maths Challenge, the Juvenes Translatores competition, Sentinus, the Chemistry Olympiad, the Bebras Computational Challenge and the Rocketry Challenge.

Pupils also have the opportunity to widen their interests through a General Studies programme and benefit from taking on responsibility in clubs and societies, including the Wellbeing and Charity Committees. All Year 14 pupils are invited to become prefects and they play an invaluable role in giving leadership to others and in welcoming visitors at functions and events.

Academic Success

While there is much more to life at Friends’ than examination results, we think it is important for pupils to do their best and achieve the grades they need for the next stage of their education. Supported by a dedicated team of teachers, pupils from Friends’ have an excellent record of achievement at the highest level, and over the years, many have achieved top places at GCSE and A-level.

In the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide for 2025, Friends’ was named Northern Ireland Secondary School of the Year for Academic Excellence. This award, based on GCSE and A-level results, placed Friends’ 32nd in the overall UK state school rankings and first in Northern Ireland.
The school has been recognised by the Sunday Times on two previous occasions, winning the School of the Year Award in 2011 and 2018.

CEIAG is delivered at all Key Stages. Its aim is to allow pupils to explore their interests, aptitudes and strengths, and to enable them to find out about the opportunities they will have when they leave Friends’.

The Careers Department plays an important role in personal career planning at key transition points: at the end of Key Stage 3, when pupils make their GCSE choices; at the end of Key Stage 4, when A-level choices are made; and in the Sixth Form, when pupils consider options for when they leave school.

In Year 13, pupils generally plan and undertake a week of work experience. We also encourage pupils to avail of online work-shadowing opportunities which can allow them to explore a range of different career pathways.

Most of our pupils embark on a degree course when they leave Friends’, and pupils are offered individually tailored guidance on university applications throughout their time in the Sixth Form.

We encourage pupils to be ambitious in their choices and, each year, pupils from Friends’ gain places on competitive courses, including Medicine, and at Oxford and Cambridge.

Our links with the local community are very important and we value the contribution of outside specialists and parents who offer each of our Year 14 pupils a formal interview in November.

In keeping with our Quaker ethos, we encourage pupils to devote time to the service of others, using their talents to make a positive contribution to the local and wider community, both during their time at Friends’ and once they have left school. We encourage them to be involved without seeking anything in return, although we acknowledge that these experiences are enormously enriching for them.

We value our links with the Quaker Service and the whole school takes part in the annual collection for Christmas hampers for the families in North and West Belfast with whom the charity is involved.

Our Charity Committee raises awareness for a number of organisations through assemblies and organises events and non-uniform days. Over the past year, they have supported Jeans4Genes, Made for More, Emerge, Save the Children and Children in Need.

Through our General Studies programme, some of our Sixth Formers volunteer in primary schools and local charities, including food banks in the Lisburn area.