Meet the Team

Head of Sixth Form

Mr Rob Smith

I am incredibly proud to be leading such a successful and unique Sixth Form at Portsmouth High School. This summer we celebrated yet another outstanding set of A Level results marking another year of excellent personal and academic achievements for students.

I start my role as Head of Sixth Form in September 2018 and have been Head of Faculty for Humanities at Portsmouth High School for the past two years. Prior to that I served as a Deputy Head of Sixth Form at a local college before taking up my current post. I bring experience of both academic and pastoral leadership to my new role as Head of Sixth Form.

At Portsmouth High School we encourage our girls to have ambition and to fully embrace opportunity. Key to our success is our offer of an individualised and inspiring learning experience, where girls take risks and seek challenges. Our small teaching groups enable bespoke and personalised attention, and provide an appropriate platform for students to flourish in their confidence and resilience. An all girls’ setting means our students are not burdened by gender stereotypes and make informed and unconstrained choices about their futures, with the help of our expert and dedicated teachers and advisors, who guide them through each stage of the two Sixth Form years.

The life of a Sixth Form student should not be narrowly focused on examinations and results. Portsmouth High Sixth Form offers a distinct step into the future where girls can enjoy all the independence and freedom of A Level study, but in a familiar setting. They can make their next steps and falls with people they know and trust. Sixth Form House is our own little fiefdom, tinged by the smell of burnt toast from its very own kitchen, and past girls will always speak fondly of a happy two years at Portsmouth High Sixth Form.

Do get in touch to find out more, we would be delighted to meet you and find out how we can help you during the next two exciting years of your education.

Assistant Head of Sixth Form (Pastoral)

Mrs Sarah Paget-Tomlinson

I am delighted to be working in the Sixth Form as part of such a strong team. I have taught history at both a Sixth Form college and a school with a Sixth Form before coming to PHS. Prior to my teaching career I worked at a Sixth Form college and a university as a school liaison officer and press officer respectively.

My experience of working in a range of educational environments with students of school through to university age, lends itself to my pastoral role. The wellbeing of our students is at the centre of all that we do here at PHS and the friendly atmosphere within the Sixth Form house reflects this. The small class sizes, excellent tutorial system and the extra-curricular opportunities complement students’ academic studies and enables them to become resilient and confident individuals, who are well prepared for the future.

Assistant Head of Sixth Form (Academic)

Mr George Maude

I am the teacher of classics at Portsmouth High, teaching Latin and classical civilisation to students in the Sixth Form and below.

Before taking on my current role, I was a Sixth Form tutor for two years, overseeing a mixed group of Year 12 and 13 students and helping them to navigate the transition to a more mature style of working as well as the process of applying to university. One of the things that makes PHS special is its supportive atmosphere and ability to focus on the individual needs of each pupil, and our tutor team are crucial to that.

My current role within the Sixth Form focuses on the academic side of life. As well as helping to monitor students’ progress towards their examinations, mentoring and encouraging students so that they can achieve their very best, I encourage ambition and curiosity within the whole cohort. Having had the privilege of studying classics and English at Oxford, I now oversee the Oxbridge preparation programme at PHS, helping to tailor individual support for our candidates as they undertake this ambitious process.

In addition to this, I work with our Sixth Form academic ambassadors, Mr Paget-Tomlinson and Mrs Davies (Head of Careers), to promote competitions, talks and other events at which our girls can sharpen their intellectual teeth and empowering them to use opportunities such as academic fortnight and the school’s societies programme to present and discuss their ideas at a level far beyond the national curriculum. We prepare our students for university and life beyond it, not just for examinations, and this super-curricular enrichment is essential to that process.