ABSTRACT
The sixth form originated in that most English of institutions, the public school, a source that can be detected in many modern versions of school-based 16-19 provision. The majority of Headmasters' Conference (HMC) schools have sixth forms well in excess of the minimum size prescribed by the Conference, and the public school sixth form represents a much larger proportion of the school community than in the maintained sector. The public schools are pacesetters for a much larger number of fee-paying schools that are not members of the Headmasters' Conference. The grammar schools provided a seven-year programme of academic work, assuming that pupils would proceed to the sixth form more or less as a matter of course. A system that brings together all the able pupils from a sizeable area into one institution produces a large and competitive sixth form able to offer advanced level work in many different academic subjects.
