Sixth Form Experience Curriculum Personal Development Student Support and Guidance Our Policies Summer challenge
We encourage our students to take as many opportunities to develop themselves as possible while they are in the Sixth Form. Not only will this help them boost their employability and their applications for higher education, but we believe it is vital for preparing them for life beyond school and to help them improve the world around them.
Personal development happens within the taught curriculum, as students learn useful skills and build their confidence, but it is also delivered in a variety of different ways. We encourage students to track this, as this will help them evaluate their own strengths and areas for improvement. This can be done through the non-qualification activities mentioned in the curriculum section of the website, but it can also be done through self-study. Each of the areas below will be covered in assemblies and tutorials, but we encourage our students to focus on these areas in their time outside of lessons.
In order to help students access specific development programmes or bursaries, we need to collect additional information on their background. We ask that all parents of Sixth Form students complete the following survey https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=GCV76wAOr06nna2zarTk3hrRY_A4HTdAo-8dPjXA3LdURjVFN1UzRFpBWUxVN05IVE1PVEhRNldSWC4u to help us identify areas where they are eligible for additional support. All information will be treated with complete discretion.
- Extra-Curricular Activity
This can involve activities run by the school, including trips and visits or listening to guest speakers, but can also include participation in clubs and teams outside of school. Sixth Formers are also encouraged to participate in schemes like Brookes Engage, The Duke of Edinburgh Award, National Citizenship Service (NCS) and Camps International.
- Super-Curricular Activity
This involves independent study beyond the classroom but focused on subjects already being studied. We encourage our students to read widely, watch documentaries and listen to podcasts in order to develop their knowledge, as well as to go on visits to museums and places of interest. Students are also welcome to apply for additional courses, such as the Uniq Summer Schools at Oxford University, and to go to lectures and conferences led by experts in their fields. This will often be organised by the Sixth Form, but we also want students to seek these out themselves, especially if it is an exciting opportunity!
- Employability Skills
We recognise the need for young people to develop ‘soft skills’ to prepare them for the workplace. We help students do this through our curriculum, as well as through work experience placements, volunteering and encounters with the world of work on our annual Future Plans Day. The skills we focus on are: communication, emotional intelligence, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, flexibility and resilience.