Personal and Social Development

We believe passionately that, whilst A Level grades are important, a student’s personal and social development is just as vital. We spend a large proportion of time building each student’s identity, helping to arm them with information about making responsible choices and preparing them for British society and the world of work. Here are a few examples of how we do this.

Enrichment

• The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is on offer in our curriculum and we have a very strong G&T cohort led by Miss Leeds and Mrs Nicklin. As part of the EPQ student write a dissertation style assignment on a subject of their choosing. These students are then mentored by numerous members of staff in subject specific areas who are experts in the topic of study.
• Duke of Edinburgh Silver and Gold Awards are offered as a continuation of the work on DfE that is started in the main school. Please see Mr Causon or our Sixth Form prospectus for more details.

Higher Eduction

• Every year we take Year 12s to the UEA to attend the UCAS Exhbition, a Higher Education fair that is held within the Sportspark. Most British universities offer advice and guidance to our students on their courses, and more.

• Every June we hold a Higher Education Day in our Sixth Form designed to give our students an idea of what university is like, information on Student Finance and guidance on the benefits and drawbacks of attending university.

• We offer one-to-one support for individuals on their UCAS application and work with the UEA and UCS to offer specialist advice.

• The UCAS process starts in June of Year 12 and applications are submitted in January of Year 13.

• Each student is given information and guidance on further and higher education via the Higher Education Day and their tutor.

• Each student has a personal tutor in the Sixth Form who helps their students with their university applications. Students can expect mentoring sessions to help them write their Personal Statement and each tutor writes the student's reference which is submitted alongside their application.

Sixth Form area

There are good facilities for Sixth Form students, comprising a Common Room, a Study Room, a Sixth Form Cafe, an IT room and the Library Balcony study space.

Tutor Time resources

Students attend tutor time/registration every day unless they apply for a study morning as a result of having no lessons. Each day in tutor time has a different theme. These include Study Skills on a Monday and a Quiz on a Friday with topics based on the wider world (eg. news events, prices of produce, world knowledge, etc.). Every Tuesday is the Sixth Form assembly and one-to-one tutor interviews and mentoring take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The timetable is:

One-to-one interviews between tutor and student - once per half term and recorded in tutor file on record sheets.

Assembly offers key themes for understanding your place in society.

We hold a compulsory assembly every Tuesday. Topics build on the expectation for students to understand their place in British society and culture. For example, recent topics and themes have been the Community Volunteering Scheme, the National Citizen Service, Careers and Careers Advice, Sexual and Mental Health, Chinese New Year, Remembrance Day and the Centenary of WWI, Gap Years and Equalities and Human Rights. We have some exciting ones planned on Driver Safety and LGBT issues, amongst others.

Charity

• Sixth Form students take the lead in organising the Children in Need charity week and our Charity Committee organises activities such as Teacher Challenges, A Pointless Quiz, Open Mic event, PA for the Day and Lads Choir. These activities are all run and led by our Sixth Form students.
• Other charity events include a Charity Sports Day involving students and staff, a Charity Sixth Form Football Match, plus fundraising for the summer party.

Peer Support

• The Library offers a paired reading scheme to our KS5 students who complete one-to-one reading with younger students.
• A number of Year 12 and Year 13 students are taking part in peer support, helping to mentor Year 11s through their GCSEs.