Personal Development - beyond the classroom

Enrichment

At Appleton Sixth Form, our enrichment program is driven by the student voice. Every Wednesday afternoon, all students dive into enrichment time; a chance to explore a range of activities beyond the traditional curriculum. These activities have been chosen by our students, where they get the opportunity to build skills, boost motivation, foster resilience, and nurture independence, all while supporting student wellbeing. It's also a fantastic way for students to enhance their CVs and personal statements.

In recent years, our students have enthusiastically participated in a range of activities, including:

• Sports
• British Sign Language
• Everyday Finance
• Food and Catering
• Horizons and Horizons Scholars
• Book Club
• First Aid
• Exam Preparation and Managing Exam Anxiety

Using our student voice, we are always looking for new opportunities; our students help build our enrichment program

Year 12 Work Experience Programme

During Year 12, students are required to source and participate in a week-long work experience placement to promote their independence and passion in their desired Post 18 next steps. Work experience is designed to give our students the opportunity to engage in a professional working environment whilst providing them with the time to gain an insight into the industry they wish to pursue a career in.

Over the years we have seen our students engage in placements in the NHS, Lloyds and Deutsche banks, Law and Accountancy firms and primary and secondary schools, to name a few. Those who are unable to find a work experience placement engage in a virtual work experience programme that runs throughout the same week and is designed to mimic the experience and skills developed at a placement.

Super Curricular/ Extra curricular

Many subjects go above and beyond to raise the students' aspirations in their subjects. This can involve running extra curricular trips, visits to universities to experience lectures and organising guest speakers to attend the school. Please see below for some specific subject examples can be found in the below table:

Students have the opportunity to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards with us in Sixth Form. They regularly support, choreograph and help direct our Performing Arts festival and play leading roles in our School Productions, supporting students from the main school. As part of the Sixth Form Football academy, the team trains 4 times a week and gets the chance to play in various league and cup competitions on a weekly basis.

Outside of the classroom students can complete the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and the best examples are bound and added to our Sixth Form Library. MOOCS and Core maths are additional ways students stretch themselves beyond their courses and develop sought after skills. All subjects provide students with a wider reading list and subject specific promoting independence list so they are able to conduct further reading, research and activities outside of the classroom and become independent lifelong learners.

Our Sixth Form Principles lead our Student Council and Student Voice. They are responsible for organising and running our charity week and Year 13 Prom. They meet regularly with the Head of Sixth Form and the Headteacher and have already seen their proposals being accepted and suggestions becoming reality within our Sixth Form centre.

Peer mentoring

As part of our pastoral and personal development programmes, once a week our Year 12 students work with selected Year 7 students and act as support mentors and role models. Some sessions involve discussions around life in school, some involve assisting on homework and some focus on developing and enhancing literacy skills. Year 7 students really enjoy meeting their Sixth Form mentors and spending time with those who they can relate to. Our Sixth Form students enjoy the responsibility and empowerment, knowing they are making a difference to others and their journey in school life.