Broadening Horizons

The Green School Sixth Form has a unique enrichment programme designed to offer breadth and depth to your Level 3 studies and provide additional opportunities to gain further qualification and UCAS points.

This programme offers you a package of enrichment modules, which will

prepare you for the academic challenge of Level 3 and beyond
help you with practical skills for independent living beyond school life
enable you to gain additional UCAS points and/or support your UCAS application
provide opportunities for you to develop your role as student leader
support the school community and help you grow and nurture your own personal values

These are some of the modules and courses on offer throughout Year 12 and/or 13:

THE Extended Project QUALIFICATION

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a level 3 course that can be studied alongside A-levels or the BTEC Diploma. The aim of the course is to independently produce a project on an aspect of your learning that you are passionate about, and wish to research further. The project may take the form of an extended piece of writing, artefact, performance, recording or a model prototype.

Throughout this process you will develop generic skills such as independent learning, critical thinking and reflective practice - skills which can be applied to all subject areas. You will be able to use your initiative, learn university style research techniques through wider reading and application, and develop communication and presentation skills when you demonstrate your knowledge and findings to your chosen audience.

You will develop decision and problem-solving skills through developing your product, and also analytical skills as you plan and extend your ideas.

This course is introduced in the autumn term of Year 12 and completed by the end of the Spring Term in Year 13. The UCAS points you gain are equal to gaining half an A-level. Please visit the Sixth Form curriculum page for more information.

Sports Leaders Award

This qualification develops generic leadership skills that will be vital in other areas of life. It allows those who are not sports superstars to take a full and active role in sport and physical activity. It will help increase self-confidence that comes through taking responsibility for own and others’ learning and enjoyment.

The course is fun and practical. It focuses on leading rather than technical ability. The award is a potential stepping stone into employment, further education or training, as well as a good foundation to progress onto other UK awards or qualifications.

LAMDA Speech and Drama

LAMDA exams are about achievement – recognising and rewarding the endeavours of each individual – but they are also about empowerment. The aim is to provide you with the opportunity to develop the life skills you need to be a success: attributes such as self-confidence and the ability to communicate clearly and present ideas.

The Certificate in Speech and Drama is a great way to progress from a simple graded exam to a more complex, multi-unit qualification. The combination of units offers the opportunity to explore written work, and includes a performance recital and an oral exam – testing key skills alongside formal written English, research ability, memorisation and planning, and structuring material.

Duke of Edinburgh Silver & Gold

The DofE gives you the chance to do something completely new and improve on things you are already doing. It takes you out of your comfort zone and into a place where you will push yourself and have amazing new experiences. You will build confidence, resilience, skills and friendship groups. And you will have a brilliant time doing it.

Looking forward, the DofE can help you to carve out a better future. Colleges, universities and employers regard a DofE Award highly so it will help to open the right doors for you. If you are keen to get off the sofa and put 100% into something that could change your life, the DofE is for you.

The Duke of Edinburgh awards are a long-running programme designed to improve self-confidence, teamwork and interpersonal skills in young people. This is achieved not only through their famous country expeditions, but through a dedicated period of volunteering in the local community, and the development of specific skills and sporting abilities. The awards are central to our school's aim to strengthen links with the rest of Hounslow, and to put Green School students at the forefront of community cohesion projects. At the Green School we offer the Silver Award to year 12 which we run completely in house and we offer the Gold Award to year 13 with the expedition section being run by an experienced external expedition company.

Young Enterprise

During Young Enterprise projects you will develop key skills needed not only for the world of work but also for day to day life such as

an understanding of how business works and how wealth is created
the ability to work in a team
improved communication skills
increased enthusiasm and self-confidence
willingness to take responsibility and show initiative
time management

Rockschool Music Practitioner's Award

This award is available as a one year course. In the first year, the Level 2 Certificate consists of one core unit, Live Music Performance and further optional units, such as Music Rehearsal skills, Recorded Music Performance, Organising a Music Event or Making Music with Mobile Technology.

The course provides a firm foundation in the basics of popular music including composing, listening and performing skills, recording music and learning more about the Music Industry as a whole.

To take this course you will need five GCSE grades at 5+ (or equivalent). You should also ideally be at least Grade 3 in your instrument. Students who have not taken GCSE Music will be considered but will be assessed on an individual basis.

There are four bands of assessment: pass, merit, distinction, for each unit and each qualification. There are no exams and each unit is assessed as coursework.

THE MORAL MAZE

We believe all students should leave The Green School Sixth Form as evaluative, critically-able and religiously literate young adults. As such it is our duty to include Religious Education in their Sixth Form experience.

Our programme works with a Critical Thinking pedagogy and therefore the focus of the sessions is on the students’ skills and thinking, not on teacher-led learning. Sixth Form students are involved with the planning and delivery of these sessions while the primary role of the teacher is to facilitate thinking and debate. There is one session per half-term; each session focuses on a contemporary issue and can include group research, team challenges, external speakers and debate. Students will develop skills related research, communication and team work as well as their understanding of moral issues.

Programme: The Sixth Form Moral Maze

How important is religion to identity?
When do beliefs get dangerous? Cults and New Religious Movements
How do people experience God? Miracles and Religious Experiences
Are our bodies our own to do whatever we want?
Are we responsible for our actions?

PSHCE

By the end of this Sixth Form many young people will leave home for the first time and live as independent adults, possibly in new and distant locations. Our PSHEC programme aims to prepare young people to manage their lives now and for their future. Students learn to research and recall information accurately, draw on skills and strategies and apply learning from earlier years. Students are offered opportunities to explore their attitudes, values and beliefs and to develop the skills, language and strategies necessary to manage health, relationship, legal, financial, employment and political issues when they encounter them in their lives.

Increasingly, future employers are asking potential employees not only to describe their key skills and attributes but also to evidence where they have demonstrated competence in applying them, for example describing when they have taken on a variety of roles within a team or led a team to a successful outcome. PSHCE education can provide opportunities to evidence these skills and attributes. Students extend the knowledge and understanding they have been developing throughout their PSHEC education, ready for independent living and the next stage in their education or career.

Reading Partners

You will be paired with a student from one of the younger year groups to help her improve her reading skills and encourage her to read for a variety of purposes. Formal training is provided in preparation for your Reading Partners’ sessions.

By helping younger students develop their Literacy skills, you will serve our Community and will be able to lead by example.

Students complete this activity half an hour per fortnight.

Debating Club

Debating Club takes place every week at lunch time and is open to all students.

Two teams compete on a topical subject in front of staff or Sixth Form judges. This presents another opportunity for Sixth Form students to lead younger students and to model a range of skills and attributes.