Sixth Form - Electives Enrichment
We want our students to be able to thrive in whatever future pathway or career they choose. We offer this cultural preparation by giving students opportunities and experiences that would not otherwise be accessible to some pupils. In order for our students to open the door to the future of their choice, it is paramount that we also assist students in recognising the full spectrum of choices that are available to them.
Students will build an electives curriculum in addition to their A Level subject choices. They will select from a set of electives options, which are listed below.
Electives
- Oxbridge and Competitive University Entry
- Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award
- Voice and Presence for Interviews
- Delivering the perfect TED talk
- Netball
- Football
- Fitness
- Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
- Self-Publishing: Making your own zine.
- New Views National Playwriting
- Have I got “Business” News for You?
- Who wants to be an entrepreneur?
- The “Wolf of Hazel Grove”?
- Cooking on a budget
- #iSew
- Bake Off!
- Ceramics
- Can You Cut It?
- Master of Arts
- Office, ready?
- An introduction to programming (in Python)
- Video Editing using Premiere Pro
- Image Editing using Photoshop
- Populism and the abuses of power in the 20th Century
- Feminist Book Club
- Classical texts: The Roman Novel and Greek Tragedies
- The Rest is Politics
- Sports Journalism
- Book to Film club
- Politics
- Book Club
- Crochet
- Russian
- Italian
- R programming for Statistics
- STEP-prep
- Chess
- Social Sciences Society
- Meditation & Mindful breathing
- Medicine, Dentistry & Veterinary Science
- Ready TEDdy Go!
Other opportunities
In addition, students will enrich their curriculum with a variety of possible choices, with a host of other possibilities offered within each subject area each year including:
- Sport for All
- Mentoring
- Volunteering
- Charity events
- TED Talks
The Cornerstones of the Laurus Trust: Academic Aspiration, Leadership and Service, Competition and Physical Endeavour and Culture, Creativity and Rhetoric.
Apertura
September 2020 saw the launch of the Apertura programme. Taking its name from Latin, meaning “opportunities about to open”, Apertura is a Laurus super-curricular programme designed to expose high achieving students to academic dialogue and independent research in preparation for applications to competitive universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Through lectures from visiting academics, small group supervisions and independent research, Apertura students are widely engaged in academic thought and conversation. The programme runs through Years 10, 11 and 12, mirroring the three years of a traditional undergraduate Oxbridge college community.
The programme of study is broad and is designed to afford freedom for students, lecturers and supervisors. Apertura students will encounter and investigate a variety of topics taken from different subjects across three strands, each year.
Alongside supervisions and lectures, the Apertura Research Project provides an opportunity for students to pursue an area of their own interest. At the end of each year, students share and discuss their research findings with an audience from the Apertura community.
Apertura students are supported through the programme in other areas too, to build their confidence and resilience and ensure their wellbeing.
The three strands of Apertura
|
Social Sciences (Human Society & Interpersonal Relationships)
|
Physical Sciences & Maths (Practical & Philosophical Knowledge) |
Humanities (Human Culture) |
| Justice | Chemistry | History of Art |
| Law | Physics | Linguistics / Languages |
| Economics | Geology | Ethics |
| Psychology | Philosophy | Gospel |
| Politics | Astronomy | Comparative Literature |
| Sociology | Logic | English Literature |
| Anthropology | Classics | |
| History | ||
| Geography | ||
| Architecture | ||
| Theology | ||
| Musical appreciation | ||
| Film | ||
| Digital culture |
Students have opportunities to take part in a wide range of enrichment activities, often as part of ‘The Edge’ programme every fortnight.
A high priority for leaders is that students contribute to the school and wider community, for example by volunteering at a local primary school.