Super-curricular activities

Super-curricular activities are those activities designed to help you develop skills beyond your subjects, including the soft skills employers and universities highly value! It is also your opportunity to give back to the school community and engage in volunteering (which can go towards DofE if this is something you’re completing!)

These activities run during tutor time, so once a cycle, on Day 9, from 8:30am – 9:00am, you will select an activity to complete. Every term you will rotate activities to ensure that you can develop as many skills beyond the classroom as possible. The activities we have on offer are varied, and include:

  • Paired Reading
  • Mentoring lower school students in your subjects
  • Leadership Skills and Development
  • Eco committee
  • UCAS support
  • Debate society
  • And more!

 

Extra-curricular activities

Working hard in your subjects is fundamental to us, but so too is having opportunities to have fun beyond the lesson. Every Wednesday, lessons finish at 14:30 so that we can provide you with extra-curricular activities and opportunities to engage in! We want everyone to be involved in an extra-curricular activity, and we offer a wealth of these to choose from. Whether you are looking for a chance to unwind through competitive sport, build up your media portfolio ready for industry, or put your physics skills to the test by building a go-kart, you’ll be sure to find something for you. Our extra-curricular offers vary considerably, and include:

  • Chelsea Football Coaching
  • Film Society
  • New Views National Theatre Playwriting
  • Medical Society
  • Life Skills
  • Film/Media Industry Portfolio Production
  • F6 Garden
  • Music Club
  • Gym
  • Go-karting
  • Badminton/Tennis
  • Climbing
  • Kickboxing

Finishing at 14:30 also means you have more time available for volunteering opportunities. Whilst we have in-school volunteering during our super-curricular mornings, it can sometimes be difficult finding time to fit in volunteering with the local community or in the sector you hope to go into. Therefore, the earlier finish will allow you to complete volunteering within the community, for example with your personal place of worship, after school clubs including Scouts or Cadets, or a local care home. Not only are these activities beneficial for your community by giving back, but they are also fantastic aspects to put onto CVs and UCAS, whilst gaining potential experience for your future career.

 

EPQ

An EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is an additional qualification at A level standard, that you can complete during year 12. The EPQ allows you to explore any area of interest outside of your subjects and can be the perfect opportunity to show off a wide range of skills including independence, organisation, critical reflection, time management, and creativity.

The EPQ can take many forms; you could:

  • Write an extended essay exploring a research question
  • Create and evaluate an artifact
  • Create a music or dramatic production and reflect on the production
  • Create a film and reflect on the aspects used
  • Produce a piece of technology with a reflection on methods used

EPQ topics are varied, and completely depend on your own interests, but it’s important you choose something you can explore in detail. Previous EPQ topics have included:

  • Exploring the Roman Empire through its Emperors
  • The Greatest Discovery: Blood Transfusions
  • Nihilism or Existentialism: Which Philosophical Ideology Creates the Happiest People?
  • What Makes a Sociopath?
  • The Architecture of Gaudi (this topic also included a 3D model of a building)
  • Is AI the Future of Medicine?
  • How Can Music Therapy Help Emotional Regulation (this topic included the student producing a piece of music that reflected their research)

As part of your EPQ project, you will have an advisor who you meet with regularly. Their role is to guide you through the process, engage you with academic debate about the topic, and give you feedback in preparation for the final submission. The final part of your EPQ is a presentation of your research and findings. This is a highly exciting event where we invite members of the school to form part of an academic audience, allowing you to also develop your presentation and spoken skills, crucial to the wider world of work and study.

EPQs count towards your UCAS points, and some universities will offer lower entry grades if you have an EPQ.

 

Support

At F6, you will be assigned a tutor group led by one of our exceptional sixth form teachers. Our tutor groups are mixed tutor groups so include both year 12 and year 13 students; this means you will have a wealth of experience within the room to support you, whether that is your tutor specifically, or students from the year above who have likely experienced what you currently are! Mixed tutor groups ensure that the sixth form is a fully collaborative space, and we often see year 12s and year 13s revising together or challenging one another to a rousing game of table tennis!

Tutor happens every Tuesday and Thursday morning and is our opportunity to come together as a group, build connections, and explore the wider world, whilst also developing some healthy competition with the other groups! Alongside these morning sessions, your tutor will also arrange academic mentoring sessions.

Academic mentoring involves one-to-one meetings with your tutor once a cycle. These meetings are designed to support you and so can run in a variety of different ways, but it is your opportunity to seek personalised help and support for your subjects, life in F6, your future hopes and career goals, or anything that may be weighing on your mind. F6 tutors are skilled in navigating the more challenging aspects of transitioning from secondary into sixth form, and beyond into the wider world of academia or work beyond studies.

Alongside your tutor, you also have a Head of Year (either Mrs Strowger or Ms Pollard) whom you can go to for help and support, alongside Mr Evans, the director of F6, and Mrs South, the F6 Student Support Officer. The academic and pastoral support is what makes F6 a unique place to study; students consistently say that the investment of staff is the fundamental aspect of their success, wellbeing, and happiness with us.