About 14-19 | Glossary | Publications | Links | What's new? | Site map

The case studies on this page discuss ways of providing enrichment opportunities for students, and encouraging students to take advantage of them.

Ten-week enrichment modules

Career experiences for advanced level students

Organising societies relating to different career areas

Activities to develop student responsibility

Using certification to achieve a broad curriculum

Ten-week enrichment modules

At City of Stoke Sixth Form College, the enrichment programme aims to provide for students’ individual needs and to strengthen the college community by bringing together staff and students from across the college. It was introduced as part of Curriculum 2000 and was extended to second year advanced level students in September 2001.

Students can take three ten-week enrichment modules each year. Most of the activities take place on Wednesday afternoons, but some form of activity is available every day. All new students receive a copy of the enrichment prospectus and a ‘bazaar’ is held at the start of each module (this includes presentations accompanied by music). A desk in the foyer is staffed during the following week so that students can sign up for courses. Details of the programme are featured on the college’s internal television information system and changes to the programme are advertised in the reception area.

Enrolment information is passed to a management information system, which generates registers for the enrichment tutors. Registers also help personal tutors to identify students who have not signed up, so that they can discuss the advantages of participation with them. The college is in an Educational Maintenance Allowance pilot area, but the scheme does not require attendance at enrichment activities. Students are not charged fees, although some activities need funding beyond teaching costs (for example for entering awards and qualifications). Some additional funding has been obtained from the Single Regeneration Budget.

Students’ responses to the opportunities have been very positive. The wide-ranging enrichment programme covers sports, performing and creative arts, and a variety of student interests. The most popular part of the programme is preparation for the driving test, with more than 100 students taking part at a time. Students are encouraged to propose new modules and college staff to develop them.

To help achieve the objective of strengthening the college community, adult education staff contribute to some enrichment modules during the college day, and students and staff can attend adult education evening classes.

Career experiences for advanced level students

Blackburn College includes a range of ‘enhancements’ in its curriculum for first year advanced level students. They aim to give students experience of particular careers and to maximise their success in applying for employment or HE in these areas. This is a recognised and respected part of the curriculum, and some students specifically include it on their application forms to the college. The college also has an enrichment programme for all students.

There are currently seven ‘enhancement’ areas: pre-teaching, pre-medical, pre- (uniformed) services, pre-media, pre-legal, outdoor pursuits, and recreational studies. The scheme uses ASDAN and ASET awards, which have different structures.

Around half the 300 first-year advanced level students opt for one of the ‘enhancements’. There are two groups for pre-teaching and one group for each of the other ‘enhancement’ areas. The ‘enhancements’ are allocated up to three and a half hours within the option block that maximises accessibility for appropriate students. Most ‘enhancements’ are not restricted to students taking particular subjects or combinations of subjects, however pre-media students should be taking AS English, Communication Studies, Film Studies or Media Studies.

For the ASDAN Universities Award, students undertake four challenges:

• work experience based on a career indicated by the title of the course (usually half a day per week for about 20 weeks)
• preparing a portfolio and making a presentation based on career-related research and experience. This provides evidence for the communication key skill qualification at level 3 (students can also achieve the three wider key skills)
• two other challenges chosen from any area the student wishes. These may be an activity such as learning a foreign language or volunteering at an after-school support club at Blackburn Rovers Football Club, or may provide the opportunity to gain awards or qualifications, such as coaching awards, a driving licence or a sign-language qualification.

Students see the following advantages to the ‘enhancement’ scheme:

• the opportunity to find out about the demands of a career and whether they are suited to it
• having a vocational experience as part of their general programme
• promoting personal growth – working as part of a team, taking responsibility, and working with professionals outside the college environment
• enabling them to achieve recognised awards and qualifications
• having experience and a portfolio to draw on for HE applications and interviews.

Organising societies relating to different career areas

Colchester High School for Girls operates a similar scheme, with pre-vocational societies organised by year 12 students and open to students from year 10 upwards. The students take responsibility for inviting a range of speakers who work within a vocational area (for example medicine, law, journalism), or ex-students who are now studying for a career in that area. This gives the students an understanding of life in HE, what they need to do to achieve their ambitions, what is involved in the work, and current issues affecting the profession. It also prepares them for interviews and work experience.

Activities to develop student responsibility

Kingdown Community School in Warminster has ‘Believing in success’ as its motto, and it has high expectations of its sixth formers. All year 12 students undertake work experience during one of the holiday periods or during ‘activities week’. This is presented as an opportunity to develop transferable skills and to take responsibility for finding and making the most of the placement. In addition, the school’s Community Activity Programme offers 24 ways of getting involved in and contributing to the school community, including:

• providing learning support for younger pupils in the school and in primary schools – in classrooms, laboratories, IT rooms, libraries and sports facilities
• acting as ‘resource assistants’ within the school’s departments
• mentoring/counselling students of all ages
• joining the sixth form student team that assists the head of sixth
• applying for the role of sixth form ambassador and carrying out representative functions
• coordinating, and providing feedback on, activities such as key skills, work experience and focus days.

Each opportunity is described in the student organiser/planner and in individual leaflets. The Student Council also produces leaflets about its activities, including social events. The impression given by this level of information is attractive and dynamic.

Using certification to achieve a broad curriculum

Groups of schools in Surrey and Liverpool are devising local certificates to encourage students to pursue a broad curriculum that includes practical and work-related activities as well as qualifications.

The aim is to set a broad, challenging and relevant goal, recognising a full range of achievement. The certificate will be issued by the individual schools, supported by the LEA, and recognised by the local HEIs. The certificate is awarded when the student achieves all the elements in four areas (core study, key skills, citizenship and individual achievement), as given here:

	Core study
	18 advanced level units from: GCE VCE BTEC National NVQ level 3
	Key skills
	three key skills at level 3: at least two from communication, application of number and IT at least one from problem-solving, improving own learning and performance, and working with others
	Citizenship
	45 hours of activities involving work with others, in school, college or community, for example: Young Enterprise Liverpool University's Curriculum Enrichment Project a school/college event a music or drama project team sports a community group activity
	Individual achievement
	30 hours of individually appropriate and challenging activities, such as: Duke of Edinburgh's Award ASDAN Universities Award work as a member of a school council or as a prefect career or progression planning

Also see

> Providing enrichment opportunities
> Breadth and depth in the 16-19 curriculum

curriculum: 11-16 schools | 6th form schools | colleges
qualifications | the exams process | developments | higher education | home
help | contact us | search

Page updated: 12 June 2008
Terms and conditions
Access Key enabled