This month our first-year Honours Programme group have had a wonderful time settling into sixth form life and finding out more about our exclusive Honours Programme.
The Sixth Form Honours Programme is a bespoke programme designed for the most able students who are aspiring to attend the very best universities. The programme is exclusively for students who have achieved at least six GCSEs at grade 7. Its aim is to work with students to boost their skills and confidence, give them early access to university style learning and enable them to make a more informed decision about applying for their chosen university course. It also gives the students the option to study the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
In this term’s launch event, the group of over 80 new students were welcomed to the programme by Senior Leader, Simon Christian and Stefan Siwiak-Jaszek who is responsible for the STEM component of the Honours programme. They were also introduced to Jill Whitham, Head of Careers and Employability.
Following the staff introductions, B6 Alumni Sannah Adam spoke to the students about her experience of the Honours Programme and gave some great advice on how to approach the EPQ. Sannah is an extremely successful member of our alumni and, since leaving B6 with fantastic A Levels in A Level English Literature, Religious Studies and Law, has graduated from The University of Law, qualified as a boxing coach and visited Lebanon with Human Appeal to help deliver humanitarian aid.
Our current second-year Honours Programme students then took to the stage to share some of their top tips for completing the Honours Programme with a large focus on the EPQ. For the EPQ, students get to plan and carry out research on a topic that they have chosen and isn’t covered by their other qualifications. They then use this research to produce a written report and, in the case of practical projects, an artefact or a production. The EPQ is worth half an A-level (28 UCAS points) and it is recognised by universities and employers.
The first-year Honours Programme group then took part in an engaging and challenging teamworking task where they needed to build a bridge using only newspaper and sticky tape faced with changing challenges including working in the dark, without speaking and with loud music on in the background. This was a great opportunity for them to work closely with students that they may not have met before.
As part of the Honours Programme, the group are given the opportunity to go on many enriching trips to prestigious universities, places of cultural significance and places which can stretch and challenge their academic skills, leadership and self-confidence. The first trip for the new Honours group was to Go Ape in Rivington. The students were encouraged to go out of their comfort-zones and they all took part in exhilarating activities on the zip wires and high ropes in addition to a fun teamworking challenge.
The trip was a huge success and the students’ feedback was really positive:
“We had a lovely time and bonded together while being scared together. All round a great day out!” Emma Kerr
“I had an amazing time today! I love the Honours Programme!” Muhammad
“We applied Newton’s second law today: what goes up must come down“ Daniel
“A very fun day! A great way to make new friends” Olivia
We’re delighted that the students had such as good time on their first Honours Programme trip and look forward to following their progress and watching them flourish as they continue their journey at B6.
Find out more about the Honours Programme here
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