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BEVIN 07
Dof E AWARD
They visited Pompeii, Herculaneam, Naples and the Amalfi Coast.“ The trip was a great success,” said Mr Lewis, the trip organiser.“ The boys had a learning experience that was impossible to recreate in a classroom.”
Generally, overseas trips are more commonplace in the Sixth Form, with students often fundraising to help pay for the cost of travel. In recent years Sixth Formers have travelled to China, New York City and Mumbai. Every February the ICT department takes a group of students to Paris, a trip that includes a visit to Disneyland to learn about the computer systems that control the rides at the park, as well as sightseeing in Paris. A group of Sixth Formers studying Business Studies spent five days in Madrid in March. They visited a cake factory to observe the production line and try their hand at some cake decorating. They also visited Real Madrid’ s football stadium and spent a day at a Spanish School.
In June the group were pleased to welcome the Spanish students they had met back to London( see pic above).
“ In the Sixth Form it is recognised that skills and experience gained outside the classroom are as important for CVs and UCAS applications as the academic grades a student gains,” explains Mr Weatherhead, Vice Principal at EBC.“ For this reason we run a Sixth Form enrichment programme on a Wednesday afternoon in which no lessons are timetabled and students are encouraged to extend their skills in some way.” Sixth Formers can choose from a range of activities on offer. This can be a sport or gaining a new skill such as learning a new language or discussing art or music. There is also a photography club which went right back to basics, starting with photograms and pinhole cameras made out of crisp tubes.
Some students choose to undertake voluntary work, either mentoring younger boys at the college, helping in a charity shop or volunteering in a local primary school or care home. A popular choice is the Duke of Edinburgh award programme( see sidebar) but anything goes!
T he Duke of Edinburgh programme continues to go from strength to strength. In February this year over 30 boys attended an awards evening for participants in Wandsworth Borough and were presented with their certificates by the Mayor. The Council has also praised the work the college has done in increasing participation amongst minority students who are traditionally less likely to take part in the scheme.
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Over 12 months 27 boys completed the Bronze award and 64 the Silver award
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In total, over the last 12 months 27 boys completed the Bronze award and 64 the Silver award. The current numbers enrolled in the scheme are 41 Bronze level( Purple Ties), 56 Silver level( Yellow Ties and Sixth Form) and 14 Gold level( Sixth Form) with an additional eight expupils also trying to complete their Gold level this year in conjunction with their university commitments.
Boys have taken part in a variety of expeditions including three-day expeditions to Swanage and the Peak District. There has also been a Bronze expedition to the New Forest and two more Silver expeditions to the Peak District and Brecon Beacons in Wales.
Core skills developed are teamwork, leadership, co-operating, route-planning, navigation and camp craft. In addition to the expeditions pupils have completed other sections including Sport( Physical Activity), Skill and Volunteering( Social Contribution), each for periods of three, six or 12 months.
Boys from Year 9 have taken take part in a two-day Outdoor and Adventurous Activities Camp which follows on from the Year 7 & 8 PGL residential trips and gives them a taster for the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. Mr Beveridge Head of Outdoor Education
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