Technical learning with local professional partners

Sixth Form 2018

A Guide for

Students & Parents

Sixth Form

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Our Health Pathway is focused on professional roles

Sixth Form

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A Different Way To Learn

QEStudio is a very different type of school for 14-19

year olds. It provides high quality Learning Packages

that combine technical programmes called Specialist

Pathways with core study from traditional A-levels.

Our founding ethos is a belief in the potential of young

people in this rural area to become creative

professionals who contribute to the well-being of

communities in the South Lakes (see right).

So our students get the best of both worlds by having

two schools that share the same site and the same

‘outstanding’ values: QEStudio can offer ‘technical’

qualifications while QES continues to offer traditional

‘core’ qualifications.

Our Specialist Pathways reflect the local economy

and offer routes into employment as well as further and

higher education.

Our professional partners in the local community are

also very involved in designing and supporting our

curriculum and work closely with our students.

We hope this booklet will explain how this vision works

in practice to offer students a different way to learn.

Our Ethos

A commitment to

community well-being is a

key part of our ethos.

:

Our rural area relies on

young people to keep our

town and villages healthy

and thriving for the future.

We have close links with

local professional partners

with a strong focus on

employment opportunities.

Our students will develop

as independent minded

thinkers with skills for the

workplace.

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Best of Both Worlds

QEStudio is a new school with its own identity & uniform, with new buildings planned.

But QEStudio has also been set-up as a partner school to QES, forming a multi-

academy trust called the Lunesdale Learning Trust.

That’s been done so our students can get the best of both worlds because QEStudio

is led and staffed by QES teachers and shares the same site and facilities as QES,

with its extra-curricular provision and its wider network of support.

QEStudio also puts the same QES values at the heart of our philosophy to aim for the

same high standards of Scholarship & Care that have served us well for 425 years.

Looking ahead, this combination will help prepare our students for their next steps

after QES, whether that’s a traditional route to University or the route into the word of

work through Apprenticeships.

QEStudio graduates will be able to access advanced apprenticeships, employment or

further or higher education. Our students will have the combination of Technical

qualifications and A-Levels that many of our universities already like.

Universities are very interested in what we are doing because many of them are

developing degree apprenticeships to respond to the need to produce employable

graduates. For example, Lancaster University are working with us on this.

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Professional Partners

Our ability to tailor courses meets the needs of our community relies on consultation

and contribution from our network of professional partners. This group of socially

responsible organisations supports our work in a whole range of ways, dependent

upon their needs and capacity. Here are just some of our partners:

We are hugely grateful for the support of our professional partners in areas such as:

Project Briefs: Providing real world challenges to be solved by our student

project teams facilitating our onsite work experience sessions

Consultation: Working with our Director of Programmes and Employer

Engagement Co-ordinator to develop our curriculum and opportunities, ensuring

our programmes equip our students with the skills and experiences necessary

to join the workforce

Taster Days: Opportunities for students to join a business for up to a week,

giving them a taste of life in industry beyond their time in education

Professional Mentoring: Taking part in onsite coaching sessions, providing

professional guidance to students nearing the end of their programme

Placements: With the potential for dedicated work, serving a particular

business need or to practise an industry specific skill

Business Briefings: Introduce students to life in a local business, presenting to

groups in our purpose built CREATE Hub

We always welcome contact from any new partners who’d like to be involved!

Sixth Form

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Our Dance & Drama Pathways are performance led

Sixth Form

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Specialist Pathways

The key part of a student’s Learning Package is a Specialist Pathway and we

are offering these seven exciting areas as potential options in Sixth Form:

A student will typically spend a whole day a week on their specialism, taught by a

team of expert teachers who will be joined by professionals from that sector.

But a Learning Package actually includes 3 parts to broaden students’ skills:

The heart of each Pathway is a technical qualification that will be delivered

through formal teaching as well as practical project work.

As part of their Pathway, students can also do professional qualifications

that are desirable to employers, for example Health & Safety in the workplace.

Across all their studies, students will also develop a skillset called CREATE

that’s used in studio schools to foster skills to succeed in work & life.

1

2

3

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Pathway Outlines

Art & Design Our practical course will challenge your creativity and develop your technical skills across a mix of media.

BTEC Level 3

Business & IT Explore commerce by working with employers on skillsets from marketing to event management.

Level 3 Award

Engineering Work with partners in industry to develop your understanding of professional engineering.

Level 3 Award

Health This pathway is a perfect route into healthcare roles via apprenticeships or degrees.

OCR Level 3 Technical Extended Certificate in Health & Social Care

Performing Arts – Dance & Drama Our qualifications are focused on skills and performance with workshops from industry practitioners.

BTEC National Extended Certificates in Performing Arts

Sport Our courses focus on the skills for roles such as coaching or personal training.

OCR Level 3 Technical courses worth either one or two A-levels

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What Package is right for you?

We need to make sure you are on the right combination of courses in QEStudio.

So during the options process in Year 11, we will talk to you about your strengths

and interests, your aspirations for the future and the employability skills you need

to develop before offering you guidance on the best Learning Package for you.

You can choose 2 or even 3 qualifications to go alongside your Specialist Pathway.

This can be A-levels, Technical awards or even, in the right circumstances, an

additional Pathway. ‘EPQ’ has also become a very popular option for students.

We will discuss all those options with you to ensure you get the right Package so you

can manage the workload and have choices for future progression.

Students then split their week between their Pathway and their ‘normal’ subjects:

Students will spend a full day on their Specialist Pathway, although the exact day will depend on next year’s timetable

Registration in form time in all mornings & afternoons with be with a Create Team

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Our Sixth Form building

Our Sixth Form common room

Our Sixth Form library

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CREATE

In recent years, employers across the UK have struggled to hire new staff because

applicants often do not have key employability skills.

It is time consuming for businesses to begin training people in these skills, especially

for small or medium enterprises (SMEs) like so many businesses in our local area.

So to help our students get a head start in the world of work, we want to equip them

with these lifelong skills.

One key part of our approach will be to use a framework called CREATE that has

been designed for studio schools across the country and that covers six key skillsets:

And to help our students track their development of these skills, we have built a

special CREATE website with Net*, one of our local professional partners.

CREATE Skills & Website

Students will develop skills in

different ways across the week...

..and students use the website to log

and track their progress.

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Uniform & Form Time

We want QEStudio Sixth Formers to be seen as school

leaders and role models for younger students.

This includes all aspects of behaviour, including having

a professional and mature approach to uniform.

Students are asked how they feel about a Sixth Form

with a strict uniform at interview, and it is very important

that they think through this aspect carefully.

Wearing the uniform - and wearing it correctly - is an

outward sign that a student supports our values the

outlook of a creative professional (see opposite).

Our dress code is based on the same high standards as

a professional workplace:

• On Specialist Pathway days, students will have

‘workwear’, like chef’s whites or health care tunics

that will be logoed & provided by QEStudio.

• For the rest of the week, students will wear a

special version of the QES Sixth Form uniform,

which is sold online at Monkhouse.com

Form Time

Form time is a key part of

daily life at QEStudio

because it sets the tone

for each working day.

So we organise students

into a special ‘Create’

Team with your fellow

Sixth Formers.

This team will be led by a

Learning Coach, who will

be an experienced

member of staff.

Our Learning Coaches

make sure students have

all they need to succeed.

So a Learning Coach will:

Make sure team

members are on

track with their

effort & learning

Look out for

students in other

areas, such as

workload or social

issues

Ensure access to

careers advice

And deliver key

parts of our PSHE

programme during

a weekly session.

Sixth Form

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Values & Creative Professionals

We share the same values & vision of a successful learner as QES. QEStudio has

a clear vision for how we want to develop students into creative professionals.

Shared Values

Respecting traditions & the past

Working hard & doing your best

Being decent to people

Being friendly, polite and

courteous

Looking out for other people

Getting involved

Respecting the environment

Thinking of others less fortunate

Encouraging global citizenship

Understanding life is about more

than money or material things.

Successful Learner

Has an awareness of the ways in

which they learn

Can respond positively to feedback

Has a wide range of learning skills

Can learn alone or with others

Can listen

Can concentrate for a long time

Can use time effectively

Is creative

Enjoys and values learning

Is at ease with doubt

Has appropriate personal goals

Can transfer & build on previous

learning

A Creative Professional Is…

Independent

Reliable

Able to work in a team

Able to solve problems

Willing to persevere

Resilient

Original

Able to compromise

Willing to take risks

Knows how to learn while working

A Creative Professional…

Understands how organisations

function

Knows about financial matters

Knows how their role contributes

to the success of their employer

Knows how their employer

contributes to the well-being of

their community

Can get on with a job effectively

from day one

Is capable of starting up their

own enterprise and employing

others

Sixth Form

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Key Dates

Nov

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

Aug

Sep

2017

Tuesday, 28 November: Information Evening for new and existing Year 9 and Year 11 students and parents/ carers to explain QEStudio

2018

Thursday, 11 January - Open Evening for QEStudio and QES Sixth Form

Friday, 19 January - Taster Day for all Sixth Form QEStudio applicants

Friday, 2 February - Deadline for applications for QEStudio and QES Sixth Form

Monday, 5 March – Interviews begin for QEStudio and QES Sixth Form

Offer of place - Students receive letter about entry to Sixth Form for QEStudio or QES

Thursday, 23 August – Results Day & Enrolment

Tuesday, 4 September: First day of term for new Year 12

Tuesday, 11 September: Induction session for parents of

students in QEStudio

Sixth Form

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More Information

Should you have any queries about the application process, please do not

hesitate to contact:

Alison Wilkinson, Principal of Studio School

Peter Hooper, Director of Specialist Programmes

Cathy Harrison, Director of CREATE

Katie D’Arcy, Studio School Co-ordinator

For initial queries, the best route is email: info@qestudio.org.uk

Or telephone via our main school number: 015242 71275

For more information about the school, the applications process and the Specialist

Pathways, please our website qestudio.org.uk

For our latest news & information, please look on Twitter @qestudio_school

Website Twitter

qestudio.org.uk @qestudio_school