Vocational Studies

Vocational Studies is open to KS4 students, particularly students who may not achieve 5 or more GCSE’s at C or above. This runs alongside their core subjects and other GCSE options.

  
Year 10 Lion King Exhibition 2009
Year 10 Fishing Trip 2010
Year 10 Thorpe Park Trip 2010
Year 10 First Aid Course 2010

Vocational Studies incorporates CoPE in Yr10 and Wider Key Skills in Yr11, the students also attend a college course one day a week.
These qualifications, which are equivalent to full GCSE’s, offer imaginative ways of accrediting young people’s activities. They promote the development of a wide range of personal qualities, abilities and achievements of young people, as well as introducing them to new activities and challenges.

CoPE – Certificate of Personal Effectiveness

This qualification has evolved from the very successful ASDAN ( youth and FE ) Awards. The aims of the qualification are to enable candidates:

  • to develop and demonstrate a range of personal, key and employability skillsleading to personal effectiveness.
  • to broaden experience and manage learning through the enrichment activities provided by the ASDAN challenges.
  • to receive formal recognition and accreditation for the above.
Wider Key Skills

Key Skills are skills that are commonly needed for success in a range of activities in education and training, work and life in general.

The Key Skills units are:

• Working with Others
 • Improving Own Learning and Performance
 • Problem Solving

The aim is to develop and recognise each candidate’s ability to apply these skills in ways that are appropriate to different contexts and to improve the quality of their learning performance.

   
         
   

During the courses students will be involved in college placements (Motor Vehicle Maintenance, Engineering, Animal Care, Bricklaying or Technical Skills)

Other activities on the courses are:

  • Employability Workshops
  • Construction Challenges
  • Extended work experience
  • Emergency First Aid Course
  • Theatre trips
  • BCU Kayaking Course at Kingston Maurwood
  • Fishing Trips
  • Sailing at Hengistbury Head
  • Organising a charity event to raise money for a chosen charity