The Upper Sixth have learned to iron, too!
The Upper Sixth are two weeks into their programme designed to offer guidance, support and vital ‘pearls of wisdom’ as they transition to life after RGS. It has been a turbulent time for the students, but this is a great opportunity for them to focus on the future.
The programme is structured around four strands, each offering a variety of components aimed at developing the students in a number of key areas, from undergraduate study to cooking, to digital skills and personal finance. Through a blend of independent study and timetabled sessions, the students will be gaining important knowledge and acquiring life skills that will make them more independent. Highlights so far have been a live cooking lesson with over sixty students, as well as live question and answer sessions with recent RGS Alumni. The students will be supported through completing a MOOC (massive open online course) on preparing for university which is designed to ease any uncertainties by equipping them with the skills for university learning before they get there, so they can be ready for their studies. In addition, Departments are working with groups of students on preparatory undergraduate work on topics from nuclear engineering to liberal arts. These really are wonderful opportunities for the Upper Sixth students and I am sure that they will complete the programme in an even stronger position to achieve their goals and fulfil their ambitions.
One of our parents kindly commented about the course, saying, “I am very pleased to hear my daughter can now start ironing too. We all have a new respect for teachers so thank you to you and the team for these extra life skill sessions. It is very much appreciated.”
Mrs Matthews ran our first online ‘Uni Cooking’ demonstration. The budding chefs started with a demonstration of spaghetti bolognese, with both a meat and a vegetarian option. It was tricky to manage multi-tasking on camera, but the results, in the end, were pretty impressive and Mrs Matthews’ effort certainly passed her family’s taste test later on!
It was the turn of Mr Houchin this week and he led the cooking demonstration with 22 students cooking along with him. There will be some more challenging dishes coming over the next few weeks, and hopefully, we will be able to share some amazing examples of what the Upper Sixth students have made.
By Mr Mark Evetts, Head of Sixth Form