At Loughborough Grammar School, we believe that our boys should get a good deal more from their sixth form experience than just “good A Levels”. When they leave Loughborough Grammar School, we want our boys to leave fully prepared for the professional world and confident in their own abilities to undertake what will be expected of them. This is why we developed the Professional Development Programme; a unique offering, bespoke to each boy.
The PDP will equip boys with the best possible skills, experiences and opportunities to help navigate the world beyond Loughborough Grammar School, whilst supporting them to follow their specific interests.
Through the Professional Development Programme, we aim to provide boys with the opportunity to:
- Gain professional qualifications linked to specific career paths.
- Take direct responsibility for, and ownership of, their learning journey.
- Undertake leadership opportunities.
- Add breadth to their portfolio, and therefore increasing chances of university offers.
- Gain real-life work experience.
- Develop key professional skills such as CV writing, setting up LinkedIn profiles, and Microsoft proficiency.
To ensure that boys take responsibility for their own learning, they will design and build their own timetable, which is completely bespoke to each boy, dependent on their specific interests and career paths.
The PDP consists of six strands: Community, Academic Enrichment, Subject Skills Workshops, Professionalism, Independent Study and Social Time.
Community
This area of the PDP focuses on developing the soft skills employers look for such as working in teams, responsibility, and organisation. This could include volunteering at John Storer House supporting people with learning difficulties, memory loss or additional needs; volunteering in a care home; helping deliver PE lessons or listening to children read at local primary schools. Some of these opportunities may require boys to write an application and be interviewed to secure their place. Boys may also decide to organise their own community opportunities.
Academic Enrichment
Boys will be able to choose from a huge selection of qualifications, which will mostly be self-studied and online, and will link to their chose career path. Examples may include LIBF financial qualifications, the Modern MBA, TEFL, British Sign Language, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), university modules, Stanford University Game Theory, and additional GCSEs.
Subject Skills Workshops
Subject Skills Workshops focus on academic skills specific to A Level subjects the boys are currently studying to improve their performance in examinations and assessments and supporting them in attaining the best possible outcomes. They are taught by A Level subject specialists and are structured, ‘hands on’ sessions working in small teams to undertake subject-specific exercises, whilst developing problem-solving and metacognition skills. Examples may include studying specific exam questions, graph work and essay analysis.
Professionalism
This strand comprises a series of 30 min seminars and lectures to develop boys’ professional skills alongside their understanding of professional etiquette required in the working world. Examples of topics covered include: shortlisting a university course, what ‘working in the city’ means, LinkedIn, and digital literacy.
Independent Study
Being able to study independently is not only integral to A Level success but also to all future learning beyond Sixth Form, whether for further academic qualifications or professional qualifications for career progression.
To support this, boys will be given access to the Sixth Form Work Zone at certain times during the week for independent study. The Sixth Form Work Zone is a silent, supervised co-working room used by staff and Sixth Form students, equipped with facilities to charge laptops, iPads and other mobile devices.
Academic Supervisions
Fortnightly supervisions form part of the PDP where boys will meet with their Academic Supervisor in a small group of students. Their Academic Supervisor will have oversight of boys’ bespoke PDP and can offer support and guidance where required.
Social Time
Boys will have the option to build some social periods into their PDP and therefore have the opportunity to forge friendships with boys that they may not have previously studied with. They are free to spend this time having a snack in the Sixth Form café, playing pool or board games, or chatting with friends on the mezzanine sofas.
To download the Professional Development Booklet, please click here.
For further information about the Professional Development Programme, please contact: Mrs Morag Herring, Deputy Head Academic: m.herring@lsf.org, Dr Al Waters, Assistant Head Co-curricular, Pupil Experience: a.waters@lsf.org or Mr Ben Körösi, Sixth Form Academic Co-ordinator: b.korosi@lsf.org