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St Gabriel’s

St Gabriel’s

  • Year 5 Senior School Taster Day - Thursday 6 July

  • Reception Open Event - Friday 15 September

  • Whole School Open Morning - Saturday 30 September

The Balance

Your curriculum at St Gabriel’s Sixth Form is curated to prepare you to be ready to enter and succeed in the wider world beyond ‘The Farmhouse’. Through timetabled curriculum lessons, 1:1 mentoring, enrichment activities, leadership opportunities to societies and clubs, you will be ready to accomplish your next step. 

Every student is fully supported and prepared to make the best decisions to reach their fullest potential.

The programme is complementary to your A level studies.

Taking an EPQ has helped me so much with university  research and essay writing.

2019 LeaverS

Med Prof Group

Practical sessions in suturing and preparations for MMIs and aptitude tests (BMat and UKCat) tests.

Leadership Opportunities

Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl and Prefect Team responsibilities.

Team Building

Army team building workshop.

PGL residential
At the beginning of Year 12, students spend two days on a PGL residential trip to step outside their comfort zone, under the watchful eyes of the trained instructors, and discover new strengths and skills.  They also develop confidence and trust within the group and come back to school united as a year group.

The programme of activities the students take part in includes, abseiling, quad biking, surfing, Blokarting, leap of faith and a sensory trail.

The ‘Plan, Do, Review’ approach helps students understand what they have learnt and the impact this has on their own behaviour.

Students tease out what they were feeling with review sessions after each activity – the implications, the connections and the insights.

Application Support

Bespoke 1:1 Tutor Experience - Personal Statement workshops and mentoring.

UCAS Exhibition.

Student Finance evening with guest speaker.

Military Career Presentation.

Duke of Edinburgh Award (Gold)

The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) is non-competitive and open to all young people – it's about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries. There are three levels of DofE programme which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award.

Through their DofE, pupils will make friends and memories and build on their confidence, resilience and self-esteem, which can benefit mental health. Along the way, they will acquire skills and attributes for work and life, like problem-solving, team-working and self-motivation – and they will achieve an Award that is recognised by top employers and can help them stand out when applying for university or jobs.

To achieve Gold Award, participants must complete five sections: Skills, Volunteering, Physical, Residential and an Expedition.

Musical Enrichment

To include music clubs: String Quartet, Jazz Band, Rock band, St Gabriels’ Singers, composition group and music theory.

Practical Workshops

Financial literacy workshops to include – Student Loans, salaries and taxation.

Budgeting for student and Independent life.

Workshop on coping with change and moving away from home.

Digital Competency Workshops to include online blackmail and security and managing your digital footprint.

Female Health MOT workshop by nurse practitioner.

Careers Spotlight Events

Alumnae and guest speakers present to Sixth Formers and provide an informal Q&A across diverse career paths.  For an example of delegates, see here. Leads to individual mentoring with professionals in industry.

Enrichment Carousel

Annual rotation 2021-2022 included sessions on pottery, "Safety for all", introduction to South American culture, student cooking, music for wellbeing.

LAMDA

LAMDA lessons are offered on a weekly basis within school led by our visiting tutor. These lessons are designed to encourage self-confidence and promote creativity, imagination and teamwork in a supportive environment. Skills in acting and communication help to develop an ability to speak and to express views and opinions with confidence. The lessons encourage an appreciation and understanding of literature and the spoken word through speaking, reading and listening; they also promote technical skills such as clear articulation, confident physicality and breathe control.

The syllabuses provide a structured framework designed to encourage the progressive development of integrated performance and communication skills over time. In addition, the graded exams are fully accredited in the UK and recognised internationally in many other countries.

Competitive Debating

Debating gives students the chance to develop key analytical and public speaking skills in a fun and relaxed environment. Students work together to debate a range of issues, from the topical questions of the day to the abstract and more obscure. Debating helps to develop critical thinking skills; teaches you how to examine and justify ideas, and find evidence to support different points of view.

As well as having a lot of fun debating with each other, the Sixth Form takes part in inter-school events and competitions, including the annual Oxford Union Schools' Competition. Sixth Formers help run the Senior School Debating Clubs.

Debating is for everyone, whatever subjects you are studying. It is excellent preparation for future employment and helps you to stand out in your university applications and shine at interviews.

Weekly Current Affairs Seminars

Topics covered include: Black History Month; Afghanistan; the Migrant Crisis; Is it more dangerous to be a woman in today's society?; How relevant is the Everyone's Welcome initiative?; Parliament week - how does parliament function and why is it important?; Interview with Laura Farris, MP, and engagement; Holocaust Memorial Day.

Sixth Form Productions

The Sixth Form, with the help of tutors, write, direct and produce Mummers' plays which are performed to the whole school community and form a traditional part of our end of year celebrations.

 

Physical Wellbeing

Competitive sports teams & fixtures
Nuffield Gym sessions
Sixth Form early morning running club
Yoga workshops

Student Cookery Courses

Advanced Culinary Skills Course
This course equips students with a love of good food and the confidence to cook a variety of dishes for themselves and others.  They will build a solid foundation of cookery skills to last them a lifetime. The course will include demonstrations of dishes, knife skills and the preparation and cookery of a range of savoury and sweet dishes.  The practical sessions will run for three hours in the evening between 4.30pm—7.30pm

Student Cooking Enrichment
An entertaining enrichment option and fun way for Sixth Form students to learn the basics of cooking by creating a range of savoury and sweet dishes. At the end of the course, girls will have more confidence in the kitchen so that eating wholesome, nutritious fare becomes a rewarding and fun part of student life.

Peer Mentoring

Sixth Form students receive training from the school counsellor to become Peer Mentors.  It is a natural part of development that adolescents often prefer to talk to someone of their own age about their problems.  Peer Mentors offer this opportunity to the younger girls who benefit from their greater maturity and experience.  As a Peer Mentor, students gain increased responsibility, whilst developing their interpersonal skills, as well as their understanding of the importance of boundaries and ethics.

Safe Driving

You will have the opportunity to participate in the Thames Valley Safer Driving Initiative.

Self Defence Workshops

Self defence workshops with an external instructor gives students both confidence and skills.

Volunteering

Sixth Form girls work in partnership with Junior School pupils to foster an enjoyment of reading by meeting twice a week to share a book together.  This boosts reading skills and comprehension of age appropriate texts.  The reading scheme is of huge benefit to all participants and provides Sixth Form students with additional skills to add to their personal statement. 

There are other opportunities to get involved in volunteering projects, both in and out of school, which can contribute to the Young Lions in Service Awards (YLiS).

Additional clubs are arranged according to students’ interests, for example, Psychology Club, Film Club, Classics Club and Knitting Club.

World Challenge

Every two years, girls in the Sixth Form have the opportunity to take part in a World Challenge expedition.  Following on from successful expeditions to Costa Rica (2008), Namibia (2010),  Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands (2012), Peru (2014), Thailand & Cambodia (2016), in 2018, the girls visited Borneo.  They spent three weeks travelling and highlights of the trip included working in a school, trekking in the jungle and climbing Mount Kinabalu in Sabah.

On these trips the girls develop a range of life skills such as managing their own budget, arranging transport, booking accommodation and working as a team.  They return with increased confidence and self-esteem, having learned so much from this once in a lifetime experience.

 

School Business Challenge

Year 12 students participate in a student business competition to find out what it is like to set up and run a business.  Students make all the decisions about their company, from raising the initial share capital through to designing and selling their product, deciding what to do with their profits and ultimately winding up the company and paying taxes.  All this takes place with the support of a teacher and a business adviser who will bring a wealth of business knowledge to the team.

Students can choose to set up their business as a social enterprise, which focuses on addressing a social need rather than maximising profit.

Each team will raise finance, carry out market research; develop their own product or service; work together to create their business plan to pitch in a Dragon's Den scenario; market and promote their product or service; trade with the public; manage their finances; take part in a pop up fair, and compete with other schools in a local competition.

This business challenge provides the opportunity to develop skills including: communication, confidence, financial capability, organisation, initiative, problem solving, resilience, teamwork and leadership skills.