Points boosters are a series of courses that can be taken alongside your three chosen subjects. They are graded and award UCAS points, which go towards university applications.
Points booster courses can also provide the necessary and valuable experience required for undergraduate study, employment and apprenticeships. All of these courses carry the same expectations as our A Level and Level 3 courses, and will require commitment and dedication.
By taking a points booster course, you will be showing that you have gone ‘above and beyond’ in your post 16 study – a quality which is greatly respected and admired by university admissions tutors and employers alike, so we encourage all students to choose one of these options.
Extended Project Qualification
The Extended Project Qualification provides you with an opportunity to carry out an in-depth study into an area of interest to you. The course allows you a number of options; you are able to decide on a topic area of your own choosing and you are able to choose the format that your project will take from the following:
- a dissertation – a 6,000 word project responding to a question that you have developed
- an artefact – where you will produce an item in response to a brief, along with a 3,000 word development
- a performance – where you will produce a piece in response to a brief, along with a 3,000 word development
- an investigation – a 6,000 word research project, responding to a hypothesis, using 80% primary research
Students are encouraged to develop independent research skills whilst looking into an area of interest specific to them. With only one lesson a week, used as a mentoring session, students will have to organise their time and take responsibility for the completion of each section of their work with limited guidance. Each student will have a different experience of EPQ depending on the type of project they produce and the topic area they choose to cover, making it unique to them.
Sports leadership
The Level 3 Sports Leadership qualification provides you with an opportunity to develop your leadership skills whilst improving life and employability skills.
These include self belief, problem solving, teamwork, communication and self-management. There will be a mixture of both theory and practical sessions to cover the course content. You will be required to deliver 30 hours of sports sessions to a variety of groups.
Many universities recognise the importance of the skills developed through sports leadership. You will be in a position to give practical examples of how you have overcome problems, worked as part of a team and been motivational to others.
You will be able to talk about your experiences in your personal statements and at interviews, and you will be far better prepared for the demands made when you enter university. The sports leadership course has many transferable life skills which you will use on a daily basis in any work or study setting.
Core maths
This qualification is designed to consolidate and build upon your mathematical understanding at GCSE, as well as develop your understanding and skills further in the application of maths to authentic problems.
The objectives of the course:
- deepen competence in the selection and use of mathematical techniques used at GCSE and beyond
- develop confidence in representing and analysing authentic situations mathematically and applying mathematics to address related questions and issues
- build skills in mathematical thinking, reasoning and communication
The mathematics faculty is a vibrant area of learning, with access to interactive smart boards, class sets of iPads and laptops. Students are encouraged through a range of teaching techniques to develop responsibility for their own learning. Teachers go that extra mile to help secure progressive outcomes for students.