Student Leadership and Development
Community Leadership
At Whitmore, we believe in developing the whole person. Our students have many opportunities for student leadership roles both in school and in our local community. Through our Community Leadership Programme, students are encouraged to participate in a number of activities to help them expand their skills set, and become active leaders within our school community. All activities fall under the qualities of Leadership, Organisation, Initiative and Communication.
Leadership e.g. chairing a Year Council or leading on paired reading activities with the younger year groups.
Organisation e.g. organising a fund raising activity for a local or national charity or providing extra-curricular clubs for the whole school community
Initiative e.g. launching and maintaining a school wide awareness initiative or designing and running competitions for lower school students.
Communication e.g. regularly contributing to the school newsletter or promoting projects that have a positive impact on the school.
PSHE
All students participate in our rigorous pastoral programme, developing further their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Advice, guidance and support are available through the Year Team of tutors, through the careers team within the school and from the dedicated Sixth Form Learning Mentor. As well as this, Sixth Form students receive detailed information concerning the university and apprenticeship application process, and our experienced form tutors advise on personal statements and future pathway choices.
Outside speakers are invited into Sixth Form assemblies to give advice on many aspects that impact students’ lives - study skills, national leadership opportunities, stress management and personal and social concerns relevant to the age group.
D of E Gold
At Whitmore we offer the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award to our Year 12 students. The D of E programme is highly acknowledged by top employers and universities for the essential skills and attributes for life and work that students gain from this award. Such as resilience, problem solving, team working, communication and self-perseverance
Extra-curricular activities
At Whitmore we offer our students a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. Helping students to show personal development and self-interest is an integral part of the ethos of our school.
Students take part in trips run by subject leaders: music trips abroad, geographical field trips, theatre visits, lectures at London universities. The extensive sports facilities on offer at the school are available for Sixth Formers to use and enjoy, alongside extra-curricular inter-form and inter-school competitions to maintain their participation in sport.
There are many clubs that run throughout the school week that students are able to attend. Maths club, debating club, Art club, Jazz band and a book club to name a few.
We also maintain close links with external organisations such as the National Citizen Service and with the Wings of Hope Achievement Award and support student engagement with these.
Extended Project Qualification
Our Sixth Form students have the opportunity to take the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). This is a free-standing research qualification at A level standard, worth half an A level in UCAS points; it involves an exploration of an area of personal interest or activity outside their main programme of study.
They research and write a 5000 word essay or create an artefact and report on the process. The qualification is assessed on the whole project: their management skills, use of resources, communication and decision making skills and final essay/artefact. The students comment on how the qualification prepares them thoroughly for their independent study at university.
Below, please find the links to some EPQ projects by Whitmore students which demonstrate the range of research projects undertaken and the quality that is achieved.
| EPQ-Project-by-Awadhy-Mohammed.pdf |
| EPQ-Project-by-Yehia-Daebes.pdf |
UCAS & University destinations
The vast majority of our Year 13 students go on to well-respected universities, including Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group institutions and also degrees in medicine.
From Year 12 onwards, students are counselled and advised in the UCAS university admissions process, and their form tutors and senior staff work with them extensively to help craft their applications and personal statements.
We are fortunate to be able to draw upon the expertise of our own in-house careers and universities advisers, and students receive regular assemblies and workshops to help them understand this process.
A list of the university destinations of our leavers can be found on the left of this page.
Please find useful UCAS links below
University course guide: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/courses
Information regarding student finance: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
Oxbridge & Medics Preparation Programme
Whitmore is very happy to support students in applying to aspirational universities and every year some students are able to secure offers from The University of Cambridge and The University of Oxford and to study medicine.
How do we support students?: Preparation for Oxbridge starts early in the Autumn term in Year 12. Students are given information on the many support programmes that they can apply to which will help them in preparation for an Oxbridge application.
Oxford Uniq - Every year the UNIQ programme helps many students from diverse backgrounds to make successful applications to The University of Oxford. Please find further information on their website: https://www.uniq.ox.ac.uk/
Cambridge Shadowing - students who are in Year 12 get mentoring from a current undergraduate, studying a subject that they are interested in. Please find further information on their website: https://www.applytocambridge.com/shadowing/apply/
St John’s College Oxford - Year 12 Inspire Programme: Whitmore is linked to St John’s College, Oxford and our students can attend events, visits, workshops and a residential (or virtual) summer school. St John’s College welcomes enquiries from parents/students. Please go to the link to see upcoming events: https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/schools/pupils/
Cambridge – Christ’s College: Our linked college for Cambridge is Christ’s College and they work directly with students from all over the UK to encourage and support them in applying to top universities. Please find information for potential applicants that will be helpful here and to sign up for their student support initiatives: https://www.christs.cam.ac.uk/support-students
Lumina: Within conjunction with Harrow School and John Lyon’s Charity, we also run a linked programme called Lumina, this is a course to prepare students for an Oxbridge application. This is run during the summer of Year 12, and students experience master classes from Oxbridge Dons, receive help with preparation for admissions tests, practise interviews and attend Open Days at Cambridge and Oxford.
Medicine/Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine
Preparation starts at the beginning of Year 12 where students are introduced via presentations attend on the process involved in order to make a successful Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary application. Students are directed towards Information on a wide range of events and programmes that will support their aspirations and are signposted throughout the year as they become available. They are also supported through with their preparations for the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) entrance test, as well as the BMAT (BioMedical Aptitude Test) entrance test.
Apprenticeships
At Whitmore we look to ensure that students have a full understanding of the pathways available to them post-18 and encourage our students to pursue aspirational routes which can include apprenticeships as well as Degree Apprentices
Students receive independent advice concerning the application process (including CV writing) and are supported to make their applications via our in-house Careers Advisors.
Useful links for parents and students regarding apprenticeships:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-parents-guide-to-apprenticeships
https://www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/
http://www.apprenticeshipguide.co.uk/
Careers & Advice
We work closely with every student to provide them with information about the full range of post - 18 education, training, employment opportunities and other routes including apprenticeships. One-to-one guidance, group workshops, outside speakers, talks by Universities and a University Fair and some of the events that are organised and made available to our students to support them in making the most informed decisions. This high quality careers advice, guidance and information service is provided by our in-house Careers Coordinators and also in conjunction with an independent Careers Advisor.
