Our Academic Programme Our Academic Programme is designed to allow you to pursue the subjects you love, to develop and acquire new skills and prepare you for university and beyond. You will:
Gold Arts Award
• Study three A Level subjects – see course options on page 18
The Gold Arts Award is a Level 3 qualification in Arts and is the highest recognition of your abilities as a creative arts leader.
• Undertake an Extended Project Qualification (the equivalent of an AS Level, which is completed in Year 12). This qualification is greatly prized by universities including Oxbridge and other Russell Group universities. Alternatively you have the option to take a Gold Arts Award. • Take part in a full enrichment programme Extended Project Qualification The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) assesses your ability to carry out research and work independently. It enables you to step outside the confines of your A Level courses and work on something in which you are passionately interested. You have 120 hours to complete a project on a topic of your choice. Most girls will be expected to undertake the EPQ.
At Gold level, you are working as an arts practitioner while broadening your horizons within the arts world. Working at this level will extend your creativity, communication, planning, teamwork and leadership skills, and will support your progression through any education, training or career pathway. Unit 1 – Personal Arts Development Unit 2 – Arts Projects Leadership During contact time with your teacher you will plan your work and keep a record by creating your own Arts Award portfolio. You can pick your own style of portfolio – this could be a diary, video, website blog – or something different.
An important aspect of EPQ is the taught element. All girls in Year 12 attend three lessons every fortnight on study skills, incorporating independent learning, research, academic writing and presentation skills. This programme promotes invaluable skills that are highly sought by universities and employers. When you undertake an EPQ, you will then build on these skills to conduct your own research and produce a 5,000 word project. You will be assessed on the project, a presentation given to your peers, teachers and invited guests, and a log that you create to outline the different stages of your research journey. It is important to understand that, although a member of staff will be your supervisor, all work must be your own and the responsibility for keeping on track is yours alone. The EPQ is demanding but rewarding. Recent titles have included: • Is there a link between the western diet and the development of ADHD? • How valuable is enhanced interrogation to international counter-terrorism efforts? • Are non secular states more socially harmonious than secular states?
NEWCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS GDST 17
