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DIPLOMA SCHOLARSHIP I S T D U N S TA N ’ S T H E S I X T H F O R M E X P E R I E N C E
SIXTH FORM DIPLOMA SCHOLARSHIPS The Sixth Form Diploma Scholarship is awarded to outstanding Year 11 students as they embark on their Sixth Form studies at St Dunstan’s College. In addition to excellent academic results, our Diploma Scholars are leaders in the College community and contribute to all aspects of College life. They have an infectious enthusiasm for the subjects and activities they are passionate about, and their work in these fields inspires others to follow in their footsteps. They are able to organise their time to ensure they can meet deadlines and expectations, but always have time to devote to furthering their specialist knowledge or improving their skills. Above all, Sixth Form Diploma Scholars are role models for others in the College, adorning the white of their St Dunstan’s shield with flair and good humour. What is the Sixth Form Diploma Scholarship Programme? Chosen by application and interview with the Headmaster in Michaelmas term of Year 11, Diploma Scholars will be required to lead societies in their favoured disciplines. Working with the Head of Sixth Form and the Director of the Forder programme, and various Heads of Department, scholars are trained in leading seminars, workshops, productions and evening shows, discussing their work with others to develop new ideas for wider display. This enrichment programme includes off-site visits to lectures and performances, such as to the opera at the ENO, and trips to places of academic and social interest, such as Kew Gardens. We also take the scholars away for a weekend to our Scholars Retreat on the UK coast where they have chance to learn alongside the Headmaster and with senior members of the College’s Leadership team.
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In return, scholars are expected to create, advertise and take responsibility for leading at least one student society, for at least two half-terms (either per year, or one term per each year), in their given field of expertise. They will have mentors from each of their areas who will support and shape their leadership potential to enable the scholars to grow into a champion in their field of expertise across the College. All this is stimulus for creating an individual scholarship project. There is no standard format for a research project: it can be an essay, a work study, an artistic piece, a video documentary, or a mixture of all or any of these. Projects are presented in the November Scholar Symposium of Year 13 attended by an invited judge and parents. The Diploma Scholarship becomes a powerful platform for advanced skills to be developed, and enhanced university and future CVs created in advance of their peers.
