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Years 10 and 11
Intellectual growth
The two-year GCSE course is a different kind of challenge. At Channing, we offer a wide choice of GCSE subjects, allowing girls to maintain a broad and stimulating academic base. Flexibility is ensured as we have no set option pools meaning that that each girl has a unique timetable. Our dedicated and passionate teachers are highly experienced and help all girls achieve academic success; and they often teach beyond the confines of the GCSE syllabus to stimulate and stretch girls. Academically, girls in the Upper School develop intellectual curiosity, learn to challenge and be challenged and develop skills and techniques vital to life far beyond school.
- Year 10's ice skating at Somerset House
Personal growth
With their unique timetable and greater independence girls learn to be more responsible for themselves. Working with different groups throughout the week widens their circle of friends and experiences. Girls in the Upper School play an important part in the leadership of the school and we enjoy watching them grow in confidence and maturity. Our supportive and caring pastoral team guides each student through the Upper School years and encourages them to rise to, and enjoy, all the opportunities and challenges presented to you.
Opportunities for leadership
As more senior students, girls in the Upper School have the chance to take on significant responsibilities that enable them to develop strong leadership and communication skills. The Upper School Form Captains play an important role in leading their forms and meet every fortnight with Mrs Atkinson to discuss matters arising from school council and issues they wish to raise on behalf of their forms. Along with the Charity Reps, they organise the year group’s Charity Week, an important part of the charity fundraising we do at Channing.
At the beginning of Year 10, girls are invited to apply to be Deputy House Captains and two per house are chosen by the Year 12 House Captains to help run house events and competitions and to lead house assemblies and meetings. In the Spring Term of Year 10, the new Healthy Schools officers take their place to work with Mr Gittins on ensuring all is done to provide a healthy and safe environment for pupils and staff. Their key areas of interest include the PSHE curriculum, PE programme and food provided at break and lunch times.
Careers
We have a well-stocked Careers section in the library that offers a full range of information about courses and careers. The resources are regularly updated and the library can be used by any girl in the school at lunch-time or break time. In addition, girls are also given information and guidance in PSHE lessons which should help them make their choices. Additional advice is given by subject staff, form staff, Heads of Section and the Head of Careers, Mrs Ogidan. We do not expect most pupils to have a definite career plan at this stage, so the career programme is geared towards enhancing pupils knowledge of the world of work.
During enrichment week all girls in Year 10 experience a day in the real work place in our annual Take Your Daughters to Work day and they all participate in the Careers Convention, at which volunteer parents and other professionals give talks about their work. This gives them an excellent opportunity to start exploring possible careers helping them to think about University courses and giving them the chance to make informed decisions about A Levels. Girls in Year 11 are given individual guidance on suitable A Level subjects and combinations that work, either for a particular course or to give them breadth from which they can opt for a range of degree courses. We have put into the calendar two extremely useful Parents Information Evenings on Ucas and Oxbridge which both parents and girls in Year 11 find extremely useful when choosing A Levels. Taster lessons in A Level subjects such as Politics and Economics are very much enjoyed by Year 11 girls eager to try subjects they haven’t studied at GCSE.
Clubs
We want the girls to explore the widest possible range of interests within and beyond the curriculum.
Every day provides opportunity to take part in one of the many lunchtime and after-school activities. Clubs specifically offered to the Upper School include
- Life Drawing Class
- Fitness Club
- Drama Club
- Photography Club
- Science projects.
As more senior students, girls in the Upper School have the chance to take on significant responsibilities that enable them to develop strong leadership and communication skills.
Ahead of The Game, Girls’ School Association National Competition 2012
A team of five Year 10 girls attended this event: Martha Levy, Saskia Moss, Evi Kotsis, Alicia Parkes and Ashley Yonga. The event, held at Burgess Hill School, was attended by 30 schools. The guest speaker was Claire Young, a finalist from the BBC1’s The Apprentice (2008). She was a lively, inspirational speaker and an outstanding role model. Her message was strong: her success had depended on her excellent education followed by her hard work and persistence.
The competition aimed to encourage girls to become the entrepreneurs of the future. The Channing girls each took on a specific role within their team and attended relevant lectures on one of: finance, graphic design, legal support, marketing and operations.
The task involved generating a proposal for a business venture, for a six month duration, located in an empty shop unit in our local high street. The team had a working lunch and by the end of the afternoon presented their proposal to an audience of 150 people and completed a portfolio of work. The Channing team spotted a hole in the market and proposed a fresh yogurt drinks bar to appeal to teenagers and health conscious families. But this is not all, they had the foresight to realise that diversification can strengthen a business of this nature and they also suggested using it as an outlet for bracelets that would be appealing as gifts. Ashley and Evi team presented confidently and persuasively for the Channing team and the idea was well received as it was realistic given the maximum £500 budget for the enterprise. We are waiting to hear if the Channing team has been successful in achieving a place in the next round of the competition.
Alicia Parkes 10M
WOW conference: Friday 9 March
The newly appointed Year 10 form captains who were accompanied by our Head of Sixth form, Miss Newman, attended the prestigious WOW conference at the Southbank centre. The conference objectives are detailed below:
- To explore the education of young women in a contemporary context, in order to equip them for success.
- To develop young women’s awareness of the wide range of possibilities open to them, by accessing the pool of knowledge of leading experts from diverse backgrounds.
- To empower women with an awareness of gender in mainstream media, literature and the arts, and an ability to express a creative response to its effects.
- To support young women in developing a greater understanding of lessons that can be learned from past generations, historical and living, and adapted for use today.
- To explore what it means to be successful women in the twenty- first century and begin the journey towards developing a supportive sisterhood of postmodern women.
The girls were visibly enthusiastic when taking part in discussion, listening to poetry performances and speakers’ presentations about their specialist fields.
Guest speakers included Dr Kylie Vincent, University of Oxford and Professor Kathryn Riley, Institute of Education, speaking about educating women; Jo Tilley-Riley of Champollion Digital on IT careers and Emily Cummins an ethical inventor.
All in all an excellent and inspirational day for our Year 10 Form Captains.
