Our Year 9 Curriculum Enrichment programme is an innovative series of lessons aimed at encouraging our young people to make a difference in their community. Pupils take part in a range of different activities which are in line with our school vision, providing them with further curriculum opportunities to grow in ‘body, mind and spirit,’ with the ultimate aspiration of ‘becoming the person God wants them to be.’
Voluntary work, community service, environmental projects, charity work and aspects of work experience all play a part in the new programme, enabling pupils to gain some valuable life skills and learn a little more about ‘life outside school!’ By engaging with these activities pupils also give something back to their local community, encouraging them to grow in character and reflect the Christian Values of stewardship, compassion, service and humility. We hope these activities will inspire our young people to take action, become courageous advocates and, of course, we hope that they enjoy the new experiences which come their way!
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
The various activities in which the pupils are involved will enable them to work towards gaining their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The programme has run now for three years and over this time this has enabled more than 600 pupils to achieve the award. All pupils in Year 9 are encouraged to enrol into the programme and will be guided through the completion of the Award. By the end of the year they will have covered all of the Award and the expedition takes place in the summer term. During some lessons in the rotations there is time built in for pupils to create their DofE account and upload information on the activities they have been doing.
Curriculum enhancement
The programme complements their academic studies and have further experience National Curriculum subjects. Art, design, food technology, music, ICT, History, Geography skills and knowledge form part of the programme, as well as dance, drama and aspects of PE. They also complete aspects of their Careers Programme. Pupils do not receive targets or results in Enrichment but receive a Pass, Merit or Fail at the end of each rotation, thus giving credence to the achievement of the DofE Award.
How the programme works
Pupils take part in eight rotations of different activities for four weeks each. They take place on a Thursday afternoon during periods 7 and 8 and are led by various members of staff. Pupils must be extremely organised ‘Self Managers,’ checking each week the activity in which they are participating and coming prepared with, where relevant, the clothes and equipment necessary for that week. All tutors have the rota for their tutorial on their noticeboards and pupils have received a booklet detailing the dates and rotations for them throughout the year. The booklet and tutorial details of the rotations can be found here:
Year 9 Curriculum Enrichment booklet
Year 9 Curriculum Enrichment tutorial rotations
The rotations are:
Root and Branch – This involves gardening and working outdoors. For this rotation pupils split into two, sometimes three, smaller groups and work alongside Chorley in Bloom and Cuerden Valley Park. At Cuerden pupils pick litter and are involved in balsam bashing, helping to get rid of a weed that is rampant in the park. Another group of pupils stay in school and work on our own school garden, where with the advice of Chorley in Bloom, we are planting vegetables that they are going to use again to provide fresh food for the poorer communities. In 2021-22 we sent potatoes, squash, raspberries and strawberries to ‘Help the Homeless’ in Chorley. Pupils have also made raspberry jam which was given to members of the school community and made elderflower cordial that was served to parents and friends at the Summer Arts Evening. These were all picked and produced by our pupils from our grounds. For 2022-23 the school garden was extended. We have an extensive crop of strawberries which will be made into jam and given as gifts to the elderly at our annual Christmas Party. We are also now growing our own lavender which will hope will be able to be dried and again used as a gifts for the elderly at our community Christmas party which will be organised by pupils in Year 10 completing their Silver DofE Award.
For 2022-23 on several occasions, pupils worked on projects forwarded and developed by the School Council. Projects intended for this year include: the containers project and cultivating and planting bulbs near the outdoor worship space.
Cook, stitch and pitch For two weeks pupils practise expedition skills. They learn how to cook on a trangia and pitch a tent. During this rotation they they also learn how to do patchwork and mend clothes. We have already made several patchwork blankets that will be taken by our pupils to be used at the Cry School in Lusaka, Zambia. This is our two year school charity focus for 2022-24.
Flex ‘n Fit – Pupils take part in a rotation where they learn more about their own wellbeing and take part in yoga and boxercise. The other lesson in this rotation is First Aid, where pupils are working alongside a Surgeon who comes into school to help pupils do CPR and other life saving techniques.
Treasure maps and family tracks – In this rotation pupils spend two weeks taking part in a local history project. They take walks around Chorley and also learn about the various styles of architecture. The idea of the walk is to engage pupils in historical discovery by placing people and places from the past into present day Chorley and so develop an understanding of local history and the visible traces left behind in the present. The session is cross between a murder mystery and ‘Who do you think you are’.
The other two weeks pupils will spend revisiting map skills from Year 7. They will look again at Ordnance Survey maps and begin work on their expedition route. They will also take part in a treasure hunt in Astley Park where pupils use geographical skills in real terms, following a map to unearth clues and information about local History.
Generations –Performing Arts (Music, Dance, Drama) and Art: Pupils work alongside our local residential home for the elderly, Highgrove House, sitting and chatting to the residents, playing games and doing jigsaws with them and performing little drama pieces, songs and dances they have put together. The performances are created and choreographed themselves developing their confidence and are based on several different seasonal and multi-cultural themes. During Covid times, pupils have maintained the links with the residents, writing them letters and receiving letters in return, telling the residents about what they were doing during lockdown. This was aimed at ‘cheering up’ the elderly residents who may not have been able to see their family for several months. They have also made advent calendars, cards and artwork which is displayed in the home and their performances have been video-ed and taken to the Home. We are returning to visiting the residential home in September 2022.
Peace yourself together –Pupils will be learning about ‘self care,’ the importance of frequent relaxation and coping with the stresses of modern life, looking at ‘alternative therapies’. Pupils take part in mindfulness activities and look at jigsaw therapy, where studies have shown that doing jigsaw puzzles can improve cognition and visual-spatial reasoning. The act of putting the pieces of a puzzle together requires concentration and improves short-term memory and problem solving. For two of the four weeks we have a visiting expert who leads pupils in the discipline of tai chi. Tai chi is sometimes described as meditation in motion because it promotes serenity through gentle movements — connecting the mind and body.
Compassion kitchen – Pupils produce five different types of cakes over the five week rotation and then choose to donate some of their best cakes which are then taken every week to the Open Kitchen for the homeless at Chorley United Reformed Church. We allow them to choose how many they donate as this allows them to make their own decisions about their involvement in the community. It is them making a difference!
Give a helping hand The final rotation is in two parts and is a new rotation. For two weeks pupils hone both ICT and DT skills using the 3D printer to create a prosthetic arm. This is going to be sent to charities both in the UK and abroad and it is hoped each tutorial will make two prosthetic arms each.
For the other two weeks pupils will be accessing digital careers information, advice and guidance services as well as developing an awareness of what labour market information (LMI) is and how it can be useful.
We hope our Year 9 pupils really seize every opportunity to engage with this new programme and look forward to encouraging as many pupils as possible to take part in the expedition planned for the end of the year, thus allowing them to achieve their full Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The Learning Schemes for Enrichment below are presently being updated and the additional schemes will be added soon:
Year 9 Enrichment Learning Schemes