Work Experience

Students are encouraged to consider whether a week of work experience during their Lower Sixth year would help them with their future plans. For those who are not planning to go to university, this is especially important as employers will look for relevant experience when choosing between candidates for an apprenticeship or job.

Those applying for university courses in teaching, veterinary medicine or in any healthcare profession (nursing, midwifery, medicine, etc) would be expected to have completed at least two weeks’ work experience within the 18 months prior to applying. Students should speak to the Sixth Form staff if they wish to arrange work experience during term-time, to ensure that they are not missing lessons at a particularly vital time.

Freman College offer a number of opportunities for students to develop life-skills including awareness of risks to health and well-being, SMSC and preparing for the world of work.

Enriching the curriculum

Extended Project Qualification

The EPQ is a stand-alone qualification which allows students to investigate an issue of interest to them personally, outside of their A Level specifications. Independent research is supported by fortnightly tutorials throughout Year 12, leading to a 5000-word dissertation and presentation at the start of the Year 13. Because the topic will have a very narrow focus, the research will be in great detail. It is well regarded by universities because it demonstrates that students have the research and analytical skills to thrive on undergraduate courses. For this reason, the qualification is worth 50% of an A Level in UCAS tariff points (for university applications).

Enriching the experience

We want students to have as varied and engaging a time as possible while they are in the Sixth Form. For this reason, we encourage them to make full use of the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities on offer, many of which will help them develop key leadership skills. A selection of these is shown below.

Amnesty International
Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award
National Citizen Freman College
Freman College magazine
Community Service
House leadership (sports, music, drama)

To ensure that students are aware of all of the opportunities for enrichment open to them, our Lower Sixth students attend a weekly workshop to which guest speakers are regularly invited, talking to students about university and apprenticeship options after Sixth Form. In addition to our outside speaker sessions, each half-term programme of workshops has a different theme, with examples shown below.

To ensure that students are aware of all of the opportunities for enrichment open to them, our Lower Sixth students attend a weekly workshop to which guest speakers are regularly invited, talking to students about university and apprenticeship options after Sixth Form. In addition to our outside speaker sessions, each half-term programme of workshops has a different theme, with examples shown below.

Autumn 1	Sixth Form study skills
	- How to manage time effectively
	- What is meant by "independent learning"?
	- How to present to an audience
Autumn 2	Personal Finance
	- Savings and investments
	- Effective budgeting
	- Safe borrowing and how to manage a credit card
	- Car insurance options
Spring 1	Physical and metal health
	- Managing stressful times
	- Substance abuse
	- Social media and mental health
Spring 2	Social responsibility
	- Our role in the UK's political system
	- Understanding homelessness
	- What is a leader?
Summer 1	Preparing for Post-18 options
	- Short-listing university and non-university options
Summer 2	Applications for Post-18 options
	- Advice about UCAS and non-university options

In our dedicated PSHCRE Days, we help students to prepare for their life beyond the college. Among other things, our programme includes workshops and presentations on politics, national identity, sexual consent and sexual health, living on a budget, basic car maintenance and cooking healthily. The full programme can be seen here