Focusing on joyful scholarship alongside the academic, pastoral, and personal enrichment of students, our cross-sector partnerships are a central pillar of NLCS’s extra-curricular provision. Opportunities to think deeply, discuss, debate, and present make our partnerships impactful, giving students different insights into the value of learning beyond the curriculum.
This term, our partnership programme has included a wide range of projects:
English Primary Reading Partnership
Our Sixth Form students hugely enjoy teaching local Year 5 students about the fun and the importance of literature through extracts and conversation. Held twice each term, these academically enriching sessions range from poetry and prose analysis, decoding meanings of unfamiliar words and delving into the process of creative writing. After supporting them in developing ways of analysing texts, the younger students are then encouraged to write their own stories and poetry.
“We felt that the event did not only academically boost the students but also demonstrated to them how English is much more than just a subject at school but an outlet for expressing your inner emotions and imagination. We could clearly see their passion for English ignite over the course of the two sessions, and it was delightful to witness our work with them aligning with the core goal of teaching: to inspire.” Annissa, NLCS Sixth Form student
Year 13 QE Boys Partnership
Taking place between university entrance examinations and forthcoming interviews, this event supports students to prepare by means of scholarly engagement with their subject beyond the curriculum, and by speaking about and exchanging formative ideas. The subject areas shared were Law, Medicine, Science, Maths/Computing, Engineering, Psychology and Sociology, and Economics. This year, the students took ideas of ‘sustainability’ as the overall theme, placing an emphasis not merely on the process in ecological and scientific terms but also on concepts such as longevity, heritage, legacy and endurance.
T S Eliot Poetry Prize symposium
Two captivating symposiums focused firstly on Sandeep Parmar’s compelling poem, Faust. This contemporary reimagining of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s masterpiece delves into various themes and concepts alongside an exploration of the enigmatic character of Faust and the Faustian legend. The second, examined James Allen’s poignant autobiographical poem, Self-Portrait as Othello. Year 11 students from NLCS and QE Boys explored the poem’s narrative, unravelling its intricate threads of race, immigration, and alienation. This exploration underscored the power of poetry as a medium for addressing challenging and pertinent contemporary themes.
Year 10 Model United Nations (MUN)
The MUN programme is hugely beneficial to all age groups; NLCS’s Sixth Formers lead an afternoon of discussion and debate for Year 10 students from Park High, Bentley Wood, QE Boys and QE girls where the formal structure of MUN debates is adhered to, and innovative solutions to issues such as combatting fake news while retaining freedom of speech in the digital age or hindering election interference are discussed. The MUN programme broadens students’ perspectives and empowers them to think critically and contribute meaningfully to discussions on pressing global issues.
