Life skills for pupils post-GCSE at Dauntsey’s

Pupils from Dauntsey’s, who have now completed their GCSEs, have been kept busy with a range of non-curriculum courses, thanks to the School’s extensive post-GCSE programme.

The programme was developed by Sam Moore, the School’s Head of Adventure Education. The courses ran through last week and were open to all Fifth Formers. Each option was designed to provide pupils with specific life skills; some of these are practical, like First Aid or Cookery, others will affect many areas of their lives, such as teamwork and leadership. Above all, they were designed to be fun.

Those pupils who took the RLSS Lifesaving course and assessment received the UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification which is a recruitment requirement for a number of jobs from pool lifeguard to centre manager.

A popular choice was a Cookery course run in conjunction with the highly regarded Vaughan’s Cookery School in Devizes. This culminated in a Masterchef-style finale as the pupils raced to prepare, plate and serve a meal at exactly 1.30pm.

Other courses open to pupils included:

Jolie Brise Life Skills – pupils spent the week based on board the School’s Tall Ship, learning a range of skills including cooking, camping, orienteering, emergency First Aid, self-defence and basic car repair skills
Rescue and Emergency First Aid – an advanced programme which leads to a Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work.
Jurassic Adventure – some pupils spent the week exploring the dramatic Jurassic Coast in Dorset. The focus was on journeys, with pupils walking, scrambling, climbing, swimming, rock climbing and abseiling.
Applications of Art – for those students seeking a creative outlet, there was a series of practical workshops and lectures run by professionals from the art world.
Sewing – pupils learnt how to upcycle garments using hand and machine sewing skills, use a pattern and other basic sewing skills.
Play in a Week – from conception to first night, pupils were challenged to put on a show which will be performed during the end of term Arts Celebration Week

Mark Lascelles, Head Master at Dauntsey’s said:

“We have had another year of disruption due to Covid restrictions but I have been enormously proud of the resilience demonstrated by the students as they have continued their studies for public examinations, much of it through remote teaching.

“Having completed the final hurdle of exams this month, we wanted to offer courses outside the classroom which are both fun and useful. Each option certainly provided a memorable conclusion to the academic year.”

For further information about Dauntsey’s, go to www.dauntseys.org or follow us on Twitter at Dauntsey’s@DauntseysSchool