Academic Scholarship Programme Years 7-13 2023/24 ⸺1
Inspiring each and every student at Clifton to maximise their potential, and preparing the next generation of thought leaders who will change the world in which we live. ― At Clifton College, our belief is that each individual student has the capacity to excel academically, it underpins everything we do.
It drives the highest standards of teaching and learning within our classrooms, and it underpins the breadth of enrichment opportunities we offer our students. In a very real sense, every student at Clifton is an academic scholar, as all have the opportunity to be enriched and extended intellectually. And at Clifton, the opportunities for academic enrichment are extensive and extraordinary.
Nonetheless, the Academic Scholars Programme, outlined below, has been developed specifically for our academic scholars, and it aims to challenge and support them individually, while giving them the space and time to follow their individual and collective passions.
As part of this Programme, our scholars are given many privileges but they also have various responsibilities placed upon them as the academic leaders of the College.
Underlying Principles • • •
Growth: A coherent programme of provision that increasingly challenges, extends and enriches our most academically able students from Year 7 through to Year 13. Opportunity: A multitude of short courses, workshops, lectures and societies through which each academic scholar can find, explore and grow their individual academic interests, however niche they may be. Accountability: An expectation that academic scholars will take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them, increasingly becoming academic role models in the College as they progress through the year groups.
Terminology • • •
The Nicholas Hammond Society is the collective name for academic scholars in Years 9-11. The Kendrew Society is the collective name for academic scholars in Years 12 and 13. The Pippard Society consists of the Kendrew Society plus other students who are either targeting leading universities across the world or are applying for courses in Medicine or Veterinary Science.
2⸺ 2⸺
⸺3 ⸺3
Academic Scholar Selection 11+ candidates are required to sit written papers in English and Mathematics, and to complete a cognitive ability test. Students sitting the academic scholarship exams are expected to be performing at a level well above the expected National Curriculum Level for their age group in English and Mathematics and to be demonstrating significant potential across the curriculum. 13+ candidates sit the academic scholarship papers set by the College, which consist of written papers in English, Mathematics and Science, as well as a fourth paper of the candidates’ choice.
4⸺
16+ Academic Scholarships are open to both existing students and to candidates wishing to join the Sixth Form. External candidates sit two papers in subjects of their choosing and are interviewed by the Head of College, the Deputy Head (Academic) and the relevant Heads of Departments. Candidates for these awards are also expected to be on course for at least eight GCSEs at grade 7. 16+ Academic scholarships are awarded to existing students on the basis of their (I)GCSE results and feedback from Heads of Departments and Houseparents.
Knowing that students develop academically at different speeds, which may not align with these specified assessment sessions, Houseparents, Heads of Departments and tutors are regularly invited to nominate students who are demonstrating the traits of an academic scholar. Performance in Summer Examinations are also reviewed to identify potential scholars. Through this, it is possible for a deserving student to be invited to join the programme at any point during their time at College.
⸺5
Academic Scholarship Reading Programme Academic Scholarship Reading Programme Academic scholars are expected to increasingly stretch themselves beyond the taught curriculum through wider and more sophisticated reading, taken from the bespoke Clifton College Academic Scholarship Reading Programme. The expectation is that each academic scholar will read four of the books recommended for their year group each year. Furthermore, academic scholars in: • •
Years 7-11 are encouraged to draw their chosen books from across a range of different subjects, keeping their interests as broad as possible. Years 12 and 13 are encouraged to focus their chosen reading on the subject for which they are intending to make university applications.
The Clifton Scholar A new College publication will be launched in the 2023-24 academic year: The Clifton Scholar. Academic scholars from across all year groups will be invited to join the editorial team. The successful applicants will then be responsible for collating academic articles written by pupils; particularly impressive pieces of work nominated by teachers; synopses of the most outstanding Extended Projects, the short-listed Stanley Steadman essays and guest articles by invited external academics into termly publications for distribution in electronic and hardcopy formats to students, staff, parents, Prep Schools and international agents.
6⸺
Visiting Speaker Series ― A series of termly guest lectures by invited external academics will take place throughout the year.
Organised in conjunction with Heads of Departments, these lectures will be given a high profile both within and outside of the College and will spread across subjects. Following each lecture, academic scholars will be invited to dine with the guest speaker and so develop their soft skills in highly academic situations. These lectures will supplement those already being arranged by individual departments.
Fifth Form Presentations At the end of the Michaelmas Term, Fifth Form (Year 11) academic scholars are expected to give presentations on topics they have themselves chosen to research with the guidance of a supervising member of staff. These will be given at a formal presentation evening to which the whole year group, the academic scholars in Years 8-13, parents and teachers are invited. Short Extension Courses and MOOCs Heads of Departments are being invited to introduce short extension courses and MOOCs (Massive Open Online courses) as additional academic opportunities for students in Years 8-10. The first of these is being launched at the same time as this new Academic Scholarship Programme: the New College of the Humanities School Certificate in Philosophy. Academic scholars at Clifton, but also across partner schools in the Bristol Education Partnership, will be invited to take these optional courses.
⸺7
8⸺
Competitions and Coaching ― Academic scholars will be encouraged to enter academic competitions, many of which are already being offered at College. For example, those in Years 8-10 will be encouraged to participate in the Bristol Teen Book Award whilst those in Years 12 and 13 will be encouraged to join the Great Debate, the Model United Nations and national essay competitions such as the Royal Economics Society Young Economist of the Year. Academic Mentoring/ Coaching Central to the Programme is the principle of collaboration and the sense of being a member of a community of scholars. To help facilitate this, each academic scholar will be supported by an allocated academic mentor. Through regular meetings, the mentor challenges, supports and advises the
scholar, while encouraging them to to take full advantage of the scholarship programme, including the scholar project and wider reading. In the Sixth Form, academic mentors are the Pippard Society subject leaders and/ or allocated staff mentors depending on their specific university aspirations. In Years 9-11, academic mentors are academic scholars from the Sixth Form, each of whom receive training from a professional coach beforehand. The Extended Project Qualification Formally introduced in 2021-22, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) has become the centrepiece of academic enrichment at College. Entirely student-driven, the EPQ affords students the opportunity to research and write on topics of their choosing; to conduct their own primary investigations; or to design and construct/ arrange products/events in response to clients’ commissions.
There is no better preparation our students can have for independent life beyond College. All Year 12 academic scholars are encouraged to complete an EPQ unless they continue four subjects throughout their Sixth Form years. Celebration All academic scholars will be invited to a formal, black-tie dinner as a celebration of what they are achieving as scholars at the College. The dinner for the Nicholas Hammond Society is organised for the end of the Michaelmas Term. Academic scholars in Year 8 will also be invited to this. The dinner for the Kendrew Society is organised for the end of the Lent Term. These are wonderful events of celebration and aspiration where Guest speakers are invited to deliver short after dinner speeches.
⸺9
Year 7 and Beyond Year 7 Academic Scholarship Provision Following success in previous years, weekly extension sessions will be provided to Year 7 academic scholars throughout the academic year. These will be delivered by Heads of Departments and nominated colleagues in the Upper School and, increasingly, by academic scholars in the Upper School. Being held on Saturday mornings, academic scholars in the Upper School will be able to miss impacted lessons on one Saturday during the year for this.
The Pippard Society Sixth Form students making applications to leading universities across the world will be supported through the Pippard Spine - a centralised series of provision - as well as through subject/faculty specific provision. Subject/faculty specific provision will start after Christmas in Year 12 and will run through until the end of the Michaelmas Term in Year 13, and will focus on the course-specific academic skills required for ambitious university applications. The Pippard Spine will start after the Michaelmas Half Term in Year 12 and will run through until the end of Year 12, and will help students develop the academic skills required for all ambitious university applications. Ideas for this currently include the following and Heads of Departments will be invited to propose additional ideas: • • •
A short course on critical thinking, offered by the Philosophy Department. A short source on debating, offered by the History and Politics Department. A short course on problem-solving, offered by the Economics Department.
Unifrog Academic enrichment opportunities will be advertised through Unifrog, with the academic scholars of relevant years specifically tagged. This will trigger reminders to be sent to scholars and will provide scholars with a single place on which all information about academic opportunities is accessible. Academic scholars will also log their academic achievements and engagement on Unifrog. To progress to the next year of the programme, academic coaches will need to ‘sign-off’ the scholar they are coaching and so approve their progression, using Unifrog as the evidence on which this decision is made.
10 ⸺
Expectations for Continuation in the Academic Scholarship Programme The expectation is that each academic scholar will demonstrate significant engagement with the academic scholarship programme, increasingly becoming academic role models in the College as they progress through the year groups, if they are to continue to the next year of the programme. Specifically: (1) Accruing at least the expected number of points for the year group. (2) Satisfying the requirements of the Academic Scholarship Reading Programme. (3) For Sixth Form scholars only: fulfilling the role of an academic mentor/coach for an academic scholar in a younger age group.
Dr Bradley Wells Assistant Head Academic
⸺ 11
Together, we are Clifton Clifton College Admissions 8 The Avenue Clifton, Bristol BS8 3HE T. +44 (0)117 315 7110 E. admissions@cliftoncollege.com cliftoncollege.com
12 ⸺