Lower Sixth Electives Programme 2022-2023

Lower Sixth Electives Programme 2022-2023

Introduction Welcome to the Lower Sixth Electives Programme. You are to choose three ten-week modules, one for each term of your Lower Sixth. There is a wide choice, covering Technology, History, Philosophy, Music, Politics, Linguistics and much more. Despite the varied offering, each Elective shares a common goal: to promote learning for learning’s sake.

Please enjoy!

Mr Tolputt Head of Sixth Form

Mr Uglow Director of Studies

The List Econ 101

with Mr Jones

Festival Inspired Art with Ms Peach-Toon

Music Technology – a practical journey from the gramophone to the smart phone with Mr Hughes

Production Planning with Mrs Brown

Breaking the Internet with Miss Ryan

Introduction to Philosophy with Mr Waldron

Coming of Age – a Novel, a Play, a Ballet, a Film, a Song, and maybe a Pantomime with Mr Tolputt

A World in Conflict – using geography to understand global tension with Mr Uglow

Writing to Change the World with Mrs Oram

Say What? Exploring Language and Linguistics with Dr Harrison

Econ 101 Why am I offering this Elective?

I intend to make you think. I would like you to think like an Economist. Over the years I have realised how important it is to understand the impact Economics has on everything we do (or do not do). There is a misconception that Economics is all about the money (we will discuss that), but Economics is really much, much more.

What will you get out of this Elective?

An Economist would always buy two lottery tickets at a time, would not buy a lottery ticket in the first place, would go to university, would not study media studies, would legalise drugs, would not vote in an election, would worry if their son got a 2.1, wouldn’t be driven in a car by him, would speed on the motorway, wouldn’t speed that much, would cheat in a test, wouldn’t lie in court.

Why would they do these things? Would you make the same choices?

Understanding the mind of an Economist will improve your decision-making and let you see the world from a different perspective. At the end of the Elective, if I have done my job properly, you will be able to make wiser decisions, make sense of others’ irrational behaviour, wish you had taken up A Level Economics at the beginning of the year, and learn why you need to study it at uni.

Festival Inspired Art Why am I offering this Elective?

Festivals are a part of many of our lives. The experience of being with friends, the music and the atmosphere is fantastic. In this Elective I would like you to explore recreating your own experience through developing new skills to produce an abstract painting. I am passionate about the concepts within modern art and how you can relate a feeling, positive or negative, through an expressive medium. I will teach you the steps and techniques throughout this Elective to produce a masterpiece worthy of a place in the Tate Modern.

What will you get out of this Elective?

You will discover how artists make abstract art; it’s not as easy as smearing paint all over a canvas. You will gain knowledge of composition, colour, painting methods, working on canvas, and how your own thoughts can influence an effective result. To participate in this Elective, you do not need to be an Art Scholar, but to successfully create a piece of artwork that reflects a personal experience, you must be engaged, creative, and courageous.

Music Technology – a practical journey from the gramophone to the smart phone Why am I offering this Elective?

Since designing and building my own recording studio at the age of 17, I have been passionate about recording and producing music. I love to pull songs apart to see how they were constructed and use music technology in my own music.

What will you get out of this Elective?

Want to know how music technology helped turn the Beatles into the most famous band in the world? Ever wondered what Calvin Harris does to create those tunes that stick in your head? Then this is the Elective for you. We will spend time looking at some of the ways in which artists have used Music Technology in their work and you will gain a greater understanding of what goes into creating a hit record (or .mp3). This Elective is very hands-on, and you will spend a lot of the time working on your own piece of music using some of the techniques used throughout the pop music industry, both then and now.

Production Planning Why am I offering this Elective?

Scenario: A refugee camp is in desperate need of some simple seating to improve the living conditions and morale of its residents. A simple design has been suggested by the charity funding the project.

You and your team of volunteers have arrived to facilitate the construction of these items.

In 10 weeks the correct number of items need to be ready for shipping and of course you need to stay within budget. Is this something you would like to be able to do?

What will you get out of this Elective?

This Elective will involve learning through experience. As part of a team you will be responsible for delivering a project on time and on budget. You will have the opportunity to learn strategies for managing time, materials, and budget whilst discovering the importance of effective listening, negotiation, and compromise within a team.

You will learn to collaborate, deal with disputes, learn how to set targets, and monitor progress. How you share responsibilities within your team, between planning, problem solving, calculating, designing and manufacturing will have a significant impact on your success. How will you keep everyone on course and motivated?

Breaking the Internet Why am I offering this Elective?

‘Breaking the Internet’ is a phrase that has swept through the media in recent years. It is used to describe incidents where posts are released (usually by celebrities / people in the public eye) that cause a large amount of interest, excitement, or shock. These posts are then usually shared rapidly around the world and quickly become viral due to people’s reaction to them.

During this Elective in groups your challenge will be to design and develop a product or service. You will need to develop your product/service from scratch, design brand materials and plan your product/service launch with the intent of the launch being that your team will ‘Break the Internet’. The challenge of ‘Breaking the Internet’ will be slightly different to what you may think as it will include the Cokethorpe community – plot twist! I will reveal how the success of your launch will be measured closer to the time.

We will study the science beyond lasting virality and how those who go viral, best harness the power of social media to make their success last longer than a fleeting moment.

What will you get out of this Elective?

Throughout the Elective there will be a number of different skills that you will need to use and improve in order to succeed as a group: • Programming – You will need to use different web and/or application development languages. Whether you are developing a digital or online product / service you will need to develop a website for the brand at the very least • Research – All elements of the challenge will rely on strong and thorough research techniques being used: from researching the needs of your target market to finding a niche in what may be an already crowded space • Marketing – One of the most important elements of your success will hinge on your ability to come up with a marketing plan that blows all others out of the water. You need to find the delicate balance between shocking and interesting to ensure people drive your launch to a viral status • Communication – Working in a team will always require strong communication, but add in the delicate art of communicating with the public too and you have yourself a challenge!

• Presentation Skills – At the end of the project, part of your team’s success will come down to your ability to present your brand to a ‘Board of Directors’ who will rank each team • Digital Awareness – A number of job roles within technology will require you to have an understanding and awareness of the impact digital can have on a company’s success. Through completing this project you will become more digitally aware of the impacts of technology and how small actions taken by a company can result in major revenue increases.

Introduction to Philosophy Why am I offering this Elective?

Philosophy is the art of thinking well - of learning to see the world differently. It is exciting, liberating and even a little risky. It is exciting to discover that things are not as they appear to be; that there is a deeper truth beneath the surface of things. It is liberating to cast off inherited ideas and to learn to think for yourself - like waking up in the middle of the street, and realising that you have been sleepwalking all this time. And it is even a little risky. Perhaps Philosophy is a universal acid, eating away at everything until there is nothing left that is certain and secure. Or perhaps it is the safest and most rigorous path to truth. This is your chance to find out.

What will you get out of this Elective?

Introduction to Philosophy asks ten questions that require a philosophical answer, allowing you to formulate and argue your own ideas. Among other things, it asks what the world is really like, and how we can know for sure; what it means to be a person, and what really matters; and how you can live your best life. If you are comfortable with your illusions, look away now. Philosophy will challenge you to doubt, to think and to wonder.

Coming of Age – a Novel, a Play, a Ballet, a Film, a Song, and maybe a Pantomime Why am I offering this Elective?

Like most of my friends (and, I suspect, many of you), I enjoy reading books, listening to music, watching films, and going to the theatre. I am no special expert in any particular form, but that is ok: my interest is broad and varied, and it brings me pleasure. And so I thought I would offer an Elective in ‘cultural appreciation’ that straddles literature/ performance genres to explore works linked by a common theme.

The theme I have chosen is ‘Coming of Age’. Why? Coming of age stories typically present a teenage protagonist who is growing out of childhood and into adulthood. That is all of you (and was me once), so I am hoping for lively debate, insightful observation, and engaged connection.

What will you get out of this Elective?

If nothing else, you will read a book, recite a play, listen to a song, watch a film, study a pantomime, and generally have fun: the Elective will include The History Boys (Bennett, 2004), Napolean Dynamite (Hess, 2004), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare/Prokofiev, 1935), Now is the Month of Maying (Morley, 1595), Dick Whittington (Terry, 2022), and a choice of coming of age novels.

But there is more: you will develop (or further develop) an appreciation of a range of arts’ genres, you will hone skills of analysis and research, you will explore links and commonality between contrasting works. Above all, you will learn from each other: through discussion and debate, and by listening to each other’s honest and personal reaction to the works that we will study.

Please note: I hope that that there will be one (or several) opportunities to go to the theatre/cinema throughout the duration of this Elective. As with any School trip, there would be an incurred cost; attendance, however, would be optional.

A World in Conflict – using geography to understand global tension Why am I offering this Elective?

We live in a world in which division and tension is accepted as an inevitable part of life. The news is peppered with stories about hostility between Russia and her neighbours, or tension within the African continent – and we accept this as part of the status quo. I want to explore why this might be the case by looking at the geography of particular areas of tension so that you might better understand the roots of these relationships.

What will you get out of this Elective?

Put simply, you will better understand the world around you. You’ll learn to spot the things that make a nation vulnerable, and who knows – you may be able to predict the next crisis to hit the news!

Writing to Change the World Why am I offering this Elective?

I’m offering this Elective because I believe passionately in amplifying the voices of young people. The ability to write and express yourself and your ideas is of vital importance, but first you need the tools and forum to explore, shape, edit, and shift in order to find that voice. Too often, creative writing in schools – especially at GCSE – is tied up in the boundaries of a success criteria or limited by time, length, or form; I hope that this will be an opportunity to find freedom on the page and let some of your inner voice out. When I studied Creative Writing at University, the process of writing with my imagination as the only limit was somewhat of a revelation and infinitely more enjoyable than anything I’d done before; so, too, was the workshop environment and the collective inspiration to be found by working as a group in response to different prompts and ideas. So, my hope is that we can find a bit of that joy during our Elective and be guided by the curiosities and experiences of each group as we go.

What will you get out of this Elective?

You will get the chance to unwind with some free writing at the start of each session. You will learn about different forms of writing – novels, modern poetry, script, flash fiction – and explore myriad texts you may not have come across on a school syllabus. You’ll think about how writing can be a form of activism, self-expression, and a vehicle for change. You’ll be invited to respond to prompts, discuss ideas with peers, listen to and explore the work of others and, crucially, think about how your writing and your voice could go a little way to changing the world. Mostly, I hope you’ll come away with the confidence and conviction to say: I am a writer.

Say What? Exploring Language and Linguistics Why am I offering this Elective?

People often assume that I became an English teacher because I love reading. There’s no doubt that I have enjoyed getting lost in a good book since an early age (imagine Matilda minus the awful parents). But my interest in English stretches far beyond the words on the page. I’m fascinated by how languages work, how they evolve and how context shapes their meaning. Our use of language is central to our individual identities. More than that, to study language is to explore something that makes us fundamentally human.

What will you get out of this Elective?

This Elective will be nothing like the English lessons that you are used to. It is designed to give you a flavour of the vast and exciting field of linguistics, which spans such disciplines as biology, history, philosophy, psychology and sociology. We’ll investigate everything from the smallest units of language and how sounds are made to the many varieties of English in use around the globe. You’ll learn a new alphabet, understand how and why your accent sounds to others, and discover whether it’s really possible to think in more than one language. You will also have the chance to explore the many professional avenues that further study of linguistics opens up.