Skills To Thrive

Your academic studies are key to enable you to progress to university and get started on your future career path, but we provide a huge range of activities, trips and visits to match your aspirations and interest whilst developing your skills to thrive. We want you to make the most of your time at Woodhouse to experience to world beyond your studies, to grow in confidence and experience a wide range of personal development opportunities.

 

Communication	Take part in student led tutorials, complete a short course at colleges such as LAMDA, Guildhall School or City Academy, contribute to an article for Exposure magazine (contact [email protected])
Creativity / Innovation	Complete a MOOC or complete a course on unifrog for free. These range from “Approaching medieval Literature” to “How to start a business”), get a part time job or job over the summer, watch relevant TED talks or podcasts. Plan a trip with friends to follow up on an interest or hobby. Complete the DofE award.
Critical Thinking	Complete an EPQ (launches around easter time), Use the resources on Oxplore to develop critical thinking about some big questions, attend the Solutions not Sides Bridge Builders conference, use the Read, Watch, Listen database on Unifrog, read a quality newspaper or journal such as the Economist, New Scientist. Subject review magazines are available for free from the library. Attend student led Law Society meetings or join the history academy.
Independence	Complete a MOOC or complete a course on unifrog for free. These range from “Approaching medieval Literature” to “How to start a business”), get a part time job or job over the summer, watch relevant TED talks or podcasts. Plan a trip with friends to follow up on an interest or hobby. Complete the DofE award.
Initiative	Complete super-curricular activities e.g. Additional reading, online course, podcasts(Lucy Cavendish College), Enter an Olympiad e.g. or subject specific national competition, read some books from the University college Oxford reading bank, watch webinars - you can join live or watch past recorded webinars (Unifrog Webinars). Ask the librarians to direct you to resources for your subject.
Leadership	Help to run a student led society or start one, volunteer at your church, mosque, temple, synagogue, or other community or religious organisation. Volunteer with scouts or girl guides or help at a local school. Take an active role in the College Social Action project in the summer term.
Organising and Time Management	Help run a student led society or start one up. Run a student led event or charity competition e.g. chess, table tennis, badminton, organise a work experience placement, taster class, plan a trip for summer or go on a language exchange. Plan a gap year!
Problem Solving	For physicists, mathematicians, and engineers work through the questions on Isaac Physics or I Want To Study Engineering . Complete cryptic crosswords, Suduku or other puzzles. Peer teach a topic or volunteer as a peer mentor. Take part in a Dyson design project. Take part in the ethics cup. Practise primary source analysis in history. Analyse economic data and case studies.
Reflectiveness	Keep a diary/journal, set goals and understand yourself better. Something such as the RSPCA wellbeing journal can help focus your thoughts. Reflect on your performance in tests and exams, for example by completing the reflection tasks in maths or the VESPA feedback forms in science. Take time out each day to practise mindfulness What is mindfulness? - Mind
Resilience and Staying Positive	Complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition or a sponsored half marathon or other sporting events, do a park run each Saturday morning, learn a new skill such as cooking. Use the VESPA – Attitude resources to develop your academic buoyancy and growth mindset, learning from your mistakes and making use of feedback to get closer to achieving your goals.
Teamwork	Volunteer to work at a charity shop or local organisation such as scouts - London Borough’s have a list of volunteering opportunities. Join a sports team, take part in recreational sport such as badminton or volleyball at college. Work with the Student Council or EDI committee to represent student voice and help make the college even better.

Some Students write about what they did to develop their skills:

•       Online MOOC Courses

“One of the ways to build skills is through an online course. I did a course in smart, sustainable, and walkable cities relating to urban planning. The course looked at case studies based on New York and Paris. I had to think about what can be improved in local streets and how they can be more pedestrian friendly, community-based and environmentally sustainable with public transport. I've put this into my personal statement to show that small changes in city design can make a big difference in people’s daily lives, where efficient transport systems are needed to enhance the quality of life and encourage people to socialise in cities. The online course helped me develop my critical thinking and my independent work. I also had to reflect on my performance in each section of the course.”

•       Charity shop – skills of communication with other volunteers

pasting

•       Time Management – Work-life balance, maintaining physical and mental health besides A levels

“It is really important to take time away from A-levels and to take care of your physical and mental health. I do a parkrun every week. This distracts me from A-levels, and I can entirely focus on improving my finishing time. It clears my mind and so I am more productive when I get back to studying. I timetable exercise and time for relaxation into my work schedule for the week and I find this helps me stick to my study plan and manage my workload so I don’t feel overwhelmed. Completing an Extended Project which is equivalent to half an A level also helped me develop my project management and time management skills. Managing time and keeping a detailed activity log is part of the assessment criteria for EPQ and so I needed to use a range of strategies such a prioritising, setting small goals in order to receive high marks.”