A Celebration of Passion and Discovery
The Arts Centre Foyer buzzed with excitement at our recent Academic Enrichment Showcase! Scholars and Lead Learners enthusiastically presented the exciting projects they've been immersed in as part of Sidcot's academic enrichment programme. Current and prospective parents explored a vibrant array of displays, getting a firsthand look at the depth and breadth of learning happening across our subjects.
Beyond the engaging stands, the showcase came alive with captivating demonstrations and performances. Our Sports Scholars showcased their skills outdoors, while the Drama Studio resonated with incredible musical performances from our Music Scholars and Lead Learners. A highlight was the flashmob by our Drama Scholars and Lead Learners, who completely captivated the audience with a scene from the KS3 play.
This event was a testament to the incredible energy and dedication of our students. We extend a huge thank you to all the Scholars, Lead Learners, and Captains for their unwavering enthusiasm, engagement, curiosity, and eagerness to embrace new challenges throughout the year. They truly are exceptional ambassadors for Sidcot.
We also want to express our sincere gratitude to our amazing staff team. Their creativity and commitment to ensuring all students achieve their full potential is unwavering and truly makes a difference. We are incredibly excited to continue expanding the enriching opportunities available to our students in the next academic year, ensuring they continue to thrive at Sidcot.
HPQ Presentations
Following on from the Academic Enrichment showcase, Academic Scholars in Years 7 to 9 welcomed guests into the Drama Studio to enjoy their HPQ (Higher Project Qualification) presentations. Introduced a few years ago, the HPQ has been a welcome addition to our academic enrichment programme, allowing our younger students to really stretch themselves academically. Scholars spend 5 months working independently and with a mentor to choose and research a topic, produce a presentation, and deliver to a panel of judges. This allows them to feed their creativity and curiosity by delving into a subject they have chosen to explore. It also helps to develop their research skills, thinking skills, communication and presentation skills, and to modify and adapt their projects in line with feedback from their Mentor. This prepares them very well for future academic tasks such as the EPQ in the Sixth Form, writing an Extended Essay for the IB, putting together a dissertation or research paper at University level or for any work-related project they may take on in the future.
Each year, the wonderful enquiring minds of our students explore a vast breadth of topics, and this year they presented under the title: 'What Matters?' Each presentation lasted three minutes and students were then challenged with questions from our judges and the audience. A huge thank you to this year's judges, Jack Cartwright (Teacher of English), Kate Jones (Teacher of English), and Christian Hughes (Deputy Head, Academic). Our presenters and their chosen topics this year were:
- Ruby (Year 7) - Social Media & How It Affects Teenagers
- Michael (Year 7) - Safety Of Internet Authentication
- Thomas (Year 7) - The Delmore Effect - Why Do We Procrastinate?
- Esme (Year 8) - VAT On School Fees. Is This The End Of Private Education?
- Toby (Year 8) - How Do The Smaller Parts Of Nature Affect The Ecosystem?
- Peter (Year 8) - Could We Live On Mars?
- Olivia (Year 8) - How Has The English Language Changed Over Time?
- Samuel (Year 8) - Does Dark Matter, Matter?
- Chloe (Year 8) - Mischaracterisation In The Media
- Eleanor (Year 9) - The Certainty Of Chance
- Nerissa (Year 9) - Ancient & Modern Methods - Have Our Lives Evolved And Become Too Easy?
- Al (Year 9) - Grace Darling: An Inspirational Woman Behind The RNLI
The judges had a tough choice choosing a winner and delivered some valuable feedback and praise to each of the 12 speakers. Overall, the winner chosen for 2025 was Tom in Year 7 for his very honest, thought-provoking, topical, humorous and engaging presentation on The Delmore Effect. Well done Tom, and well done all for your well-researched and well-delivered presentations.
