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Lower Sixth Form Leadership Day

The first day of this year's lower sixth leadership course was, by all accounts, a huge success. Not only were the team of instructors highly impressed by the input of Clifton's students, particularly considering we were trialling a newly devised project, but both myself and my peers managed to both gain an enormous insight into the skill-set required for success in our future careers from highly trained and experienced instructors. We also greatly enjoyed ourselves (which I suppose is precisely what you want at the end of a long academic year).

The day itself began with the entire L6th being split up into 5 groups, and each placed in the hands of a leadership instructor. From media to the Royal Navy, the instructors came from diverse backgrounds and each offered new skills and ideas which we were able to draw on throughout the day. Firstly, our five groups were then split up into three further groups, of roughly 6 or 7 people. Among them, we were asked to devise plans for a hypothetical music festival that would occur in the surrounding area. This task required strong teamwork, innovative ideas, well-considered planning and a short presentation to the other groups to promote our individual concepts. There were positives in the work of each group, from placing an emphasis on the environment to promoting local bands and businesses.

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Our second assignment also required enterprise, because we were set the task of spending an imaginary £5 million on a new housing development in the Clifton area. The students thrived when asked to consider the needs of local people, and this is proof of the College's strong understanding of its place in the local community. Some of the plans included: affordable family housing to make up for the apparent shortage of such accommodation in Clifton, a replication of the English village community, and even stylish waterside apartment blocks.

The day concluded with each group collaborating on the best ideas and creating a final plan for each venture. These concepts were then pitched to the rest of the year group and the other instructors in a variety of ways, such as in the format of a radio show or simply by effectively using PowerPoint presentations. Each group's presentation was well received, and displayed the extent to which we had learned new skills throughout the day.

All in all, the day was widely considered a great success, and the programme introduced us to a diverse range of innovative ideas and concepts which are essential to marking potential job applicants out from the rest.

Tuesday's activities revolved around film making, with the morning being spent listening to and learning about how to make movies, followed by an afternoon of putting our newfound skills to the test. 14 groups each produced a short 2-minute film, containing 10 different camera shots. The end result was a wide variety of highly entertaining, and technically advanced short films, which were all competing for the prize of 'Best Film'.

The prize, awarded by the day's instructors, went to a picture called 'Have a Drink on Me', which revolved around a complicated love quadrangle. As with the first day, Clifton's students learned a great deal about the vital assets of teamwork and leadership, and the course was a great chance for new people to work together. It was also tremendously enjoyable, with many budding filmmakers given the chance to express themselves.

James Hanson
Moberly’s House

5 July 2010

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