On Saturday 6th February, Future Foundations delivered our annual Aspirations training day at Kings College School for Year 11 students from schools across the Wimbledon Schools Partnership.
The programme focussed on increasing participants confidence, aspirations and success in GCSE’s with a view towards Higher Education. They rose to every task we set them and over the course of four hours took part in challenging experiential learning tasks, working in teams with students from other schools to improve their leadership and communication skills. They also engaged in thought provoking workshops to identify their passions and strengths, set personal and academic goals and commit to actions that will help them to achieve the future success they aspire to.
The programme was Course Directed by Simone Vincenzi and our Future Foundations coaches weRE , Owen Bailey, Lina Akbar, Simone Vincenzi, Shane Franklin, Laina Pattni, CJ Sohal and Georgie Maddock.
Simone Vincenzi
“The day began and ended with the theme of perspective, encouraging young people to see the big picture rather than getting tangled up and lost in the minute of the everyday. In the opening and closing plenary we demonstrated how important it can be to take a step back from the details, demonstrated by looking at photos of everyday items, magnified many times and inviting them to guess what they were seeing. Gradually, as the lens zoomed back it became obvious what they were seeing and how the small (often misleading!) detail fitted into the big picture. Sometimes in life we can be caught up in the moment, for example chasing a specific academic grade without ask or seeking to understand why it is important and what it will enable us to achieve down the line. With the end goal in sight it is far easier to motivate ourselves to accomplish the details or grades and keep our sights set on a bright future.”
Aims of the day
- Challenge students to take personal responsibility for success in their GCSEs and beyond through commitment and smart goal setting
- Build students confidence in themselves, through recognising their own qualities
- Raise students aspirations around their future options post year 11 with particular focus on Higher Education
- Establish a lasting impact on student;s motivation and confidence
- Provide a fun. interactive and motivational boost before exams to focus students on their prospects and the importance of aiming high
After attending the programme