Kingsbridge Community College have broadened their enrichment opportunities for Sixth Form students, offering a wide variety of options to help them expand their horizons and stand out in their applications for university.

Students have been taking part in activities such as self defence classes and first aid training to better prepare them for further study and to give them a chance to try out something different alongside their academic studies.

These classes are running for six weeks. The self defence classes are run by Devi Majumdar, who works as a personal trainer at the gym she established, The Natural Gym. She has a Martial Arts Background, being trained in Judo and Kickboxing and having a black belt in e-Ashi-Do Karate and Aikido.

The first aid classes, run by Nigel Whitmore, have been teaching students how to use CPR, how to work a defibrillator, and the correct way to put someone in the recovery position.

Nigel expressed the importance of these classes: “The skills of knowing what do if a person collapses & stops breathing & perform CPR are skills that we all should know. Being comfortable with using a defibrillator is also very important in saving lives.”

Nigel is very experienced in running these classes, and applauded students on their abilities to learn quickly. He said, “I have been teaching first aid in South Hams Community for the last 15 years having developed practical experience of delivering first aid when managing multi use leisure & sports centres & training pool lifeguards over a career spanning 30 years… The students are very receptive about learning vital lifesaving skills that one day could save a life.”

Other enrichment activities that are available for Sixth Formers includes volunteering opportunities, with students helping out at the local Food Bank, and placements, with students working at Kingsbridge Primary school and the Devon Air Ambulance charity shop. Students can also take part in external work experience, with one student working at Windeatts solicitors.

The Royal Institution of Physics masterclasses are also taking place, or students can opt to do an EPQ or MOOC in their enrichment time. An EPQ, or Extended Project Qualification, sees students working on a univerity-style research project, and MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses where students can learn an array of new skills.

Internally, many students are also working as teaching assistants in lessons, including Maths, English, French and Drama, and acting as MHAs (Mental Health Ambassadors), where they work with lower school students in this important role.