A Wide Range of Opportunities
As well as impressive examination achievements, our students have enjoyed success in many other areas of college life.
Students are able to take part in a number of competitions, activities and extra exam papers which test their knowledge, extend their skills, and enhance their portfolio for university and employment.
The Extended Project
If you are starting at Barton Peveril in September 2008, this new qualification will be available as you move into your second year of study in the following year.
You will choose an individual project and will be required to show the ability to plan, deliver and present a piece of work of A level standard. It provides the opportunity to produce an extended piece of work either in an area you are studying or in which you have a particular interest.
The outcome of the project could take one of many forms:
* An extended piece of writing
* An artefact, such as a painting or a sculpture
* A musical or theatrical performance
* A report on an investigation or experiment
To be successful with the Extended Project you will require a range of skills.
The ability to plan, to research and to analyse are all important. You will be required to work independently on this project, so high degrees of self-motivation and perseverance will be essential.
It can be an extremely satisfying experience studying in some considerable depth a topic that really interests you, but which your other subjects do not delve into deeply enough to satisfy your curiosity.
Oympiads
Olympiads are offered in a number of subjects, including Physics, Biology and Computing, and offer students the chance to test themselves against their peers in this national competition.
The level of the competition is beyond A Level and involves problem solving, exam papers and practical tests. The first round takes place at college and students can progress to national and international rounds.
Students from Barton Peveril have achieved impressive success in the Olympiads, with students in the last couple of years gaining medals and finishing high up the rankings, including reaching the last fifteen of the competition.
Advanced Extension Awards
Advanced Extension Awards are available as additional exam papers, above and beyond the 'normal' expectations of the A level syllabus. These awards, which are available in certain subjects including Physics and English, are designed to extend and challenge the most able and gifted students. Students from Barton Peveril have achieved a notable level of success in these awards, with a significant number of students gaining Merits and Distinction.
Engineering Education Scheme
High achieving Maths students from Barton Peveril have the opportunity to take part in the Engineering Education Scheme, a national initiative aimed at offering the chance for young people interested in the engineering profession to get involved with local organisations and gain an insight into the industry.
Students on the scheme, co-ordinated by the Royal Academy of Engineering, work with their teachers and professional engineers from local companies over a period of six months to solve real problems which require an engineering solution.
This year's Engineering Education Scheme is being supported by Roke Manor Research, a Siemens company, and IBM Hursley. The students were put into two teams and worked with professional engineers at the University of Southampton to solve specific engineering problems including the specification, design and production of an automatic hard disk disconnection device for use in high-end server testing, and a motion detection system for remote surveillance applications.
Nuffield Bursary Scheme
Several Science students at Barton Peveril have the opportunity to get involved in a research project with University scientists and students through the Nuffield Bursary Scheme. This enables the students to gain a valuable experience of ‘real-life’ science and is a very worthwhile enhancement for University applications or employment CVs.
Competitions
Students at Barton Peveril are able to take part in a number of regional, national and international competitions. In recent years Photography students have entered and won the ‘Reginald Harris Competition’, Design Technology students have reached the regional finals of the ‘Audi Design Awards’ and Business Studies students reached the quarter-finals of the national Pro Share competition run by the Times newspaper.
Duke of Edinburgh
Students at Barton Peveril can take part in the Duke of Edinburgh at Silver level.
The aim of the award is to provide an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding programme of development for young people. The Award is a programme of personal and social development, and participation should be very enjoyable and provides a valuable enhancement to your higher education application or employment CV.
