St David's RC College
About the college
St David’s provides a post 16 Catholic education to students from Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, and even further a field. The college caters for approximately 1200 students of which a high proportion are non-Catholic. A Further Education centre, the college nonetheless has a traditional Sixth Form College ethos and is organised in a manner closer to a school sixth form with many comparable structures and a strong pastoral mentoring programme. The college has an obligatory RE course for all students which contributes to the WBQ course. The college offers a broad range of subjects at level 1, 2 and 3 both academic and vocational.
Staff involved in delvering the WBQ
| Caroline Morgan |
WBQ Coordinator; Curriculum Assistant Senior Manager |
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Bronwen Duly
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Assistant WBQ Coordinator
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Barbara Thomas
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Key Skills Coordinator, Pastoral Assistant Senior Manager
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Ken Read
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UCAS Coordinator, Pastoral Assistant Senior Manager
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Mike Howells
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Careers
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About 40 teaching staff are involved in delivering some aspect of WBQ
Students
St.David’s is a first cohort centre which offers Advanced WBQ. The WBQ is delivered as a stand alone subject and has very little input from Optional subjects. Students are studying a mixture of AS/A2 and Vocational courses, some are taking GCSE resit Maths and English.
In summer 2005, 66 students gained the Advanced level Core with 55 of these gaining the full Advanced WBQ Diploma. It is envisaged that in summer 2006 that approximately 90 students will achieve Advanced WBQ Diploma or Core certificate.
In the present lower sixth all level 3 students follow the St.David’s Core course of study which leads to the Advanced WBQ – 580 students.
Of special note...
Advanced WBQ at St. David’s
The students will have 5 hours a week over two years – 2 hours with pastoral tutor, 1 hour of General RE and 2 hours of Core lessons.
The pastoral tutors are responsible for tutoring and mentoring, and the key skill Improving Own Learning, level 2 achieved in first year and level 3 in second year.
General RE in the first year is responsible for two of the PSE elements – ‘Positive relationships’ and ‘The responsibility of the individual in promoting Global Citizenship’.
Core lessons in first year –
- Research skills,
- PSE – ‘Good Health’ and ‘The influence of the media on the individual’,
- and Community Participation
- WEW – ‘Position of Welsh language’ and both ‘Heritage and Culture’ key issues
- WRE – key skills assignment, Youth Initiative Programme and‘Team Enterprise Activity'
Core lessons in upper sixth –
- WEW – Both key issues of ‘Political issues’, ‘The social issues that face people in everyday lives and responses to them’, both key issues ‘The impact of economic and technological change’, Language unit, Individual Investigation
- WRE – ‘Working with an Employer’
Key skills
The college was considered by the WJEC project team to have been successful in the delivery of the Wider Key Skills and recent inspection visit stated that the integration of key skills in to the WBQ was excellent. Key skills are accredited through Edexcel and the college has been involved in a pilot for self accreditation.
Most staff at the college had been familiar with key skills predating the introduction of the Welsh Bac. The aim is for students to achieve 5 of the key skills in the first year, with Communication covered in second year.
Application of Number and ICT
These are offered at level 2 within the WBQ course, but students can achieve level 3 through Optional subjects. Evidence is provided through a Work Related Education assignment and ‘Position of the Welsh language’ assignment.
Communication
Level 3 is offered within the WBQ course but many students also achieve it through their Optional subjects. Evidence is provided by the two key issues of ‘The impact of economic and technological change’.
Improving Own Learning
This is delivered by pastoral tutors as part of the pastoral programme.
- The ALIS programme is started from data gathered at initial interview or entry of student.
- Students then work with tutors to complete college-designed packs to analyse their respective learning styles. Then they identify their short and long term goals. Portfolios contain detailed evidence of this process.
- Individual interviews are held with tutors to confirm targets and progress is tracked through the college's Tracker programme. Data is used from the options. Optional studies and attendance figures are tracked through Bromcom. Both academic and work ethic achievements are monitored and recorded on Tracker sheets witnessed by both tutors and students.
Problem Solving and Working with Others
Level 3 in both these key skills are based on a Team Enterprise Project undertaken during the lower sixth by students working in groups of four or five. The college has introduced specially devised problem solving exercises as part of the lower sixth induction programme and Youth Initiative Programme with the intention to provide students with practice at problem solving before under taking the Team Enterprise programme.
The Team Enterprise coordinator introduces the programme with the support of outside business representatives. In groups students create business plans and carry out power point presentations to a pannel. Groups are advised by business mentors who note and confirm evidence of key skills using college-devised recording forms.
Other ways of acquiring evidence of WWO are:
- a mentoring project supported by DYSG in which students can volunteer to help fellow students needing support in ICT, literacy or numeracy skills.
- working in the Fair Trade shop in the college
- using the experience of the Community Participation element
- assisting with a College Musical production
Tutor support
A dedicated tutorial team of selected staff was created before WBQ, rather than all staff being seen as potential tutors whether capable or interested. Tutorial expertise was developed through training and internal support systems. Tutors were made easily available to meet students at times of need and not confined to prearranged meetings.
Use of outside resources
The Team Enterprise project and Youth Initiative Programme , involves BusinessDynamics with a large number of local business personnel, who not only helped devise the programme but actively participated in the exercise to guide and advise the student teams. They are also involved in the validation of students’ achievements for assessment.
External agencies and institutions such as Careers Wales are involved in Improving Own Learning exercises on future planning.
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