Students prepare for future in leadership
Our sixth form students are set to become Future Leaders.
Our bespoke Future Leaders programme sees Year 12 students undertaking a range of activities to boost their confidence, give them the courage to lead and make them more resilient in life after sixth form.
Keen sportswoman Hattie Simpson has represented school in both cricket and football; her football team got through the final of the English Schools’ FA Cup.
Her ambition is to become a PE teacher and she is exploring opportunities at local universities for further study post A levels.
Hattie, 17, said: “The Future Leaders course has given me skills for my future. It has definitely increased my confidence. I have been helping in PE and working with students and teaching them new sports.
“The hardest task was orienteering because I struggle reading maps, but I did All of the Year 12 students who completed the course were invited for a special commendation assembly with Andy Anderson, Drama Teacher who leads the Future Leaders Programme, and Headteacher of Haslingden High School Russell Clarke.
Eighteen students received extra recognition for their exceptional efforts on the course.
Naimah Nessa, 17, has ambitions of becoming a primary school teacher after completing a degree in Manchester.
She said being a Future Leader had helped her as it encouraged teamwork, there was a focus on being able to deliver a speech and also being a community volunteer.
For Naimah that saw her arranging an Iftar following the breaking of the Ramadan fast.
She said: “I arranged bake sales in school and I organised an in-school event – we had an Iftar for when we broke the fast when I gave a speech and also led a prayer.” Naimah said the skills acquired from the Future Leaders course had helped her to deliver the Iftar.
Hattie said the volunteering was for 10 weeks, but she had done 20 because she liked it so much and ‘sport is my thing’.
They both agreed, having the further qualification on their CV and UCAS application would make them stand out from the many other applicants who would be also looking to complete similar higher education courses.
Naimah added: “It has reaffirmed my own belief in me and given me the opportunity to lead others and my confidence has grown.”
The Future Leaders programme is a unique qualification for Haslingden Sixth Form students, delivered in 45-minute sessions each week with students completing tasks and challenges in their own time.