Brookfield Sixth Form
Brookfield Community School boasts one of the best sixth forms available in the local area and 92% of past sixth form students recommend the sixth form.
Brookfield Sixth Form has lots of new exciting additions this year.
The new areas (The Hive and The Hub), as well as the senior library, provide many opportunities for sixth form students to work in, and relax during their study periods. This is a welcome change in order to provide sixth form students with greater opportunities to revise for upcoming exams. Before these new areas were introduced sixth form students had access only to the library but now have dedicated independent study areas. Brookfield Community School boasts one of the best sixth forms available in the local area and 92% of past sixth form students recommend the sixth form. This is important for the school: their slogan “One School, One Community” shows how it wants to provide the best for its students.
A safeguarding issue raised by Ofsted in 2018 has been fully addressed by the introduction of lanyards. This addition allows staff to be notified whether a sixth form student is in or out of the school by a simple swipe of a card. This is a new addition that might not interest the students as much as the new study areas, but it is a vital introduction to identify where the students are at all times which is essential for safeguarding.
Sixth form students have been given a selection of opportunities to progress their career paths. The Brookfield Enrichment programme (the BE programme for short) is a way to provide students with a future career path. Some of these BE programmes include the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, S40 Local journalism and supporting lessons at Brookfield or a local primary school. Also, on the agenda are running the school Environment Group and Young Enterprise – more on which follows!
Environmental Committee
Some members of this committee further attended a climate change debate at the town hall to demonstrate to the community Brookfield’s support for the town to make progressive changes in a bid to improve the environment within Chesterfield.
A passionate group of year 13 students have formed Brookfield’s first Environmental Committee, a project spearheaded by deputy head girl Kate Ames who’s ultimate goal for the committee is to make Brookfield Community School carbon neutral. This is a long term aim that the committee wishes to accomplish through a variety of methods, including: installing recycling bins within the school, encouraging teachers to car share on their way to and from work, removing plastic from the canteen and starting projects to plant trees in the local area.
Some members of this committee further attended a climate change debate at the town hall to demonstrate to the community Brookfield’s support for the town to make progressive changes in a bid to improve the environment within Chesterfield. This debate offered insight into issues that needed to be tackled and inspired these students to take matters into their own hands, evident in the formation of the Environmental Committee. One example of an active change made by the BPFA, Brookfield Parents and Friends Association, has been the implementation of new water fountains within the school in the hope of encouraging students to bring reusable water bottles to school instead of buying a new plastic one everyday, which the Environmental Committee aims to build upon.
These small term goals will ultimately lead to long term results by reducing the school’s waste and promoting a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. The students within the group and in the lower years also hope to make a visible difference to the amount of litter on school grounds and in the surrounding area through organised litter picks. The drive of these students is admirable and will make a significant difference to the community and the image that Brookfield presents, hopefully strengthening ties between the school and the community.
Text: Amelia Hardwick
Brookfield Year 12 Young Enterprise competition up and running!
Young Enterprise is a national scheme allowing students up and down the country to innovate, create, and express themselves in the business world - and it’s a key BE opportunity for students at Brookfield. Overseen by Mr Taylor in the business department, teams of students create products, market them and - best of all - sell them to the general public in any way they please. Not only do students keep all profits from the award, they also gain valuable experience in business, preparing them for the future. With help from senior members of local businesses and Mr Taylor, this year’s Y12 edition is coming along nicely with both teams having products in the pipeline as well as ethical objectives in mind.
EcoEssentials' idea is to create personalised handmade coasters, meaning they appeal to everybody; they will also offer seasonal coasters such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day specials. As well as this, EcoEssentials will offer straws made out of grass to help the environment. Sourced from a family run business in Zimbabwe, joint Managing Director Harry O’Neill’s goal is to sell these straws to local restaurants as a replacement for the currently used plastic straws which harm the environment. The students have already started marketing the business with Instagram (@ecoessentialsye) and Facebook accounts (@Eco Essential).
The aim of Urban Jars is to get more people involve in the declining hobby of gardening and to create a product that can be universal in most home environments. Selling glass jar plant decorations, succulent flowers and personalised bundles, the business’ plan is to make people more aware of climate change. Unlike EcoEssentials, Urban Jars are sourcing their products from local businesses in order to reduce their carbon footprint. They also have an Instagram account (@urban.jars).