At Trinity Catholic HighSchool Sixth Form we want all our students to achieve the best that they can.We want you to be ready to move on to Higher Education or the world of workwith the skills and attitude to enable you to succeed. Central to this is ourbelief that you need to develop as an INDEPENDENTLEARNER. We fully appreciate that you cannot be expected to work fullyindependently from day one but we want to work with you to help you becomeself-disciplined, self-motivated and organised so that you work at a very highlevel and you do so consistently. To support you in yourstudies we have developed the ‘Master Learner Programme’. There are five stepsto the Master Learner Programme:     Step one: This is the level we allstart at when we begin something new. It means we need a lot of supervision andsupport because we are just starting out. Step two: We hope that you will alleasily move on to this level quite quickly. It means that you work well withsome supervision and support. It also means that you can work well on your ownfor some of the time. Step three: This level recognises thatyou have progressed really well and that you can be expected to workindependently for most of the time. Step four: When you reach this level itmeans that you have developed into a fully independent learner and that yourwork has reached a high academic level. Step five: A Master Learner is anExpert Learner who is also taking on roles of leadership and responsibility. At each level you will berecommended different resources and tasks to help support your development asan independent learner. There are also expectationsthat you will work on expanding your wider reading, research and experience asyou develop your independence. We will support you in this as well by offeringyou opportunities to grow academically and socially. One of the ways we do thisis through the Trinity Union: If you achieve Expert orMaster Status in two or more subject areas you will be invited to join theTrinity Union. There are a variety ofactivities in the Trinity Union that are designed to stretch and challenge yourthinking and enable you to think beyond the confines of your discrete subjectareas. The experiences you willgain, as a member of the Trinity Union will help prepare you for universityinterviews and for higher order thinking skills that you will need on yourcourses.   This meets once a month,after school, for an hour and debates a wide variety of topics and issues. Youcan go along to the debates to listen and vote or take part by speaking in orleading the debate. There is also a series ofBalloon debates, which occur during lunchtimes where students compete to winthe coveted prize.   This is a fortnightlylecture programme given by staff, students and, sometimes, outside speakers ona wide range of themes and topics. The lectures will widen your horizonsintellectually and challenge you to see connections and arguments across a widerange of subjects and disciplines. If you sign up for this programme you willbe asked to write a paper at the end of the series of lectures expanding onsome of the themes or thinking you have come across. This is excellentpreparation for those of you who wish to submit an ‘extended project’.   These are fortnightly meetingswith a member of staff anda small group of students discussing topics ofinterest. In order to join in with these groups you will need to purchase anotebook and make notes in between your groups meetings. In the Moleskine groupyou will be expected to contribute, make sense of what is being said, and makeconnections between a wide range of topics. This is excellent preparation forhigher education interviews including the Oxbridge entrance process. ASSESSMENT In Year 12 you will beassessed three times on your progression as an independent learner as well ason your overall academic performance. In Year 13 you will be assessed twice.What follows is an example of how you might progress over the two years of your‘A’ levels. In each subject you will takepart in the Master Learner Assessment. This will involve you looking at somestatements that describe how to progress as an Independent Learner in thatsubject. You will be asked to honestly assess your own progress and decide thelevel at which you are currently performing. Your teacher will take intoaccount how you think you are progressing and take it into account whenawarding you with your level. In some subjects you may also be asked to helpassess your fellow students. The results of your MasterLearner Assessment will appear on your report where each teacher will make acomment on your progress; the next step on your Master Learner programme willalso be written out. This next step will be informing you and your parents ofthe sorts of things you could be doing to improve as an independent learner inthat subject. In the case of a studenttaking 3 A levels in History, Maths and Physics and 1 AS level in Music theymight have the following report: Report1: This would mean that thestudent is working fully independently in Physics, is still needing support intheir studies in Music and Maths and is finding it difficult to progress inHistory. This student needs to target their History work. In the case of Mathsand Music they need to develop into a fully independent learner so they shouldlook for resources that help them move on. They should also look to read aroundthe subjects more. In Physics they should look to take a leadership role,perhaps mentoring other students, leading a discussion group or writing a blog.   Report2:   This would mean that thestudent is working fully independently in Physics and have taken a leadershiprole. This student is now working mainly independently in Music and in Mathsthey are now a fully independent learner. In History they have now progressedand need less support. Due to their having achieved Expert Learner in Maths andMaster Learner in Physics they have now been invited to join the Trinity Union. Now they can target theirHistory work by looking for resources to help them move on to becoming moreindependent. In the case of Maths they can look to take on a leadership role,perhaps by preparing to lead parts of lessons, or support other students in ahome study group. As they are now a member ofthe Trinity Union they can look to lead in debates, involve themselves in theMoleskine groups and attend the lecture programme, ‘Standing on the Shouldersof Giants’. Report3:   This student is now a fullyindependent learner in most of their subjects and almost fully independent inHistory. This student is well on the way to being ready for university or theworld of work.