Space Studio West London students showcase their work-ready skills through Aspirations Employability Diploma project

Sixth formers at Space Studio West London displayed their work-ready skills with a series of presentations.

Students were tasked with choosing topics they have a passion for and subjects ranged from solutions to tackle global poverty to the public health crisis around fentanyl and the flight 302 Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Pupils spent weeks working researching their presentations independently before unveiling them in front of a panel of judges using a combination of slides, artwork and written content.

The ‘showcase’ presentations are a key component of the post-16 Aspirations Employability Diploma (AED) which is compulsory at Space Studio West London and unique to schools within the Aspirations Academies Trust.

Student Kainat Saeed chose to give a presentation about the dangers of fentanyl. She said: “I found it useful to study about a subject in depth. I did a lot of essay writing for the report which I enjoyed. I also learnt a lot about presenting and definitely feel that I have been pushed out of my comfort zone.”

Space Studio West London currently has places available for Year 10 & Year 12 students for the academic year beginning September 2022. To find out more about how to apply for a place go to www.spacestudiowestlondon.org or email office@spacestudiowestlondon.org.

L-R: Jessica Dembo, Kainat Saeed, Rhea Sharma & Auxentia Herghelegiu

The AED is compulsory, aimed at years 12 and 13 and requires four hours of weekly study alongside traditional subjects. Each student is provided with an AED roadmap which broadly outlines the skills students will develop to help them progress in life, whatever they choose to go on to do – whether that’s university, the workplace, an apprenticeship or a gap year.

Skills developed include critical thinking, presenting, problem solving and teamwork.

The diploma is built on real world activities. Students undertake four employer projects, three of which offer windows into the largest employment sectors: engineering, health and medicine, and education and training. The final ‘showcase’ project encourages students to explore a topic of their choice.

Space Studio West London

Steph Lee, Careers Lead at Space Studio West London, told The Hounslow Herald: “It’s been fantastic to see our students consolidate a year’s work into this project. They’ve worked incredibly hard and each of the projects has shown off the exceptional range of skills the students have learned over the AED programme.

“Our students have shown off their inquisitive minds, their exceptional knowledge and particularly their ability to look at the world and be the sort of revolutionary thinkers that the Aspirations Academies Trust wants to encourage them to be.”