The much-needed moral compass at Sixth Form

Worth’s Head of Sixth Form has spoken about the moral compass the School provides to help guide young people through education and to a life beyond.

Mr Matthew Doggett, who took on the role at Head of Sixth Form earlier this year, has been featured in an article in the Absolutely Education Autumn 2023 publication.

In the article, Mr Doggett talks about the School’s six values and how they play such a valuable role in the education of an academically ambitious school such as Worth. He said: “These values form a firm foundation for the education we provide which, without it, could be reduced to a mere set of skills to be applied to the workaday world instead of the formation of mind and spirit that will prepare young people for a secure, fulfilled and happy life.

“Research shows that embracing a sense of Community – and the generosity and altruism which follow – is not just a desirable trait but that selfless acts improve psychological well-being, and this is particularly effective for the formative 16-18 year age group for whom long-term benefits have been recorded.

“We have found that a powerful way to inspire our Sixth Form with this ‘outward-looking’ direction is through our Leadership Formation programme. Introducing this course to Year 12 has been revolutionary. Every student is invited to take part (and nearly everyone does) and benefits from a challenging year-long programme including workshops, listening to the experiences of guest and internal speakers, reflection essays and personal portfolios of what they understand a leader to be. Crucially, this prevents the competition to be a prefect in Year 13 from being purely about popularity; it means that from our Head Boy and Head Girl through to the subject-specific prefects, students are awarded their positions on their true leadership merits.

“Although not all of the students can become prefects the process is attractive none-the-less; everyone is rewarded for their efforts with the appropriate grading (distinction, merit, pass) and formal certification but most importantly we instil in them values and a moral compass that will guide them now and beyond school life.”

Mr Doggett concluded: “For so many young people who focus intensely on their own goals it can be a seismic shift to take responsibility for their role in other people’s lives; especially in our current – increasingly digital – world, it can be easy to overlook the needs of others and not truly grasp the skills required to lead happy, healthy, real-life relationships with those around us.”

The full article in Absolutely Education can be read here.

For Worth’s 2024-25 Sixth Form Options Guide click here.