Year 12 Scholars Enjoy an Enrichment Session

Year 12 scholars at the Stamford Schools have attended an enrichment session with a local voice coach.This week saw the first of a series of evening enrichment events planned as part of the programme for this year’s Year 12 scholars.The session was run by Jason Gray, local voice coach and performer in West End shows.The enrichment events will all be on the theme of “uncomfortable learning”, aiming to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones, become less risk-averse and begin to wholeheartedly embrace being challenged and “put on the spot”.This first session certainly succeeded in doing just that, as the students were challenged by Jason to sing solo lines from an Ed Sheeran song. Some had a backing track, some unaccompanied and some in front of peers.Many admitted to being terrified, and those were the students Jason picked to take the stage and perform a solo.Along the way, Jason shared useful advice about how to “fake it till you make it” and how to channel fear and anxiety into positive energy and physical confidence.By the end of the session, the ice was well and truly broken, as the whole group joined together in a spirited rendition of the song, filling in a questionnaire on resilience before they left.Mr M Zacharias, Head of Scholars at SHS, commented: “These scholar sessions are intended to expose students to what psychologist Professor Tanya Byron terms 'positive stress' (where stress is safe and manageable within a supportive context), with the hope that we learn to build not just resilience but also 'antifragility'.""Jason's workshop was hugely enjoyable but also keenly uncomfortable at times, and it was very much to the credit of our Year 12 scholars that they so readily fronted up to the challenges he issued them that afternoon.”The Schools are looking forward to the next session on November 18, when they welcome Philip Simon, a stand-up comedian. Watch this space!Watch a video of the session here:

Yr 12 scholars’ enrichment on the theme of ‘uncomfortable learning’ off to a noisy start this evening with a session by voice coach and West End performer Jason Gray! @PrincipalsDesk @SpedeNews @SESSixthForm @SHS_Scholars pic.twitter.com/QxXGZa0bUC

— Karen Leetch (@KarenLeetch) September 29, 2021

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