Studio is all about developing your creative confidence, your teamwork, and your ability to solve big, open-ended problems

These are the kinds of attributes that make you a dynamic, empathetic and ultimately employable person so we feel you shouldn’t have to wait until after sixth form to experience them!

What is this course?

Studio is all about developing your creative confidence, your teamwork, and your ability to solve big, open-ended problems. These are the kinds of attributes that make you a dynamic, empathetic and ultimately employable person so we feel you shouldn’t have to wait until after sixth form to experience them!

Within Studio, all students will take on a 12-week work placement, working in small teams to solve a genuine problem for a business, charity or other organisation. This is work experience the way it should be and provides an amazing opportunity for students to gain experience and apply their knowledge in a real world setting.

All students also take part in Studio projects. These are social action projects, held over 12 weeks and themed around contemporary issues and local community problems. As with Studio work placements, students work in small teams to solve challenging briefs that are set by real world organisations and community groups.

Who is this course for?

All students at Six 21 take the Studio course.

Studio forms part of our unique Six 21 curriculum and your overall score for Studio will contribute to your final report from the school which is sent to universities.

It is also a fantastic opportunity to add amazing experiences and references to your CV - something that will single you out when it comes to university and job applications in the future.

Our approach

Within Studio, our students learn about how to create effective teams and about how to investigate and tackle challenging briefs. There is a skill and a process to coming up with innovative solutions, and this is the key content that we teach within Studio. The themes of the projects that students are working on and the organisations which students will be placed with will change year-by-year, reflecting the need for them to be authentic and to reflect the interests and needs of our students.

Our approach to problem solving takes theories of ‘design thinking’ as its inspiration:[1]

[1] This 5 stage model was developed by the clever people at Stanford d.school - one of the most exciting academic departments at the highly successful Stanford University in California.

Empathise

Define

Ideate

Prototype

Test

Learn about the audience for whom you are designing, by observation and interview.

Who is my user? What matters to this person?

Create a point of view that is based on user needs and insights

What are their needs?

Brainstorm and come up with as many creative solutions as possible

Wild ideas encouraged!

Build a representation of one or more of your ideas to show to others.

How can I show my idea?

Remember: A prototype is just a rough draft!

Share your prototyped idea with your original user for feedback.

What worked?

What didn't?