Shropshire College’s new team leader keeps students active during pandemic
For students at a Shropshire college unable to leave the campus due to the pandemic, a diverse activity programme has been created by a new team leader.
Acton Burnell-based Concord College has announced the appointment of ex-student Sarah Leighton as new pastoral assistant team leader to organise student activities.
In her new role, Miss Leighton will oversee the pastoral assistants, helping to organise and facilitate evening, weekend and half-term activities for lower school and the sixth form.
She said: “The diverse activity programme is designed to encourage student participation to aid their mental and physical wellbeing, now and post lockdown.
“The main challenge we currently face amid the coronavirus restrictions is keeping students interested in a variety of activities on offer.
“We are varying the activities we are putting on to try and cover all different interests and ages.
“For example, forms three and four are in the middle of an ongoing anime workshop entailing story boarding and creating characters.
“6.1 and 6.2 have had a crepe creation bar and at weekends the college has been hosting woodland walks in the local area.”
Rap workshop
Miss Leighton, who was a Concord student between 1991-1992, said the pastoral assistant team had numerous other ideas.
These include a rap workshop and a green room experience where the students can choose from a handful of virtual experiences.
“For example, roller coasters, flying, film backdrops – the list is endless," she said.
"The importance of providing activity programmes for the students is key.
“As well as top academic support, we need to encourage outdoor, creative and interesting activities to maintain and stimulate the students’ mental and physical health and wellbeing.”
Concord’s pastoral assistant team has undergone a restructure and new leadership to further support what it describes as the college’s ‘excellent’ provision of activities for students from lower school to the sixth form.
Miss Leighton, daughter of former summer school director John Leighton, who retired from Concord in 2016, started working at the college in 2007 and has held numerous positions.
These include boarding, accounts and bursary roles, and she is also currently the lead boarding parent for lower school boys.
