b'THE ELLESMERIAN47The BTEC group of six students, who opted to complete the ExtendedWilliams A Streetcar Named Desire and Websters The Diploma - equal to 3 A Levelsalso achieved a 100% pass rate. OverDuchess of Malfi. Subsequent sessions built on this 50% of grades achieved were at Distinction star or Distinction withmetacognitive approach with workshops in the Arts Centre one student attaining the highest mark possible, three Distinction Stars.where drama served to develop a deeper grasp of each The average outcome for the BTEC Extended Diploma by Ellesmerewriters work.students is equivalent to ABB at A level.The A level results were equally impressive with 100% pass rate and routes secured to university by most. A number of students secured impressive A*/A in all subjects and destinations include Music at Cambridge (Homerton College), Medicine at Birmingham, Chemistry at Birmingham, Classics at Durham, Law at Cardiff, Mathematics at Imperial College London and Bath, Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Physiotherapy at Liverpool, Philosophy at Newcastle, and Product Design Engineering at Nottingham University.Wine Appreciation SocietyAfter the Christmas break, we were delighted to welcome back Miss Zoe Evans (OE 2004) to the College deliver this course to 20 pupils based on the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 course.Alex Herbert Adams focuses on the final scenes of The Duchess of MalfiZoe left Ellesmere College after the sixth form to study Agri-Food Marketing at Harper Adams University and also obtained a placement with Majestic Wine. She then went to Marlborough, New Zealand and worked on a vineyard and winery for a year before returning to work for Halfpenny Green Wine Estate, as a Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker. Although the course was cut slightly short due to the pandemic, all involved really enjoyed the experience and appreciated the knowledge and insight into the world of wines that Zoe was able to offer.I must also commend our Lower Sixth pupils this year as they have responded to the challenges of online teaching for a term with exceptional maturity and the skills that they have developed in doing so will certainly be a real asset to them once they leave us next year. I have no doubt that that this group of pupils will be able to support each other and those in the year groups below in adapting to whatever changes we face when we return in September.MTG Year 13 capturing the whole of A Streetcar Named DesireLooking at the Bigger Picture in EnglishIn a period when we were locked down, focusing creatively on the big picture set students free.This year has seen a number of new approaches take root in Sixth Form lessons. The seeds were planted by the Colleges adoption of High Performance Learning where the core belief is that all students can, if they are given the opportunity, develop the characteristics and attitudes of the most successful learners. Activities were designed in A-Level Literature and International Baccalaureate lessons to build intellectual resilience, playfulness, and flexibility. Students on both courses found that there was a lot of scope for creativity and imagination in the English classroom, whether it was in New Block or the lockdown space of Microsoft Teams.One particular focus was meta-cognition and looking at a literary work on a macro, or big-picture scale. Prior to the lockdown, this approach saw desks covered in rolls of paper, a blank canvas on to which a particular plays plot line could be captured with key scenes magnified and contextual information added. Given the freedom to create these canvases collaboratively, the outcome was often visually compelling and allowed for links to be made within and between A-Level plays such asMoney Nopsuwanwong s intricate notes about the Duchess and her brothers'