Sixth form and college library support

Sixth form and college library support

Libraries prepare students for exams, further study and the workplace.

Sixth Form and College, Ages 16+

Sixth form and college students can benefit from a broad range of library resources, study support services and volunteering and work experience opportunities to enrich their learning journey and gain valuable workplace experience. 

Libraries provide valuable space for individual or group study and access to free computers, Wi-Fi and a wealth of online and hardcopy resources, helping students to excel in exams and stay ahead in coursework.

Dedicated sessions are provided to help students understand the scope of independent learning and prepare them for higher education. These sessions are designed to expose students to resources and research material beyond that available in the classroom, guiding them around the development of research techniques and tools that they will be able to apply when studying for projects and assessments.

As well as providing a range of work experience and volunteering opportunities available for young people, libraries offer student work placements of up to 3 months which provide workplace based training and an opportunity to deliver library services directly to customers.

These opportunities provide a rich and diverse set of experiences which can be used to enhance personal development or to provide direct evidence for an assessment module or application. 

They can be arranged through formal school work experience programmes, Duke of Edinburgh Award and Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge, or on a more informal basis by contacting the library.

Worcestershire Libraries actively encourage students to 'Study Happy'. In partnership with The University of Worcester, libraries provide wellbeing support to students, especially those studying GCSEs, A levels or further education, to help them to achieve their academic objectives while looking after their wellbeing.

Further benefits of Worcestershire Libraries partnership with University of Worcester, include access for A level and Further Education students to the University’s ‘Ask a Librarian’ service; an email enquiry service which provides answers to more complex questions about navigating information resources, databases and referencing.

Library services:

  • prepare young people for work and further study
  • provide an opportunity for socialising
  • develop cognitive functioning and encourage the evaluation of ideas
  • encourage ambitions
  • continue to develop a desire to read for pleasure, a love of libraries and life-long learning

Webinars

Discover official information: The Government and beyond (45 minutes)

Do your students need to use government information or statistics for their EPQ, coursework or independent project?

This webinar will take a brief look at how to find and evaluate these important sources.

We will look at openly available sources and point student in the direction of statistical sources that can be accessed from libraries in Worcestershire.

The session can include guidance on how to reference these sources if required.

Can I use this for my assignment? Evaluating information for academic study (1 hour)

We will look at some tips and tricks for evaluating information found online including:

  • some of the challenges that can make it hard for us to be fair and effective in our evaluations of information
  • tips and tricks for finding the original source of a piece of evidence or a claim
  • looking at other sources that can help us make a good enough judgement about a source or claim

Introduction to Harvard referencing (50 minutes)

This webinar will introduce the Harvard (author/date) system of referencing. We will look at why we reference, when we reference and the mechanics of how to do it.

If you would prefer your students to use a footnote system for referencing, we can introduce the Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) system instead of Harvard.

Please specify which system you would prefer when booking.

Finding business information (20 to 30 minutes)

This session will get your students started when using Complete Business Reference Adviser (COBRA) to find market research information.

Your students will need digital library membership or a Worcestershire library card to use COBRA and complete the activities for this session. We can offer this session as a digital session or in-person in The Hive.

How to spot fake news (1 hour)

Participants will have the opportunity to try out some fact checking tools, these are tips and tricks which can help us to make sure that the news we share with our friends, family and social networks is as accurate as possible.

Arrange a library or school visit

To book a library or school visit, please fill out our:

School visit booking form

Useful links

 

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