Teaching important life skills
Mon, Feb 24th, 2025
Worth’s Head of Sixth Form, Mr Matthew Doggett, has talked about the importance of altruism and community alongside academic achievement in an increasingly digital world.
Speaking in an article in Fabric magazine, Mr Doggett explained how Worth provides two powerful ways for our Sixth Form students to give back as well as to work hard.
Fabric is a London-based property and lifestyle magazine. In the article in their February magazine Mr Doggett said the Sixth Form at Worth is an opportunity for young people to change their mindset towards both their academic studies and their lives generally.
He said: “The social, emotional and academic pressures facing Sixth Formers can lead them into the trap of focusing exclusively on their own needs, which is neither healthy for the individual nor helpful or pleasant for those around them.
“The good news is that the start of Year 12 is an optimum time for students to adopt new routines, interests and ways of learning. The change in educational context can neatly disrupt negative habits; this allows opportunity for kind and outward-looking character traits to develop, in addition to the grit and determination that is required for academic success.”
Mr Doggett said the ways we inspire Sixth Formers at Worth to do this are through our outreach programme – which includes partnering with local schools, forming relationships with charities and volunteering – and our Worth Leadership Formation programme in Year 12, which includes workshops, guest speakers, producing reflection essays and personal portfolios on what they understand a considerate and thoughtful leader to be.
He added: “The best-performing students are selected to become prefects, but even for those who are not, the process is attractive nonetheless: everyone is rewarded for their efforts with the appropriate grading and formal certification, and most importantly they will have developed values and a ‘moral compass’ to guide them beyond their life at school.”
Mr Doggett concluded: “For so many young people who focus intently on their own goals, it is a seismic shift to take responsibility for their role in other people’s lives. In our current – increasingly digital – world, it can be especially easy to overlook the needs of others and not truly grasp the skills required to lead happy, healthy, real-life relationships with those around us.
“Community and altruism are integral to a young person’s development; put to work properly, alongside their academic and co-curricular pursuits, the transformative power is clear.”
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