The International Leadership Programme (ILP) is an option for Sixth Formers within the Thursday afternoon Activities programme. It offers an innovative framework which creates additional leadership opportunities and at least three highly respected qualifications in management and leadership.
In the Michaelmas term of each year, all ILP students participate in the core module which focuses on the following four areas:- Managing and leading people, Managing information, Managing activities and Managing resources. In Year 12 you will be introduced to a range of key management and leadership concepts as you work towards an internationally recognised VRQ L3 Certificate in First Line Management. You will also take your first steps towards a football coaching qualification with the help of coaches from Ipswich Town FC. You will be taught how to deliver an effective presentation, and assessment of this takes place in Year 13, giving you another internationally recognised qualification in a crucial area. In the summer holiday, you can gain genuine international leadership experience by teaching team-building and leadership skills to a group of Polish sixth form from the Silesian town of Zabrze.
In Year 13 you will have more advanced classes in management and leadership and start to bring the course together as you work on two written assignments focusing on problem solving in the work place and the management of change. Practical experience will be gained by setting up and running your own business through the Young Enterprise programme and by completing a genuine work-based project in an area such as magazine production.
If you subsequently choose to take a Gap year, these experiences will help you to organise your own challenging international leadership placement. This could be as short as one month or as long as twelve months. If you decide to apply for one of the commercially available Gap year programmes run by, for example, Camp America, the skills, qualifications and attitudes you have acquired will undoubtedly give you a distinct competitive advantage.