A first for Europe, we're excited about the new addition to our curriculum.
ACS Hillingdon has become the first school in Europe to offer the Global Citizens Diploma (GCD). It's a unique qualification that goes beyond academic results to acknowledge all of the exceptional citizenship and service-related activities students undertake to become global citizens.
A prominent addition to any university or job application, the GCD allows High School students (aged 14-18) to demonstrate their skills, personality and values beyond their academic grades. As well as consolidating the activities that students are already completing within the school day and in their spare time, the GCD encourages students to take these actions to the next level and also enables ACS to provide new opportunities for students to develop key life skills and a greater global awareness.
The GCD comprises 16 key elements, which are split into core values, competencies and areas of expertise, including: community engagement, global understanding, intercultural communication, wilderness engagement, work experience, artistic expression and leadership.
Students are required to log a series of 'stories' describing the activities they have undertaken to showcase that they have completed and reflected on the required element.
ACS Hillingdon’s Coordinator for Digital Teaching & Learning, Dr Alex Read, has worked to build a specification and secure approval of a bespoke application which allows students to easily submit their stories. Through the 'Toddle' app, students can use multiple formats and media to complete their stories – either in written format, as a video, as audio, as a photo collage and more.
Dr Alex Read
The GCD can be completed to three different levels: Global Citizens Certificate (GCC), the GCD or the GCD+. All High School students at ACS Hillingdon are required to complete at least the GCC before they graduate, but are encouraged to go on to complete the full GCD.
To support students in developing the skills required to complete their GCD activities, Lisa Blair, ACS Hillingdon's Upper School Principal has introduced weekly Personal Development Programme (PDP) lessons which all High School students will attend.
Following a successful pilot programme involving students Grades 11-12, we are now rolling out the GCD to Grade 9 and 10, co-ordinated by Lisa Blair, Upper School Principal, Alyssa Ballard, Academic Principal and Andy Groark, ACS Hillingdon's experiential learning coordinator. The programme is now mainly led by a student-run GCD committee, who provide advice and guidance to their peers.
So far, students have completed a range of activities that contribute towards their diploma. For example, Grade 11 student Ellie has completed her community engagement by volunteering for over a year with Young Healthwatch Hillingdon, a charity established to enable young people to connect with people in their age group and help them with their physical and mental health.
Audra, an American student in Grade 11, completed her inter-cultural communication by reflecting on how studying foreign languages has immersed her in European culture.
Another Grade 11 student, Gemma, earned her wilderness engagement by writing about her six years spent attending nature camp, where she learnt to cherish the environment and the planet.
By reflecting on their activities and achievements in this way, students are not only able to consolidate their interests and abilities, but they also graduate with a set of tangible stories that can be used to support university and job applications and personal statements and can be accessed by teachers when writing references.
"This diploma is an excellent way of recognising our students broader learning, of deepening their understanding about what it means to be a citizen of this world, and of motivating them to learn more, reflecting on their experiences and using that learning for the benefit of others," Martin adds.
"As well as themselves, I believe that the introduction of the GCD at ACS Hillingdon is potentially transformative for our school and I'm truly excited to see the impact it is already starting to have on our students."