The Sheepscombe Award
The Sheepscombe Award is a bespoke, annual achievement award introduced in the 2023-24 academic year. It was developed as an engaging way for Sheepscombe KS2 children to be independent in developing a wide range of life skills. It is aimed to raise awareness of the wider world and develop responsibility towards the community. Our aim is that children learn to be independent in taking responsibility for themselves and those around them and are empowered to make a difference. It builds on developing a love of learning, reinforces the school’s golden thread of sustainability and reflects the six core values of Sheepscombe School: Respect, courage, kindness, honesty, thoughtfulness and tolerance.
Over the course of the award children complete a series of challenges. These consist of:
Respect which comes with trust
- Demonstrate respect for others by doing something to help the community.
- Develop your own self-respect by being persistent in learning a new skill over a number of hours, days or weeks
Courage which comes with resilience
- Take part in the ten-pound-challenge
- Give a 2-minute maximum presentation about your challenge.
- Go on a hike for at least 5 miles.
Kindness which comes with compassion
- Cook a meal for your family.
Honesty which comes with responsibility
- Demonstrate responsibility by doing something to have a positive inpact on the environment in 3 key areas:
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
Thoughtfulness which comes with cooperation
- Demonstrate cooperation by erecting a tent and sleeping in it.
- Demonstrate cooperation by taking part in a competitive sporting event.
Tolerance which comes with understanding
- Demonstrate understanding by keeping a diary for at least 10 entries.
- Demonstrate understanding by creating something original.
- Demonstrate understanding by reading 5 books.
Over the summer of 2024 the KS2 children worked to complete their booklets, and as a group undertook to take part in an impressive range of activities and learning opportunities, developing new skills and values. This was evidenced at the award ceremony at the end of the year. Most activities were undertaken at home but a few, such as the 5-mile hike, were conducted in school. The ten-pound challenge was open to the whole of the school to take part in and also necessary to achieve the Sheepscombe Award.
The Ten Pound Challenge
The Ten Pound Challenge takes place in June and starts with a lesson about business ideas, calculating profit, sales, marketing and promotion. The children then have one month in which to make as much profit as possible by investing their ten pounds. In the 2023/24 year this saw numerous stalls around school culminating in a market day but also saw children making use of community events such as the Stroud market, Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and the Sheepscombe Cricket Club. Children made, grew, bought, sold and did a huge range of things, developing important entrepreneurial skills. Children taking part in the Sheepscombe Award then also gave a very interesting series of presentations about their economic endeavours. After seed money was repaid children then donated half of their profits to a charity of their choice including FOSS and chose what to do with the remainder of their profits. It was a hugely successful event for all involved.