Graphic design

Pre-Professional

The pre-professional pathway is based around a career, rather than an academic subject, and is designed to develop your understanding of a specific job role. You will learn about the skills and knowledge needed for a certain type of employment and in some cases have the opportunity to undertake a related work placement.

Accounting

Do you want to be an accountant? The accounting enrichment will provide you with the knowledge and skills to start your professional journey into this lucrative career. This will provide the perfect pathway to gain an apprenticeship in accounting or to study accounting at the top universities. You will find out how organisations manage their money and will really get a feel for this career. Apprenticeship placements for companies such as KPMG pay up to £21,000 from the age of 18 and this course will give you a competitive edge in securing such a position. Kick start your career with this enrichment!

Advanced Accounting (Term 2 only)

Choose this if you have done Accounting enrichment in Term 1 and you enjoyed it. This will give you the opportunity to go into the concepts in more depth.

Beginner's French

Are you interested in travelling? Are you looking to work in an international company? Do you want to stand out from the crowd on your uni/job application?

During this course, you will be given all the tools to survive during a holiday in France/ a French speaking country as well as gaining languages skills sought after by many employers! You will be practising simple conversation as well as learning language you could use on a business trip. You will also be given the opportunity to develop your communication skills, confidence and employability!

Beginner's Spanish

Are you interested in travelling? Are you looking to work in an international company? Do you want to stand out from the crowd on your uni/job application?

During this course, you will be given all the tools to survive during a holiday in Spain/a Spanish speaking country as well as gaining languages skills sought after by many employers! You will be practising simple conversation as well as learning language you could use on a business trip. You will also be given the opportunity to develop your communication skills, confidence and employability!

Biomedical Science

You’ll look at the crucial role of Biomedical Scientists within hospitals and the work done to support doctors in their diagnosis of disease. You’ll explore the fields of haematology; biochemistry, microbiology, including parasitology and histology, and you’ll get the chance to look at case studies to diagnose and develop laboratory skills in these areas by carrying out practical work in this subject.

You will be guided in independent study and present findings to strengthen communication skills. This is ideal if you wish to go further in careers in Biomedical Sciences or the medical field and will give you a true insight into diagnostic testing.

Building a Green Economy to Tackle The Climate Crisis

They say money makes the world go round but there must be more important things, right? A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. In this enrichment, you’ll learn more about green careers and how they affect the national and global economy. Also, you’ll discover more about and prepare for the changes that green careers will present.

Careers in Law ( Term 1 only)

This Pre-Professional enrichment will allow you to have an insight into careers in law with a range of different guest speakers from barristers, solicitors, members of the civil service and many more. Following each talk, students will then complete activities based on the career that came the week prior and have a ‘day in the life of’ each career. This will allow a broader understanding of prospects in law.

Careers Involving Maths (Term 1 only)

Each week we will have a speaker from a profession in which maths plays a key role. e.g., accountancy, engineering, risk analysis, etc. The speaker will talk about how they use maths in their job. You will then have time to do some research on this career. If you know that you would like to use maths as part of your future career but you're not sure how then this is the enrichment for you!

Chemistry Ambassadors

Learn the chemistry and practical techniques of some amazing chemical reactions. Practise to perfect the effects. Plan a sequence of reactions to amaze groups of Y7s. Inspire your audience with the power of science.

Design and Sculpture for Interiors and Gardens (Term 2 only)

Pre-Professional course to build three-dimensional sculpting skills transferable to set design, construction, garden design and architecture.

Economic History

You’ll participate in a series of lectures on topics such as Thatcherism, the Nazi Economic Miracle, asset bubbles and speculative manias, and the Industrial Revolution. Then you’ll complete independent work on an essay for a competition.

Equality and Diversity (Term 1 only)

Our Equality and Diversity Awareness enrichment gives you an overview of The Equality Act 2010, the nine protected characteristics and some insights into the key statistics highlighting current levels of Equality and Diversity discrimination in the UK. Additional topics will include: identifying and preventing unconscious bias; avoiding indirect discrimination; and creating a culture of fairness and inclusion. Alongside researching these areas, you will research significant case studies and present your findings within the group. This enrichment would be suitable for you if you intend to go into the following careers: health and social care; teaching; law; social work; housing; welfare rights; HR management; youth/ community work.

Fringe Festival: Performance and Production (Term 1 only)

Preparation for the Fringe festival. Fringe festival will pull on work created both within this enrichment and other enrichments running in the department, to create a week-long celebration of the work in place. You will develop and source the work to showcase. Most of the enrichment will run around exploring and rehearsing scripted work. At the appropriate point you will explore arts event management and learn how coordinate an arts festival.

Games Design and Development

Work as a team to produce an indie game based on a day in the life of an RSFC member. This enrichment is open to all who have an interest in games design and development, which will range from artists to coders and everyone in between. No prior experience is necessary. Enthusiasm is a must! 

Introduction to Writing Fiction

Start the journey of becoming a prose writer. You will learn how to draw inspiration from the stories that matter to us; you will look at genre and how the conventions of this can inform our writing; you’ll create characters with depth; discuss structure and whether this is a help or a hinderance in your writing; and you’ll create a piece of work at competition or graduate standard. Create something you can be proud of, develop new skills and maybe even get your work published.

Introductory to Writing Poetry

Enjoy your first steps towards becoming a poet. On this journey, you will explore form and structure to guide your writing; reflect on topics you deem important and discuss how you can explore these through the written word; and you’ll craft a body of work which will be entered into a young writers' poetry competition. With several students having become published, consider this a journey – one which will bring opportunity and a chance to create something you are proud of.

Live Lounge

Are you a budding musician and want the opportunity to form a band while at college? During this enrichment (similar to Radio 1’s Live Lounge) you will work with other students to create a band and twist classic anthems by changing genres, and learn new styles to play on your instrument. This enrichment is a great way to develop your own skills as a musician and also allows you to build collaborative skills with other artists.

Maths and Science Education (Term 2 only)

Maths and Science are famously regarded as challenging subjects, but what makes them so hard? Why are some students so naturally good at Maths while others struggle? You’ll break down some of the most prohibitive aspects and look at the most effective teaching strategies to help pupils of all ability levels get the most from their lessons. This enrichment course will not only introduce you to the skills required for work in the education sector but will also impart a wide range of logic and reasoning skills.

Mooting Society

This is an exciting opportunity for you if you are seeking to enter the legal profession, particularly if you want to become a barrister. Mooting is a legal debate around an appeal topic, where you will act as a barrister and present your legal argument supported with statute, cases and legal academic arguments around the current issue at hand. The issue is ‘moot’ and so the point at hand is uncertain and debatable, therefore you will work together with your peers to create a strong argument which will be judged by a panel/single judge. The whole focus is to practise advocacy, a key skill if you dream of becoming a barrister and want to represent clients in court.

Networking and Cyber Security

This is designed to help you enhance your networking skills as well as general cyber security. The programme will include using Cisco Packet tracers; in designing simulated (virtual) networks, monitoring the journey of a packet in the network, along with cybersecurity attacks. The enrichment will help you in your journey towards obtaining a well-recognised industrial qualification like CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) status a very highly desired industrial qualification.

Personal Finance

Learn the skills required to manage your finances. Everything from income tax to national insurance and inflation to VAT. You will also look into how you pay back a student loan and analyse pay slips so you should never be underpaid whilst working. 

Photoshop (Term 1 only)

This is the perfect enrichment for anybody considering going into graphic design, product design, advertising or marketing. You will learn how to use the Photoshop interface to achieve technical and creative skills in photo editing, lighting, manipulation, and special effects. Being proficient in Photoshop is a requirement for the fields listed above, and you will be able to add it to your skill set.

Pre-Marketing

In Pre-Marketing, you will gain first-hand experience of how businesses aim to influence the buying habits of customers and generate the maximum amount of profit, including their use of advertising and various promotional campaigns. You will visit a surprise famous local organisation who will set you a marketing challenge. You'll work on this in teams and prepare a professional written proposal and presentation to deliver to visitors from the organisation. This will be ideal for anyone wishing to pursue a career in business or a related field.

Pre-Nursing and Healthcare

Pre-Nursing and Healthcare is designed for those interested in a career in nursing or in the wider healthcare sector. During these sessions you will explore the roles and responsibilities of various healthcare professionals, including nursing, and what requirements are needed to join this challenging yet fulfilling sector. You will explore the variety of avenues that the healthcare world has, such as nursing, midwifery, and radiography. Case studies will be explored and you will look at how to be effective healthcare practitioners. You will have the opportunity to speak to healthcare professionals, with guest speakers telling you about why they became a healthcare professional and what their role entails. If you’re interested in this profession, this is the enrichment for you.

Pre-Teaching

Thinking about a career within education or working with young people? Then why not consider choosing the Pre-Teaching programme. This enrichment course will not only introduce you to the skills required for work in this sector but will also help you make connections with professionals in the local area. You will receive training from a local head teacher before joining a primary school for an 8-week placement where you will work directly with pupils in the Rochdale area. This is a great way to gain experience if you are considering applying for a teaching degree or pursuing a career in education.

Primary Maths Teaching (Term 1 only)

Ri Masterclasses are a series of workshops where Y5 students can explore mathematics outside the confines of the classroom, through hands-on extra-curricular workshops. Our Ri Masterclass series runs across the UK at primary level, and you will work with teams of dedicated volunteers and contributors who make masterclasses happen in Rochdale and across the UK. In association with the Royal Institution, you will receive training and support to plan a series of lessons to deliver to a group of Y5 primary school students. You will develop your organisational skills and learn about how to break down topics into manageable chunks to stretch the knowledge of our local primary students.

Share Trading

You will learn the basics of share trading and gain an understanding of the role of a stockbroker. The course will involve a team-based presentation, centred on the FTSE100, a simulation of share trading. The course will culminate with an external competition in which you will compete against other colleges in the area. This is a prestigious course run in association with the University of Manchester. Share trading is ideal for anyone interested in areas such as business, economics, marketing or those that simply want to try something a bit different!

Video Editing

Perfect enrichment if you want to go into film, TV or content editing. A series of practical editing sessions using industry-standard editing software Adobe Premiere Pro. Developing skills from continuity editing to shooting reverse shots and sound bridges and more experimental editing techniques, extracts from classic films will be used to see these techniques in action with their associated meanings.

What Solicitors Do…

Want to know what the life of a solicitor consists of? From representing clients to preparing trial bundles, get to know what solicitors do behind closed doors! You will be provided with lots of insight into the day-to-day work of a solicitor. This is vital information if you are considering a career as a solicitor. Not only will you walk away with knowledge of what solicitors do, you will also have the opportunity to have a go at doing some of the work yourself!

Working in the Media Industry (Term 1 only)

You will look at a different role each week and the skills needed for a wide range of occupations within a multifaceted industry. Consider practical roles such as lighting technician or sound engineer to more business-orientated professions like producer or film festival manager.