Case Studies

Geography is an interesting and evolving subject, the course involves engaging human topics, including globalisation along with physical topics such as coasts and hazards. My favourite topic was Hazards. We studied a variety of natural hazards, including volcanoes and tropical storms, and explored in-depth case studies such as Hurricane Katrina in the USA.

During my time in the Godalming drama department, I grew so much, both as a performer and as a person. Studying Drama and Theatre Studies A Level has allowed me to develop my analytical and writing skills, as well as greatly improving the depth and detail of my practical work. I have also been given lots of incredible opportunities with Class Action – in the form of productions, workshops, Q&As and more!

I’m really glad that I picked IT, Games and Web Development, as it is such an interesting subject with a lot of variety. I originally took it due to my interest in the video games unit, but I have thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. Many parts of the work allow for creativity and that is a part of the subject that I have enjoyed the most, as it allows for me to give projects a personal touch. Many of the units are based around video games so I have had a lot of fun thinking of ideas and being able to work on them in lessons.

I chose Philosophy because I found myself reducing ideas and arguments to their core, and noticing it was the same questions popping up in different guises. I did not know how to answer them. Then, once having started at college, I realised that all my other subjects, when pushed and reduced also became these questions. However, this time I had an idea of how I would begin to answer them. The clear skills of critical thinking and Developed analysis, cultivated throughout the course, have meant that my future studies of Economics and politics will be supported by a strong foundation in Philosophy.

Taking photography was possibly one of the best choices I could have made for my college career. Not only did we begin by learning the technical aspects of the camera but it also allowed us to develop multiple projects across the year, where I soon realised that I enjoyed photography more than I ever thought I could, even deciding that I wanted to study photography at the University Of Creative Arts on the Farnham campus.

I chose to study computer science because of my love of maths and problem-solving. I did not do computer science GCSE and had no experience coding beforehand, but the subject intrigued me, so I decided to take it for A level. There are a broad range of topics within computer science A Level so there is something for everyone. There is the theory side of the course which includes topics like computer architecture, or the more maths based Boolean logic and data representation like binary.

When I studied graphic design at Godalming College, I genuinely can not name one negative aspect, I loved every minute of it; mostly because there is such a wide range of resources available, it allowed me to explore and further my mixed media theme in my project.

With the support and encouragement of the amazing teachers in the Law department, I have developed strong analytical skills and a sense of resilience which I hope to carry with me next year studying Law at the University of Cambridge.

By studying Fine Art at A-Level, I have gained a further understanding of creative design and an awareness of the use of light, colour, shade, and texture. In addition to this, studying Graphic Design alongside Fine Art taught me how to use a range of computer programmes such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Studying Fine Art enabled me to experiment using a variety of different mediums and styles within my work, including pointillism, collaging, linocuts, and printing. For my final project, I gained inspiration from the works of Pablo Jurado Ruiz and Debbie Smyth and created two triptychs – one being drawings of my younger sister in pointillism, and the second, three street scenes from Bordeaux, using the same pin and thread technique as Debbie Smyth but on a much smaller scale.

When I chose my A-Levels, I knew I wanted to study biology and chemistry, but did not know what to choose for my third A-Level. I was starting to feel hopeless, walking around the college on the open day, when I stumbled onto a room with teachers talking passionately about the Ancient Romans and Greeks. I felt such a desire to learn more about them that I immediately decided on Ancient History - and it is the best decision I have ever made.

I have learnt so many new skills on this course, such as felting, experimental sketchbook work, weaving, knitting, screen printing, indigo and rust dyeing but my favourite is freehand machine embroidery which I have used in so many of my works from writing text to creating fully stitched faces. This course is so amazing, working in the textile rooms with the other students is inspiring, the teachers are so knowledgeable and supportive with your ideas no matter how crazy they are.

I chose this subject because growing up I was always surrounded by designers and artists in my family, so I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in Design. At GCSE’s I took both Art and Design Technology and enjoyed them both a lot, so I was enthusiastic to carry on my studies in this area at A Levels. 3D Design at Godalming College has been one of my most enjoyable subjects, as I feel free to create a high standard of work that I feel very passionate about.

I chose to study biology at A-level as I always loved it at GCSE - it was something I could definitely see myself enjoying and I’m really happy with my decision. At first, I was worried, as biology has a reputation for being content heavy, which is true, so you have to be prepared to put in the effort, but the teachers are also there to help and support you throughout and I’ve definitely got used to it. Also, there are lots of lunchtime clinics available if there’s a topic you feel you need to go through more thoroughly to understand.

Picking French A level was one of my best choices but also a daunting one. Entering my class was slightly nerve-wracking as some of the other students had previously lived in France. But this did not mean that as someone who was not a native speaker, I was excluded. In fact, throughout my two years, students doing French were always willing to help each other and through the exciting challenge of learning a language I made some great friendships. Frédie, Françoise and Laila all encouraged me and made putting in the work feel worthwhile and rewarding.

The Business course has been very engaging from the start and was easy to understand the content being taught. The course starts with the foundations of business and adds all the different aspects onto this, meaning it is a great course for everyone no matter their ability.

One aspect I've particularly enjoyed about the course is being able to study a combination of Statistics, Mechanics, and Pure Maths. Even though I will be pursuing languages at university, A Level Maths has provided me with valuable skills to broaden my horizons.

Studying textiles at Godalming has been an amazing experience. Georgie and Vicky the tutors are really helpful and come up with really exciting and creative suggestions for your work. I’ve always loved textiles, when studying at GCSE I really enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and fabrics to see what I come up with

I have studied textiles for 7 years now and plan to continue my studies through to University. I chose the subject because I love how you can create something that can portray a message without words. Being able to change the entire atmosphere of a room with just a few materials has always inspired me to experiment with techniques and colourways.

When I chose my A-Levels, I knew I wanted to study biology and chemistry, but did not know what to choose for my third A-Level. I was starting to feel hopeless, walking around the college on the open day, when I stumbled onto a room with teachers talking passionately about the Ancient Romans and Greeks. I felt such a desire to learn more about them that I immediately decided on Ancient History - and it is the best decision I have ever made.

This particular 3D Design course is very different to other ones I was looking at. It included more design orientated tasks, which was just up my street for my future education. These tasks included sketching as well as CAD work, but with the CAD work, I had no previous experience. Both my teachers helped me using this new CAD software and by the end of even the first lesson, I already had a grasp on how to use them, which was key as it was used throughout the course.

The Chemistry department is very strong and allowed me to understand the intricacies of the subject in a way that GCSEs couldn’t. There is a lot of support within the department – you are always encouraged to ask for help and achieve as much as you can. The practicals are particularly entertaining lessons because you get to experiment first-hand on the theories that you study.

The department is so friendly and encouraging and although I found this A level very challenging at first, it was so rewarding and enjoyable and I really feel my understanding of music has increased enormously. I wasn’t too keen on going to College at all originally, but if I hadn’t chosen to do Music I would never have considered going on to study it later on. Next year I am going to Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance to do a degree in music performance.

The extended sport course I am currently undertaking is completely different to what I expected when I first came. It has changed my perception of education as a whole and has interested me in going to University, something which I wasn’t even considering when I first arrived. I chose this course as I wasn’t too keen on tests and never really performed well in them, I also really enjoy sport and thought this course would complement both those factors.

I don’t work well under the pressure of exams so therefore a BTEC course was a perfect alternative for me. The course does involve both theory and practical which educates us on different aspects of sport. We cover different job roles within the sports industry, as well as looking at governing bodies and the psychological impact within sport. The practical elements include coaching sessions led by the students of the course.

Choosing BTEC was one of the best decisions I have made. I have really enjoyed my whole experience of the course, from the course content to the amazing friendships I have made. All the teachers are amazing and have really helped me to understand all the work and produce assignments that I’m proud of. Over the time I have been at college, I have had some amazing experiences through BTEC such as leading events, coaching sessions and even starting my own after school gymnastics club.

I find maths to be an extremely satisfying subject. It is impossible to argue with its logic, and so there is very little uncertainty if you carry it out correctly. There is no fluffy writing, it is entirely based on your ability to understand the rules and spot patterns.

I chose Ancient History for many reasons. Primarily it was because it offered a unique look into an area of history in which I had never formally learnt about before - with Ancient History rarely being taught in GCSE History. Godalming was unique in offering this course as many other colleges only offer modern history to study. In studying Ancient History, I have found it a fascinating experience that broadens your knowledge of the Ancient World.

I first started at Godalming College as a BTEC IT Diploma student. My aim when joining was to increase my knowledge of IT and to decide on my future career path. I really enjoyed the lessons and the practical elements of the coursework were fun and challenging. Throughout my last year of being a student, I heard about the vacancy for a Department IT technician. The job really intrigued me and because I had completed the course, I knew how I could support both staff and students.

Taking this subject was most certainly the best choice I made with my study at Godalming College. It was relentless yet rewarding in many factors and allowed me to collaborate with many peers and practitioners within my time on the course.

Maths has always been one of my favourite subjects so it made sense for me to take it at A-Level. What I enjoy about Maths is that you already have all the skills and information required to solve a problem - you just need to work out how. Finding how best to piece together information in a logical order really makes you think. Working towards a solution like this is really satisfying.

I chose Media BTEC at Godalming since it not only covered a huge amount of hands-on practical film-making skills, but also intended to teach me the many other key aspects of the industry, such as screenwriting, and after two years of learning the subject, I can say with absolute certainty it not only succeeded but excelled on all and more of these factors. Out of the hundreds of lessons, I cannot say I have had a single bad experience, so many aspects form a great working environment, whether it is the infectious passion from all the teachers or the amazing equipment that is ready to be used at any time.

The music technology course was ideal at Godalming College due to the impeccable facilities and the kind staff. The moment I saw the studio I was so excited I could not wait to start the course.

The structure of an EPQ is purely self-study with the support of a mentor, and this enabled me to develop new skills which have prepared me for the future such as learning how to make a bibliography and improving time management and organisation. The sessions with my mentor were a really good way to mix with people outside of my subjects and find out more about other topics they had chosen to discuss. Working on my EPQ gave me confirmation that I am applying to the right university course and I have also built a bank of skills that I will be able to use for research projects in the future.

Art allows me to create a world where my expression of self is completely free. I know that I want to be creative later on in life and am unsure in which direction I want to go, so I will be taking an art foundation course. As someone who studies and loves art, drama and music, the art department has prepared me for taking that next step.

English Literature has always been my favourite subject, but the enthusiasm that my A-level teachers brought to the lessons made me love it even more. The texts that we study are really interesting, and I loved how we had the freedom to discuss our personal interpretations and reactions to them in class. What made English stand out the most from my other subjects was the sense of teamwork in our classes; we often did group tasks and we all got on very well, which made it easy to make friends and have engaging class discussions about the work.

I chose politics on a whim in the first year- I have always been interested in current affairs and been good at essay writing, however, it has surpassed all my expectations and I am so glad I took it. I’ve really enjoyed the content of the course, particularly on ideologies which allowed me to understand the foundations our current political parties are built on and why they make the decisions they do, as well as explore feminism and socialism in-depth, two controversial and distinctive topics.

English Literature has always been my favourite subject, but the enthusiasm that my A-level teachers brought to the lessons made me love it even more. The texts that we study are really interesting, and I loved how we had the freedom to discuss our personal interpretations and reactions to them in class. What made English stand out the most from my other subjects was the sense of teamwork in our classes; we often did group tasks and we all got on very well, which made it easy to make friends and have engaging class discussions about the work.

The Economics department at Godalming College has put together exemplar essays along with past papers and they are very supportive, I believe economics is a challenging subject but anyone can do easy subject.

Taking the BTEC Business course really gave me an interest in marketing. Although we studied finance, HR, international business and management it was the marketing that I like the most. We had been participating in mock interviews (which I turned out to be very good at) when I applied for a position at Unilever for a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Digital Marketing. After a long selection process, a group challenge and 3 interviews I was accepted and I will be working at Victoria Embankment in London in 2021 on campaigns with brands such as Radox, Marmite, Dove, Ben & Jerry’s and Simple. This will then lead to a sponsored degree in Marketing at South Bank University in London in 2022. When I started the course I did not know what I wanted to do but now it has all fallen into place!

I grew up in Los Angeles with my Dad being a screenwriter and my mother an actress so Media Studies couldn't have been more perfect for my interests. The coursework is what excited me the most with the opportunity to create my own music video. What I love most about Media Studies is that it was the kick start I needed to start putting into practice what I loved. I learned how to deconstruct media and challenge what the media presents to us, thinking about the technicality behind creativity.

In short, and this may sound clichéd, but philosophy is the greatest expression of humanity of all the ‘humanities’. At one stage or another, all academic devotions were considered ‘philosophy’-science, for example, was originally and aptly named ‘natural philosophy’. In Greek, ‘philosophy’ (philo sophia) simply means the ‘love of wisdom’ and, as Hermann Hesse in ‘Siddhartha’-perhaps unavoidably ironically-conveys: true wisdom cannot only be taught, it must be learned and experienced by the individual.

Law is everywhere, we probably make around 20 contracts a day without realising, everything we do is governed by the law and no one is above the law, we are all accountable for our actions, even the Prime Minister. This kick-started my interest in this valuable subject, learning that the law was not created to only retribute, but it is a system predicated on equality, aiming to achieve the fairest outcome.

Something that makes the maths department, and the college, stand out, is the myriad of resources available for revision, for example, the online textbook (with solutions showing workings out), Jack Browns Maths videos, past paper questions from the old and new specification which is organised into PowerPoints, and various links to maths related websites.

Hi, my name is Zach Thomas and I am a student at Godalming College studying for an IT Games and Web Development BTEC National Diploma. I have always had an interest in the world of IT and games and this course is the perfect starting point. I have been able to explore different video games development companies, looking at how they operate in the business world and how they develop the games I often play myself.