Year 12 students have one afternoon per week off their academic timetables to support their enrichment and personal development. Throughout the year, there will be a program of eminent speakers who visit Paddington and present to the Year 12 students. In the 2025-26 academic year, our speakers included the academic and author, Zeinab Badawi, the ex-paramilitary and Baptist minister, Billie McCurrie and Mike Scott-Baumann, an expert on Israel-Palestine history, amongst others. We also use this period for workshops to support applications to university and apprenticeships.

All Year 12 students will complete a period of volunteering during half-terms 4 and 5. These opportunities include supporting in KS3 lessons as student teaching assistants, acting as a mentor to KS3 students or supporting in after-school clubs.

Our Year 12 students are the head of our junior leadership team (JLT) and work with both senior members of staff and students in years 7-11 on the JLT to work on our charity goals for the year, as well as promoting our school to visitors and presenting in assemblies. Our Year 12s are also the captains of our 4 houses and responsible for leading their house in inter-house competitions.

All Year 12 students complete one week of work experience in half-term 6 in a placement of their choice. We have had students complete this experience in a huge range of industries, including finance, law, construction, hospitality, publishing and education