Common Room tells the story of four friends in their first 6 months of being in Sixth Form.

We begin in an A-Level English class where Jake is sitting a timed assessment. He is four months into Year 12 and the stress of work is getting to him.  As the clock ticks, Jake can’t stand the pressure any longer and he bolts from the classroom, pursued by his form tutor, Mr. Moore.  In voiceover, Jake tells us that life never used to be like this…

We move back in time to GCSE results day when Jake and his three best friends – Alex, Christiana and Zoe – all receive their results with differing outcomes.  Whilst Jake achieved better than expected grades, and Christiana proved herself to be one of the most successful students in the year group, Zoe’s results were indifferent whilst Alex’s were deeply disappointing.  Not only has he already fallen back one year, but his parent’s aspirations for him to follow in the family footsteps studying medicine have been dealt a severe blow by poor grades in the science subjects.  As a result, each begins their life in Sixth Form with varying degrees of hope and expectation.

The story follows these four characters over the course of the next few months as they each face a variety of obstacles.  Jake finds himself falling for Christiana, which diverts his attention away from his studies; to escape from the pressure of expectation, Alex turns to smoking cannabis, and tries to bring both Jake and Zoe along with him; Zoe finds that her desire for money and work comes into direct conflict with her studies; and Christiana receives devastating personal news which shakes everyone to the core.  Throughout all of this, their Head of Sixth Form, Mr. Moore, is a constant presence, offering guidance, support and the occasional kick when it is needed.

Common Room explores some of the key experiences of life in Sixth Form.  It provides an engaging and highly relevant story which will spark discussion on a whole range of topics related to students at the start of Year 12.

Following the screening of the film, students will be engaged in a discussion-based session to draw out the key themes and ideas presented in the story.

The discussion is broken down into six different parts: Friendship; Success; Money and Work; Relationships;  Drugs and Alcohol; Pastoral Support.

We provide a variety of tools to help lead the discussion including a PowerPoint presentation containing selected clips, key discussion starters, worksheets for personal writing, and guidance for teachers on key ideas to draw out.

Sample PowerPoint screen:

Resource Download includes:

– Online access to stream the film, “Common Room”.
– PowerPoint with embedded film clips and key questions
– Teacher guidance resource
– Follow-up discussion-based session
– Student worksheets (photocopiable) for personal reflection

Important Information:

• Although this session has been designed for Sixth Form Induction, many outcomes link directly to our wider RSE programme.  Please see “Links to CES Guidance” for more information.
• The film of “Common Room” is only available to stream, therefore good internet access is required and your server must permit the following domains: vimeo.com and tentenresources.co.uk.
• If you require a DVD copy, this must be purchased from www.sixthforminduction.co.uk

For more resources linked to Sixth Form Induction, please visit:

www.SixthFormInduction.co.uk