The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

How to live a healthier, happier, mindful life by living in the present moment.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide 'physical, intellectual and moral training' which will equip its inmates to become 'honorable and honest men'. 

In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

This book portrays the collision between the traditions and beliefs of Nigerian Igbo culture with the forces of European colonialism. In this celebrated classic, Achebe chronicles the story of Okonkwo, an Igbo warrior in the late 1800s.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but Cora has it worse than most; she is an outcast even among her fellow Africans.  When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Nora's life has been going from bad to worse. Then at the stroke of midnight on her last day on earth she finds herself transported to a library. There she is given the chance to undo her regrets and try out each of the other lives she might have lived. Which raises the ultimate question: with infinite choices, what is the best way to live?

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church. 

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A novel about Africa in a wider sense: about the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race - and about the ways in which love can complicate all of these things.

Girl Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristo 

The story follows a cast of 12 characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They're each looking for something - a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope.

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer

A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Night by Eli Wiesel 

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel offers an unforgettable account of Hitler's horrific reign of terror in Night.

It raises questions of continuing significance for all future generations: How could man commit these horrors, and could such an evil ever be repeated?

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien 

The soldiers in this collection of stories carried M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and M-79 grenade launchers. They carried plastic explosives, hand grenades, flak jackets, and landmines. But they also carried letters from home, illustrated Bibles, and pictures of their loved ones. Some of them carried extra food or comic books or drugs. Every man carried what he needed to survive, and those who did carried their shattering stories away from the jungle and back to a nation that would never understand. 

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

God is change. That is the central truth of the Earthseed movement, whose unlikely prophet is 18-year-old Lauren Olamina. The young woman's diary entries tell the story of her life amid a violent 21st-century hell of walled neighbourhoods and drug-crazed pyromaniacs - and reveal her evolving Earthseed philosophy.

Man's Search for Meaning by Victor E Frankl

Man’s Search for Meaning is the chilling yet inspirational story of Viktor Frankl’s struggle to hold on to hope during the unspeakable horrors of his years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. 

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult 

Exploring the complexities of race relations in modern times, Picoult challenges us with ideas about justice, empathy and free will. Written with a raw honesty, this book delves into deeply emotional issues about birth and death with an emotional fix that will stay with you long after the last words are spoken. 

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves

Longtime wife and mother Ruth Bendel loves her family but hates her life. Husband Richard doesn't even know how the steam iron works, let alone how a woman works. When Ruth's last nerve snaps, she finally does what she's wanted to do so many times before - she gets an apartment, a job, a new life and new friends. 

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

It is in 1950s Brighton that Marion first catches sight of Tom and Marion is smitten - determined her love will be enough for them both.  A few years later, in Brighton Museum, Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted with Tom and opens his eyes to a glamorous, sophisticated new world. The two lovers must share him until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed. 

Journal writing

A great way to explore yourself and the world around you as everything you know changes. So, to help you get past those blank page, no-thoughts, aaargh moments, here are 99 inspiring journal prompts for you to try:

https://examstudyexpert.com/journal-prompts-teens/ 

Conscience 

Watch the Ted Talk ‘Good or bad, hard to say’ If consequences are so hard to categorise, does this affect how we judge outcomes and make moral decisions?  Write up your opinions. 

Promote change Produce a persuasive letter or piece of writing designed to raise awareness or promote change about a topic that you feel passionately about.  Submit your writing to the Sixth Form Leadership Team to be published in the Sandpost 

Essay Competitions A compilation of essay competitions from an assortment of categories such as humanities, architecture, philosophy etc.  Entry details can be found here: https://www.mindsunderground.com/oxbridge-competitions/overview

Mindfulness Moments

When life is chaotic and full of noise, music can transport you to a place of tranquillity and peacefulness - enjoy listening to mindfulness classics here: https://planetradio.co.uk/scala-radio/player/205275330/

Radio 4 – All in the Mind

Over 200 episodes on how we think, feel and behave. Claudia Hammond delves into the evidence on mental health, psychology and neuroscience.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxx9/episodes/downloads

Philosophy and Ethics

Explore the Radio 4 Big Ideas animations

TED Talks Daily Audio

For thought-provoking ideas on every subject imaginable - from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology, and everything in between - given by the world's leading thinkers and creators.

https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-talks/ted-talks-daily

Extra Curricular

Check out the wide range of extra curricular activities that are open to sixth form.  Join a new club, attend or initiate a subject society at lunchtime or get involved in charity work.  Speak to a member of the Student Leadership Team for details. 

Mindfulness & Wellbeing Courses

Explore the art of mindfulness and discover how mental wellbeing can better help you meet the challenges of modern life with our variety of online courses. https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/psychology-and-mental-health-courses/mindfulness-wellbeing

Problem of Evil

Plan a visit to the Imperial War Museum, London. In particular the Holocaust Exhibition.

Women of the World

Women of the World (WOW) festival at the Southbank Centre.

Vinspired

A useful link that could be used to search for any volunteering opportunity from gardening at a local hospice to dog walking for local elderly residents: Leaders in youth volunteer opportunities

Explore locally

Visit places of worship or spiritual significance in Hertfordshire e.g. St. Albans cathedral, Royston Cave and Bhaktivedanta Manor - Hare Krishna Temple in Watford

Mind

Volunteering at Mind can be a really rewarding and valuable experience – and there's probably more ways of doing it than you might think: click here.

Mind

Mencap offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities working with people with disabilities. The particular areas that would be of most relevance would be a befriender or support worker role. Mencap also offer work with young people which may be useful.