Teaching & Learning
We want every student in our care to share in our vision that ‘everything is possible’. They will be supported to do this by us ensuring that we offer them a world-class quality education.
The Clapham Commitment, which applies equally to staff and students alike, encourages us all on our journey to become the best version of ourselves we can possibly be.
We have made conscious and deliberate decisions both in terms of the actual subjects we teach our students as well as the content delivered in those subjects. For example, we have chosen for all students to study both Chinese and Spanish as research tells us that the ability to speak these two languages (in addition to English this significantly increases meaningful employment opportunities in the future.
When students join us in Year 7, they will all study a wide range of subjects. To read more about the content of each subject, please click here.
Homework
Homework is an essential part of ensuring that our students remember and know more about the information our teachers have taught them.
Research tells us that our short-term memory is very, very limited in terms of how much and for how long it can remember things. Students completing revision homework every day will help them in the transference of knowledge from their short-term to long-term memory. The idea is that homework reinforces learning in the classroom.
Supporting students’ literacy
All students, including those with literacy difficulties, will be supported across the curriculum to develop the subject-specific reading and writing skills they need to progress with their learning in that subject. This improves students' ‘disciplinary literacy’. Subject teachers teach students key vocabulary, support students in their ability to read demanding texts and instruct students in how to write accurately and convincingly in each subject area.
For students who have a persistent difficulty with word-reading accuracy, a structured phonics programme, such as Toe by Toe or Alpha to Omega will be followed, which will allow these students to secure the phonic knowledge which is an essential element of reading. If difficulties with reading fluency or reading comprehension persist despite a student having secure phonic knowledge, further investigation of the underlying causes of this difficulty will be needed. It might be that a student's reading comprehension needs support within the classroom or it may be that students’ speech and language skills need to be considered.
