August 26, 2022 01:36pm
This summer break, we invited our current Year 5 students from All Faiths Children’s Academy, Cedar Children’s Academy and Gordon Children’s Academy to join us as a part of our tuition programme.
The sessions, which have been running for a week, starting on 22nd August, are part of our school-led tutoring provision, Thinking Tuition.
Holding these sessions has allowed our children to mix and collaborate with students from other schools, many of who they may not have had the chance to work with previously. Patsy, a student who attended the course, commented, “I have enjoyed meeting people from other schools. If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t know people from other schools in Strood.”
By hosting these additional lessons, our tutors could recognise individual strengths and weaknesses and identify the children’s next steps in learning. Based on this knowledge, these sessions have allowed our staff to adopt tailored and unique strategies for their teaching, and they have provided our students with new, fun and engaging ways to learn.
Students have been using this time to brush up on key skills that will help them transition into their final year of primary school and prepare for the 11-plus tests. Over the week, they have had time to socialise with each, working as both teams and individuals to complete tasks and learn enjoyable ways to tackle problems and challenges within their work.
The feedback from this summer’s group has been glowing, with Justice saying, “I have really enjoyed challenging myself and preparing for the 11 plus. I have enjoyed meeting other people within the trust because I got to make some friends with children from other schools.”
It has been wonderful to see so many of our children interact and engage in their learning this week and witness their confidence grow as they gain new skills and make new friends. “This week at summer school, I have enjoyed the teachers who have been kind and helped us solve problems. At the start, I was scared, and now I’m feeling more confident in maths and English.”says Tegan.
While Patsy reflected on how prepared she feels moving on to her new year this September, explaining, “At summer school, I have really enjoyed learning maths as I struggle with this, so having this extra learning has helped a lot. I think when I go into year 6? I would not find it as hard as I would have done if I had not come here. Instead of struggling in year 6, I now know what to expect”
This is the first of what we hope will be many opportunities for the pupils from our three primary schools to have fun and learn together. It’s given our students the time to face new challenges and interact with a broader community of young, like-minded thinkers.