24th November 2023
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
THE POWER OF READING In my discussions with learners this week about reading I was reminded of an assembly I did last year on the art of listening. In that assembly I discussed the phrase ‘knowledge is power’. Knowledge has been the topic of my reading discussions this week which ultimately led me to talk to learners about the importance of the library. Libraries are places of unfettered access to information, resulting in critical thinking, discourse, and analysis. This leads to knowledge. Libraries protect the freedoms to read, freedoms that are critical to democracy. Reading allows one to make a choice. To not have to take what one person says as gospel but to independently access the knowledge to make up their own mind. Libraries are treasure chests of the most amazing imaginations and inspirational stories. Lately I have been thinking of getting an electric car and just like any purchase of that magnitude I have been doing my research - visiting dealerships and reading reviews. I thought I had it all mapped out and understood what I was going to do. And then by chance I came across a book titled “The Rare Metals War”. This book discusses the global economic and political landscape of rare metal mining - the things that we rely on for technology such as mobile phones and electric cars. I may still be proceeding with my electric car project, however, I feel much more informed and knowledgeable after reading. I encourage all our learners to develop their knowledge and love of reading further as we continue to improve our library space. MOCKS On Monday our C11s will begin their mock exams. And following on from that, I am sure that many
teachers will be providing some formal assessments ahead of the learning reviews. On its own an assessment or mock exam serves little purpose other than to give us an indication of where a learner is in relation to the final outcome. Ultimately that is how everyone is assessed at the end of their GCSE journey, however, before then we have the ability to use assessment more purposefully. As part of the learning journey, any assessment and its resultant feedback offers something to the learner. If they are not happy with the outcome they still have time to do something about it and guidance as to where they need to concentrate their efforts. I have however, heard quite a few times comments such as this: ‘they are only mocks, not the real thing’; ‘it’s just an in class test’; ‘it doesn’t really mean anything anyway’; ‘they are not the grades I will get in the summer’; ‘I don’t like sitting exams’; ‘I can’t do it - I get anxious in exams’. These are not uncommon feelings toward this part of the curriculum and guess what? No one really likes exams - I know I don’t. However, I would argue that they are an important part of a learners journey. To unpick that, let’s think about what the point of testing is in the first place - something I have often referred to in the past. Think about the possible things that require a test: a driving test; a blood test; a test match; a fitness test; a crash test. A driving test checks whether you have met a certain standard of knowledge and skill to be able (trusted even) to drive independently. A blood test is designed to diagnose you - to test whether there is a problem. A test match is a simple test to see who can perform the best. A fitness test diagnoses how fit you are. A crash test identifies weaknesses. So what is the point of a mock or end of topic test? It is all of the above. Teachers will want to assess
whether a learner has met a standard appropriate for their age - that they have made the right amount of progress; that they are able to independently master a certain body of knowledge and understanding. They will want to identify any problem areas so that they can then address these in their teaching. They will want to diagnose how much a learner has learnt and they will want to identify the weaknesses that need addressing. Sitting exams is tough. It is mentally and physically exhausting. It is perfectly normal to find this a struggle; to not want to do it in the first place. That gut wrenching feeling when entering an exam hall is very common. If you feel this you are not alone. Even today I feel this way if you put me in a high stakes test situation. However, what I have come to realise is that a little anxiety around exams and tests is quite normal. We want to do our best. We care. It means a lot to us. That’s why it can often cause us pain. But that pain is short, it does not last forever. In fact the only certainty regarding an exam is that after two hours it is over and so is the pain. LEARNING REVIEW DAYS We shall shortly be launching the learning review preparation process with our C7 and C8 learners during their LS5 time. You will be aware that our learning reviews will be taking place at the start of the Spring term for C7 and C8. These meetings will give parents an opportunity to talk with learning group leaders about how their child is progressing. Learners will be taking an active role in this meeting and will use their preparation time next week to complete the necessary reflection work to ensure that the meetings are valuable. Learning group leaders shall be leading this process. We shall be sharing information about this process so that parents are able to see what learners are doing and hopefully engage in the conversation of learning ahead of the review meeting. I wish you all a lovely weekend.
James Saunders
THURSDAY 7 DECEMBER
Dates for the Diary 27 Nov - 15 Dec
C11 GCSE Mock Exams
Fri 1 Dec
All cohorts - flu vaccination programme
Mon 4 Dec
Christmas concert - 6.30pm
Thurs 7 Dec
Christmas Jumper Day
Fri 8 Dec
Non Learner Day
Fri 22 Dec
End of term - early finish 12.55pm