Able and Talented Year 9 pupils and their parents attended an evening workshop on Wednesday 19th November in the school library. The evening, hosted by Mrs C Tilt and Mr L Mackin, was designed to help parents support their children in achieving top grades at GCSE.

Mrs Tilt explained how GCSE targets are set and the changes to the GCSE grading structure. Families took part in a 'Word Winks' challenge and then a ranking activity which encouraged them to consider the factors that are important for academic success. A learning styles quiz helped pupils and their parents to establish good ways of tackling homework tasks and revision.

Mr Mackin gave a short presentation on observation and memory skills which are both essential for successful study.

A 'Where's Wally?' style puzzle and card trick video demonstrated observation skills in a light hearted manner. Then a family challenge had pupils drawing a picture on the tables, from a description given by their parents. This really brought the idea of memory hooks alive in a way which was fun and entertaining as well as providing ideas for revision strategies.

There was a lovely atmosphere in the library with over fifty pupils and parents enjoying the activities and chatting over drinks and biscuits during the break. The year 11 prefects helped make everything run smoothly during the evening.

Mrs Tilt explained 'Blooms Taxonomy of Learning' and demonstrated how it is relevant to the knowledge, skills and understanding required for good GCSE grades. The evening concluded with the 'curve of forgetting' which really highlighted the need for ongoing study and revision throughout GCSE courses.

The evaluations of the evening were very positive and showed how much parents and pupils value these events.

Some photographs from the evening can be seen below. Please click on an image to enlarge it.

Mrs C Tilt

Leader of Able and Talented Provision