Hampton Academy: half-time reflections

1

st November, 2010

From a blogger´s (though I prefer ‘writer´s´) point of view however, it´s been no bad thing to have to wait and experience our new academy before rushing to comment on it in print. So, to borrow shamelessly from an excellent Wordsworth College assembly delivered by Ms. O´Brien just before we broke up, here are my half-time reflections...

The learning experience of our new year 7s has been a revelation. I write this as a teacher, as a personal tutor, and as Principal. The new curriculum is very different and I believe far more energising and enthusing than our previous model. The impact sessions which have launched different aspects of both the Thematic and Steps curricula have done an excellent job in engaging students from the start of each unit of work. Our Medieval Day (see the ‘Richmond & Twickenham Times´, 15.10.10) included some unforgettable experiences with trebuchets, chain mail and bows and arrows, whilst watching our Science Programme Leader Mr. Edmead being dissected on stage by a worryingly enthusiastic Mrs. Tarry and the scarily clinical Dr. Chandon will live long in the memory...

These stimuli have led many students on to make good use of the on-line learning portal and some are now extending this further to our other virtual learning platforms, including our in-house VLE HamptonLearning , SAM Learning and MyMaths, to name just three. Year 7 students have also been making excellent use of their independent study facilities, with the Conrad and Wordsworth Learning Zones buzzing both at lunchtime and after school, whilst our library has never been busier, with up to 50 students reading, researching and writing up their individual learning tasks each day long after the end of formal lessons.
But it´s not just all about Year 7. The introduction of the personal tutorial for all students, whilst taxing for staff, has been very well received and like my colleagues, I have learnt a lot from listening to students discussing and reflecting upon their work in a way which has rarely happened before outside Year 11. The cumulative effect of a regular conversation about learning is beginning to have a real impact in terms of keeping students focused upon the main reason why they are here, with the added benefit of assuring them that there is a teacher in their school who specifically makes time to listen to their issues and concerns.
NB the tutorial also has its lighter side, evidenced by a Year 7 boy who proudly informed me in the course of his tutorial that one of his greatest achievements the previous week had been ‘learning to make a chocolate fridge cake with evacuated milk!´

The three college system is still in its infancy, but we are already seeing benefits from students being part of a smaller scale structure with a dedicated team of staff and a specific geographical base. The Wordsworth hub and Conrad hub have each become established as the ‘heart´ of their respective colleges, where students can be sure of finding a member of staff to help and advise them on any problems. Our two college co-ordinators Linda Carpenter (Conrad) and Mary Aston (Wordsworth), based in the hubs, are able to ensure that parents´ concerns and requests are also dealt with promptly and efficiently. The older students in Kipling College are making good use of their own bespoke learning zone down in science, and we intend to appoint a college co-ordinator and establish a college hub for them as soon as funds become available.

I am pleased to report also that alongside all this structural change, our extra-curricular programme of activities proceeds unabated. The Year 9 boys´ football team is going from strength to strength, with victories over Teddington and Orleans Park taking them to the borough final; our Languages Team once again ran an excellent programme of assemblies to mark the European Day of Languages (great to see so many teachers speaking another language to camera by means of illustration); author Keren David came to talk about ‘Almost true´, her sequel to ‘When I was Joe,´ reviewed by some of our students on-line ahead of publication; students have visited the Houses of Parliament and British Airways; and, in the spirit of good citizenship, have raised £500 through Jeans for Genes and £60 through an enterprising cake sale on Goal Setting Day. We are now looking forward to the Year 10 Prince´s Trust XL Club´s Christmas Fayre, to be held in December to raise money for the Shooting Star Hospice.

There have of course been some teething troubles in implementing the new structures and systems, and next term we will be eliciting feedback from parents, students and staff on the full range of what our academy offers. But don´t feel you have to wait until then - the Academy Leadership Team is happy to receive observations, comments or queries, and we will do our best to ensure that you receive a prompt response. Overall however, I am very proud of what my staff and students have achieved so far this term — we now need to keep it up in the ‘second half´ and not let the potential gloom of November deflect us from our shared purpose of learning more than we thought possible.

Sue Demont, 1st November, 2010