Review Day the digital way

As we approach the final two weeks of the academic year, there are a number of events which are due to take place in this final , busy period. One of the key events is our Review Day, which is taking place next Thursday (11th July). This is a day for the pupils, parents and carers of years 7, 8 and 10 to review learning targets and set further targets for the next few months (y9 and sixth form pupils have a normal timetable that day).

Review Day has made a big impact at Bishop Gore. The fact that the form tutor is able to pull together so much data on each pupil and present this is the form of learning targets during the meeting, means that pupils and parents and carers are able to get a clear and concise overview of learning progress across all areas. It is really interesting to note that the attendance at Review Day is always over 85% whilst attendance in our traditional parents evenings is around 40%.

Whilst our Review Day model has been very successful, it certainly puts a strain on resources - especially paper. We use reams of paper to print out the data required for the day. In addition to this, letters, target sheets, appointment lists and so on are all are printed on paper.

Using technology would significantly reduce the amount of paper and provide an even better quality experience for pupils, parents and carers. For example:

Review Day appointments could be made and confirmed online

Data could be shared during the meeting using a tablet - meaning it is up-to-date and allows access to a wider range of data

Targets sheets can be completed using a tablet and then emailed to parents and carers, pupils and other teachers

Technology will never replace the personal contact that is so important in education, but it can help to make a more effective and efficient experience for all.

 

 

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Exam fever....

Well, that's it for another exam season. Tuesday saw the last external exam being sat. Pupils have, once again, responded so positively to what is, a very challenging period.

Some basic exam facts:

• The formal exam period started on May 13th and ended on 25th June
• 121 different exams/papers were sat
• The largest exam was the GCSE RS short course with 206 candidates
• To reflect the multicultural nature of the school exams were sat in Begali, Persian, Portuguese, Urdu, Arabic, Dutch in addtional to Spanish, French and Welsh
• The longest exam was 3hours (AEA Maths) and the shortest was 35 minutes (languages listening exams).

We now await the results in August with A level/BTEC results day being on Thursday 15th August and GCSE/BTEC the following Thursday (22nd). Judging by the positive way pupils have approached the exams, I am sure they will do well.

Now our thoughts turn to the 'prom' and celebrating with our year 11 pupils their time with us at Bishop Gore. They deserve a party!

 

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Distance revision

 

It is that time of year when pupils who are sitting external exams are working 'flat-out' as they prepare for that final test.

In the past, if pupils wanted to see teachers to discuss any issues with revision they may have it often involved waiting until the school was in session and then hoping the teacher concerned was free at that moment. This often resulted in extra stress for the pupil who really needed to have contact as the revision was being undertaken.

This has all changed now as pupils and teachers are demonstrating that digital technology can help bridge the gap between self and supported study. A good example came in the form of one of our year 11 pupils who was recently preparing for an Economics exam. He was working through a past paper at home and needed feedback from his teacher. He decided to take an image of his response, he then uploaded this in to Edmodo (a social learning platform used by the school), where he has able to get instant feedback.

Once again, we see pupils leading the way when it comes to developing creative digital responses to learning. Fantastic!

 

 

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Blast Off!

Bishop Gore Head's Blog from Ryan Davies on Vimeo.

 

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End of a digital half term

So much has happened this half term with, once again, the impact of digital learning playing a key role.

Our pupils and staff are beginning to use iPads to make a real impact on learning. A good example of this was the recent development block (Blast Off) which offered pupils the first real opportunity to use our brand new iPads. Even at this early stage, and with a limited range of apps, pupils really did demonstrate the power of iPads as a learning tool.

During the week, pupils worked on a wide range of tasks, combining the best elements of traditional project work with the highly creative and flexible use of digital technology. The enjoyment amongst the pupils was obvious and there was much evidence of high level learning. This surely is the model for learning in the future.

 

Above you can see parents and carers enjoying the self created PE display as part of the project. The involvement of our parents and carers in development block projects has been another positive feature of our new curriculum model.

Have a good half term break.

 

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Our brilliant pupils!

Our pupils have, once again, demonstrated their extraordinary talents in a very successful day at the Teen Tech event which was held at the Liberty stadium. Pupils from years 8 and 9 won 6 out of the 10 overall prizes with competition from over 30 schools from West Wales to Newport, including:

- Best Engineering award

- Airbus Design award

- Best innovated app

- Best overall app

- Chemistry Innovation award

- JVC awards

Mrs Stevens led the day and commented:

"They all did us very proud and their behaviour was exemplary. They thoroughly enjoyed the day."

Another example of the wonderful talents of our pupils came in the recent 'Side by Side' productions at the Grand Theatre. Here is a comment from Mrs Williams that sums up just how amazing our pupils are:

"We know how brilliant our pupils are but we demonstrated that in spades both on and off the stage at The Grand this evening. They were an absolute credit and their discipline and maturity whilst waiting to perform was exemplary and especially backstage and in the wings".

Our pupils are excellent ambassadors for the school and continually demonstrate the high standards we aspire to at Bishop Gore. Well done to them all and a huge thank you to the teaching and support staff who support events such as those above; as,without this support, these opportunities would simply not exist.

 

 

 

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The future of Post 16 learning

I had a brilliant meeting last week with our new head boy and girl (Callum and Sophie). We talked about many of the issues surrounding sixth form provision and plans for the future.

One of the if issues facing any post 16 provider is ensuring the viability of all courses. The financial pressure is such that courses are faced with closure if numbers are too low.

One of the possible solutions we are considering is using digital technology to enable pupils to access learning. Our vision would be to issue iPads to all of our sixth form pupils. Sophie and Callum both agreed that this would have a major impact on the quality of their learning experiences and would fundamentally change the way lessons are delivered. It was also agreed that the use of digital technology would help pupils to organise themselves as well!

In terms of those courses that are not running could a combination of face-to-face teaching combined with digital learning outside the classroom be the answer? We think so and it something which we are going to focus on over the next few months.

 

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