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The later move in 2010, to purpose built premises on the site of the school that
closed, included an agreement with the local authority that one third of places
each year would be allocated to the local community.
90. Boys perform better than expected at St Paul’s. Students explain this by
speaking first of teachers’ dedication, their desire to help all students and the
vast range of out-of-school activities and support available. As one student said
of his teachers, ‘They are always there for you.’ They say that teachers make
them feel comfortable in class so that they are encouraged to join in and to
give their opinions. Lessons have the right balance of ‘fun’ with serious work
and challenge. Teachers stress that relationships are the key. They say: ‘We
don’t shout. We like children. We treat them like adults and value their work.’
Students say: ‘We are not afraid to get it wrong. All teachers expect the best of
you and push you. They don’t patronise you but treat everyone as an
individual. Lessons are never boring and teachers always get you involved.’
91. The department feels that strong relationships are at the heart of their success
and that this enables boys, for example, to speak openly about their feelings.
This was seen in one very successful lesson observed with a middle-ability Year
11 class working on love poems. This lesson was judged to be outstanding
because the (male) teacher:
engaged students with a starter activity the moment they entered the
classroom
used physical objects (chosen from a bag) to intrigue and provide a
starting point for writing
modelled the whole process unselfconsciously himself (first through his
own metaphor based on ‘My love is like an old trainer…’ and later his own
full sonnet)
used visual images to pre-figure the poem and arouse discussion
selected students in advance to provide a careful reading of Shakespeare’s
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.
92. Although the department is very successful with boys, this is not because it
targets specifically male interests. As the head of department said, ‘We ignore
that they are boys.’ What she meant by this was that they do not provide a
curriculum heavily dependent on football and war. However, it is the nature of
the curriculum more than anything else that has had the most impact on
attainment in the school. In discussion, boys listed a number of common
features of English lessons that appealed to them, including:
lessons that build on what students like and do outside school
breadth and variety of approach in lessons
lots of opportunities to use modern technology in English
emphasis on drama in English
Excellence in English: what we can learn from 12 outstanding schools
May 2011, No. 100229