Volume 1: November 2014

Volume 1: November 2014

NOV 2014
GRAMMAR SCHOOL MATTERS
VOLUME ONE
Welcome to the first edition of Grammar
School Matters - our termly online publication
which focusses on sharing teaching and
learning topics in order to sustain success in
our 21st century grammar school. We hope
you find it a useful resource and a stimulus
for discussion and debate.
IN THIS ISSUE
Literacy Development at CGS
Homework to Support Learning
Learning Journals
SMSC in KS3 Science
SMSC in JS5 Biology
Enquiry-based Learning
Justine Solomon
Literacy is as important here
at Colyton Grammar as it is
elsewhere, despite the fact that
all students are, by definition
of basic literacy, literate. Our
aim was to develop not just
basic literacy, but also their
spoken and web-based literacy.
From this we hoped to achieve
‘advanced literacy’ within our
students which would prepare
them for further education and
later employment. We aimed
to achieve this by having a
different literacy focus each half
term (HT) whereby members
of staff help to promote different
aspects of literacy or create
documents to be shared across
the teaching staff. There are five
different literacy strands to be
covered throughout the year.
HT2: VOCABULARY
As teachers we frequently
neglect to teach vocabulary
in a manner that is explicit
and direct for our students.
We provide students with the
vocabulary they need, but fail to
teach them how to access that
vocabulary and make the words
their own. We didn’t need to
reinvent the wheel, so I gathered
a number of teaching strategies
that could be used across the
curriculum to improve our
students’ vocabulary. These
included ideas for questioning,
word games that can be used as
starters or plenaries, ongoing
classroom tasks, homework
tasks and finally a few AFL
tasks that will bring the
importance of vocabulary back
into focus. These strategies
were collected in a document
which was distributed to the
whole teaching staff, who were
asked to integrate them into
their lessons. If they had any
other tasks that developed our
students’ vocabulary they were
asked to share these in a specific
folder on our school network
where other subjects could use
them or the idea. Currently
there are examples ranging
from Geography, Psychology
and Business.
HT3: MARKING
After researching existing
literacy policies, I came across a
policy in the staff handbook for
correcting errors in a student’s
work. This had not been updated
in many years and many staff did
not know that it even existed.
As a result, I did a short review
within the working party of
how they marked errors, in an
attempt to establish a common
system. I believed that this
would give consistency across
all subjects in the correction of
errors in writing, which would
make it easier for students to
understand their mistakes and
should therefore lead to faster
progress in language skills.
An updated version was put
together and trialled by the
working party with Year 10
and 12 mocks. A short pupil
voice survey was completed
afterwards, which was very
positive overall. The comments
were applied to the marking
LITERACY
DEVELOPMENT
AT CGS
notation that will now be used
by all members of the teaching
staff from September 2015.
HT4: SPELLING
For this focus I put together a
set of weekly spelling tests to be
completed by all years in their
registration sessions. The plan
was to display the words from
Monday morning in tutor bases
and then test the form group
on Friday morning during
registration. The intention was
to raise the profile and awareness
of correct spelling - which I
believe was achieved, despite
some initial scepticism from
some students. In conjunction
with this I also organised the
inaugural inter-house spelling
bee for Year 8 students. All
members of the year group took
part in an initial spelling test
and then the highest scoring boy
and girl went on to take part in
the spelling bee in front of Years
7 and 8. It was a very positive
event, with subject teachers
from many departments taking
part.
continued overleaf...

HT5: Developing Précis
Skills
My aim was to produce a
targeted set of resources to
improve our students’ précis
skills. For our purpose, a précis
was a concisely written piece
of text, whether it is an answer
to a question or a summary of
a longer piece of text. This was
seen as a necessary skill as our
students need to be able to write
effectively and efficiently in
exam conditions. Additionally,
when accessing journal articles
and revising, students need to
be able to summarise longer
texts without losing the essential
information. As a result, subject
departments were given a set of
examples and asked to create
their own which could then be
shared by the whole school.
HT6: Encouraging Reading
My aim for the last half-term
was to encourage our students
to read and to widen the type
of reading that they undertake.
This will hopefully inspire
more reading which obviously
has extensive literacy benefits.
This also utilised the increased
number of registration slots due
to the examination period and
the work carried out on our
school hall.
For Years 11-12:
Students were encouraged to
carry out reading which would
benefit their personal projects
in Year 11. In Year 12, they were
advised to focus on books that
they could mention in their
UCAS personal statement or
which would aid their Extended
Projects.
For Years 7-9:
Students were encouraged to
read in two formal sessions a
week. One registration session
a week was designated for silent
reading of their current fiction
book. When I trialled this with
my tutor group, the whole group
nearly always brought a book
with them and we managed
about 15 minutes of silent
reading following registration.
The second session consisted
of introducing the students
to different types of reading.
Each week students were given
a double-sided A3 sheet with
examples of different reading
types such as sport literature
and ancient texts. Students were
encouraged to read these to get
a flavour of the genre, and tutors
could open this up to discussion
if they wished.
HOMEWORK
TO SUPPORT
LEARNING
Rex Stidwell
and that children should be
allowed to be children. The
provision of excessive homework
should not prohibit reasonable
involvement in activities such
as sports clubs, learning an
instrument or girl guides/scouts.
similar idea is called “Take Away
Homework”. See here for more
information and ideas.
Policy guidance points that could
be covered with un-homework/
takeaway homework:
• Teachers are encouraged to
make homework novel, creative,
motivational and interesting
• Teachers are encouraged to
give students more choice in
the tasks they complete for
homework
So why not have a go at producing
a homework Takeaway menu for
your department?
What is the value of homework?
- It’s a subject that has divided
teachers for decades. Does
setting homework add any
value to a pupil’s learning or is
it an unnecessary distraction
that puts pressure on young
people? And if it is set, how
long should students be
expected to spend on it? With
Government guidelines on
home study now removed,
the setting of homework has
become a matter for schools to
decide individually. (Leader
Magazine, June 2012)
At Colyton we also have an
increasing body of evidence
from student voice surveys,
along with feedback from
parents and teachers, that we
can improve the homework
provision across the school. A
staff Twilight training session
highlighted the need for quality
rather than quantity, time to do
work well, and connection and
relevance to the work completed
in class.
It was decided that we shouldn’t
be setting too much homework
So, what’s new? Following on
from a large scale consultation of
stakeholders last year (students,
parents and staff) the whole
school policy has been revised
to include guidance points and
absolutes. This is arguably a
bit draconian but we feel that
we need to have the students’
interest at heart.
Two of the guidance points
could be tackled with the idea
of “Un-homework”, espoused
in the book of the same name
by Mark Creasy. Another very

THE CGS
LEARNING
JOURNAL
The aim of the Learning Journal
at Colyton is quite simply to
support the advanced learning
and wider thinking of our
Year 11 students. Due to our
accelerated programme that
sees GCSEs sat at the end of
Year 10, students are one year
ahead of their chronological age
group at the start of the year.
The aim of the Learning Journal
is to keep them a year ahead.
As we all know, an essential
attribute of being an effective
independent learner is taking
time to reflect upon performance
and to consider how you can
progress; a level of maturity that
can often take time to inculcate
into PGCE graduates. However,
for Year 11 students, such critical
thinking can take many different
forms and naturally differs from
subject to subject. The Learning
Journal is therefore designed to
be a flexible tool. One important
lesson we learned early on
regarded ‘ownership’. At first we
issued students with a standard
A4 exercise book per subject.
However, while this did help to
raise the profile of independent
learning, it also created two
issues. Firstly, staff felt compelled
to ‘set’ Learning Journal tasks
which were then marked.
Not surprisingly, this led
respondents in a student survey
to question the journal’s role in
building true independence!
Secondly, some students tended
to use their Learning Journal as
a depository for some of their
subject notes which naturally
created a problem of coherence
at revision time. Consequently,
as a result of further staff/student
discussions, we have moved
to one Learning Journal per
student; a more contained and
practical approach. Moreover,
the students now have a choice
of three different formats; the
traditional A4 diary; a ring
bound folder or a hard-backed
sketch book. Interestingly, each
option proved to be equally
popular this year, though in
hindsight, some students would
now like to change their original
choice; true learning progress
A Year 11 linguist’s
research into key figures
of German culture
Andrew Gregson
through reflection!
The Learning Journal continues
to be used during study periods
at school, and at home, and
typically involves students:
• Considering what they
have learned and how well
they have understood new
material, e.g. study skill
development in tutor sessions
• Jotting down questions they
need to ask their teacher next
lesson
• Thinking about their next
step in a subject/topic, e.g.
target setting
• Reading additional material
to support or extend their
understanding of a particular
subject, outside of the A Level
specification
• Developing ideas that they
are particularly interested
in further than was possible
during lesson time
• Researching into higher
education courses and careers
• Producing summary
diagrams of key points
from news articles, TV
documentaries and their
general reading
A student’s work experience
reflections and self-taught material on
photography.
This approach to recording
reflections helps them to keep tabs
on how their independent study
skills are developing throughout
the year. As a result, they start to
gain a better awareness of what
types of activities work best for
them and which ones they need
to target for improvement. This
record can therefore act as a
powerful source of information
in discussions with tutors and
the head of sixth form. A ‘typical’
reflection often includes:
• How they have used their
study time
• What they have learnt from
the experience
• Which actions should now be
prioritised as a next step
Not surprisingly, Year 11
students initially need support
in developing this kind of
approach; hence subject staff
provide specific guidance to
get them started. However, this
input is deliberately limited. The
Learning Journal is their tool.
The only assessment use made
of it by staff is at the end of the
year when tutors review it as part
of the criteria for our Year 11
Independent Learning Award.
In conclusion, for the student
there is no set way to use the
Learning Journal as it depends
upon their interests, subjects
and preferred learning style. The
aim, however, is clear; to develop
a mature awareness of learning
skills that moves our students on
from how they worked in lower
school, thereby preparing them
for the very different demands of
A-level and university learning,
especially regarding contextual
reading. For many it is a real
challenge to engage in this kind
of wider learning but, in our
view, the long term gains in terms
of maturity, critical awareness,
self-motivation and confidence
make the effort well worthwhile.
Certainly, those who criticise
grammar schools as mere exams
factories should take a look at
our Learning Journal. Then they
may appreciate how we truly
strive to prepare our young
people to succeed in life, not just
with UCAS.
Another example of a student’s research that goes beyond
any taught A-level specification – the development of sign
language – and an English Department’s extension task
focused on First World War poetry.

Nicola Rorke
With the recent changes
in the GCSE sciences, the
assessment of quality of written
communication has come to
the fore. Regular opportunities
are therefore given in KS3
Science to practise written
communication by completing
extended writing tasks.
One such task is part of a
short module followed by Year
8 which focuses on the role
of zoos in conservation and
education. The module starts
with a trip to Paignton Zoo so
that the students can experience
the work of the zoo firsthand.
They also attend a talk
explaining why some species
are under threat from human
SMSC IN KS3
SCIENCE
activities and the projects
that zoos are undertaking to
help conserve them. The talk
gets them thinking about the
everyday products that they
use such as mobile phones,
cosmetics, detergents and foods
– exploring how this links to
sustainable living and loss of
habitats.
On returning to school, students
are given the task of writing an
essay entitled ‘Zoos; good or
bad?’ They must also include
key words that are linked
to SMSC ideas. Essays are
assessed on structure, spelling,
punctuation, grammar, use of
SMSC key words (underlined)
and the ability to provide a
balanced argument as well as
conclude their writing with
their own personal viewpoint.
The students provide some
excellent pieces of writing and
really enjoy the opportunity
to put forward their own ideas
with many varied points of view.
SMSC IN KS5
BIOLOGY
There are many opportunities
in Key Stage 4 for students to
explore controversial topics
in Biology and debates are
commonplace. It is a shame that
with the current course content,
Biology at A-level remains more
traditional in its approach and
it is often harder for students to
discuss and explore topics that
lend themselves to SMSC. In
addition, many of our students
now face the challenge of
interviews for medical schools
where they are asked to present
ideas through role-play. As part
of our tutorial programme, we
deliver a number of role-play
activities. We make it explicit
that they are extension tasks,
ABOVE
An extract from one of the essays
Miles Smith
but it is rare that individuals
don’t engage fully. The debates
are managed by the students
and the teacher merely has an
observation role so they can
assess SMSC strands. Often we
will comment on the student’s
progress in UCAS references.
In terms of student voice and
review, it is common that these
are rated the highest out of all
our Biology activities. Here
are two case studies showing
how we take time from the
curriculum to focus on roleplay:
Exploring the difficulties in
controlling Malaria, HIV and
1 TB in Sub-Saharan Africa
Students read the background
rates of the three diseases in a
fictitious city before taking the
role of a non-governmental aid
organisation in planning aid for
the next three years. Students
then planned a yearly million
pound budget using a budget
sheet (left) and allocated the
funding.
continued overleaf...

Students then had to see if their
budget was successful when they
were given information about
what happened, as well as moral
dilemmas they would have to
resolve. For example:
Year 1
Locals, hearing of the availability
of drugs, swarmed to the newly
opened centre. If you didn’t buy
two extra staff, all the drugs you
arrived with were stolen during
a riot. 35,000 blood samples
were analysed. Did you cope
with this? 100 pregnancies with
HIV positive mothers. Did you
have enough money? 750 new
cases of HIV. Did you have
enough money?
Year 1 dilemma
An HIV positive man receives
one months anti-retroviral
drugs.
The next day he returns saying
they have been stolen.
You suspect he has sold them.
What do you do?
Taking part in a Medical Ethics
Committee on whether foetal
2 surgery should be licensed for cleft
palate
For this task pupils took on
defined roles that they had a
week to research and prepare.
They stayed in role throughout
the debate. There were several
roles suitable for quieter
students.
ROLES:
GP - Doctors are the primary
managers in the treatment
of patients. They evaluate
symptoms, consider a range of
possible diagnoses, undertake
appropriate examination and
further tests, advise patients
on the best course of treatment
and monitor the progress of that
treatment. If necessary, they
will refer the patient onwards
to a specialist doctor for further
opinion. Should you ever
suggest foetal surgery – are your
own views important?
Research Doctor - Academic
doctors are responsible for
teaching new generations
of doctors and undertaking
research in order to take forward
the science of medicine. What is
your line on new cutting-edge
surgery?
Lay parent - no experience of
cleft palate…. Take a for/ against
line and come up with a case
Child born with cleft palate -
what experiences have you had?
Take whatever view you want
Surgeon - you will be performing
the operation – what are your
duties, rights?
Parent of child with cleft palate
- what has the whole process of
having a child been like? – take
whatever line you want
Parent of child who has had
successful foetal surgery – was
the process stressful, having had
a successful operation what will
you now say?
Legal/ philosophy expert - you
are going to have to talk about
the rights of the mother and the
baby
Reporter - you will have to write
a concise 250 word report on the
session
Chairman - you have to manage
the two debates, allow everybody
to speak/ question each other,
and run the vote at the end
THE REPORTER’S REVIEW OF THE DEBATE
-January 2014
The ‘GP’ opened the debate explaining the importance of ensuring that
parents have been fully informed on the risks and outcomes of foetal surgery.
However, she also stated that due to the very high risks of mortality, the surgery
should not be allowed for cosmetic problems which aren’t life-threatening.
The ‘Research Doctor’ shared a similar line of argument, saying that the
surgery should continue as it needs to be practised in order to advance, and
noting the clear advantages of the surgery if the foetus has a life-threatening
condition – it could save lives – then again, she highlighted the controversy
surrounding the use of the surgery for correcting cleft palate, and highlighted
the need for parents to be fully informed.
Having noted the dangers to the lives of both the mother and child, the
‘surgeon’ agreed that the only way to improve the foetal surgery is through
experience and practise. Explaining the careful monitoring of both mother
and child during the surgery, she supported the idea of using foetal surgery
whenever it was in the best interests of the patients, and they understood
the risks. The ‘parent of the child who has had successful foetal surgery’
also recommended the use of foetal surgery, as it can give the child a better
quality of life, and as long as the parents were fully informed he felt that both
the benefits to the child and the practice of the surgery outweighed the risks.
Similarly the ‘parent of child with cleft palate’ argued that it should be allowed
to fix the problem without causing the scarring. However, the ‘child born
with cleft palate’ felt that it was safer to opt for the proven method of surgery
after birth which could have similar results – without the high risks. Also
against the surgery, the ‘Legal and Philosophy expert’ argued that with the
low success rate and stress for the mother and child, it was not justifiable.
Overall, it was felt that despite the risks involved – foetal surgery should
be allowed in the UK, due to the benefits it can have, and that, having been
made aware of the risks the choice should lie ultimately with the parents
(although it was thought that the surgery should not be offered for more
minor complaints).
Each cross-curricular teaching and learning team selected a
theme to work on during the academic year and one group
chose to focus on enquiry-based learning. The team met
and discussed the concepts and techniques of enquiry-based
learning and then agreed to try out some techniques in their
classrooms. Each member of the team then contributed an
article to a summary publication. In the summer term the
team presented to the whole staff in a professional skills
meeting and published the booklet, which is available by
clicking the image above.