On Tuesday 16th April we’ll have our final Art learning lab before the GCSE Art exam the following week. As it’s the last chance before the exam for students to get some extra time in, we’ll be running an extended session running from 3.30 until 5.30pm. To keep everyone energised and working we’ll have a selection of food and snacks for students who attend.
All year 11 students are welcome, but we’ll be sending invites out to those who we’d really like to see for that final push.
In year eleven, crews Frank and Rowling came together in the spirit of Christmas to create their kindness calendars. Each year staff and students like to share the cheer and make deposits into peoples calendars. These may be tasty treats or words of kindness, either way the whole point is to bring some light and warmth into these cold days and long dark nights.
The whole English team would like to appreciate all the C26 students who attended the Learning Lab tonight. Nearly every student across both schools attended and they were all fully engaged in some superb poetry revision.
This commitment and effort will pay off in the long run. Remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. Think of these session as a key part of your training.
It has been wonderful to hear students discussing exam technique, the alternative meanings of some of the quotes and considering complex poetic techniques such as iambic pentameter, free verse and colloquial language.
Thanks so much guys, you made Mrs Desborough’s day!
E26 spent time on Friday learning about what to expect in an English Language GCSE exam. Pupils have been focussing on English Literature skills recently, so this was a great opportunity to revisit some of the work on non-fiction from before Christmas.
As this was a Component 2 Reading Section walk through mock, pupils initially had to read one text and find key pieces of information quickly. Some pupils find it stressful to work to a tightly controlled time limit so this was a valuable experience to get a real idea of how the timings will work in their GCSEs.
Next, pupils conducted close reading and analysis to find examples of how the writer presented snow positively. Many pupils were pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of writing their responses using the scaffolding provided by the teacher. It was great to hear so many pupils asking how to access the highest marks and the top bands. Many were trying to find nine or more quotations to use in their answer, despite only having fifteen minutes to write it!
Well done to X26, your effort and focus on this task were a credit to you. Both Mrs Desborough and Mrs Cross are very proud of you!
