Please sir can we have more?
by Educate Magazine February 11, 2022 · All News / Secondary School News
An online initiative at King’s Leadership Academy Hawthornes in Bootle, South Sefton, is giving students even greater chances of success in maths and English.
The tuition sessions are free and are designed to build students’ confidence in these core subjects across years 7 to 10. Students from Year 11 are also joining the sessions as a top-up for their GCSE revision.
King’s Hawthornes, as a member of the Great Schools Trust, provides all pupils with a tablet device or Chromebook from Year 7 meaning that the sessions are open to all.
Rachel Boardman, an English teacher at the academy, is involved in delivering the sessions and is delighted with the response shown by the pupils taking part, Rachel said: “Our concept was to create something which would give them a deeper understanding about the subjects which they could take into their wider learning.
“The widespread enthusiasm we have seen is so satisfying and we also make the sessions interactive, which encourages feedback and suggestions about the topics to cover. We can already we see the results feeding back into their work back in class.”
Rachel’s colleague, Charlotte Burgess, added: “We are providing the benefits some gain through private tuition and which is not an option available to everyone. The chance to take part means learning new skills which are relevant not only for these subjects, but can be applied to help in other subjects too.”
The students’ response also shows the value they place on the additional sessions. A Year 7 student says that they have “learnt lots of new words and their meaning”, while one in Year 8 said that they had committed to the sessions because “I want to improve my understanding of the subjects.”
Parents are also warmly receiving the sessions. Julia Garner whose daughter is in Year 10 said: “As the sessions are after school there is a clear break between the school day and the extra tuition which I see being met with enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge. She is fully engaged and benefitting greatly from this inclusive initiative”
Due to the success of the tuition sessions it is planned to be introduced at the other King’s Leadership Academies in the near future.
