The first term of our Humanities Specialist College status has certainly been challenging but also exciting and fulfilling. This report aims to inform you about the progress that we have made over the term, about the activities and programmes that we have initiated, our valuation of our progress and aims/targets for the rest of the year.

 

1. Launch Day.

Launch Day proved to be a huge success and grateful thanks to the many who helped and contributed on, and in the lead up to, the day. Press coverage of the day ranged from excellent (The Mid Wales Journal) to disappointing (The Hereford Times) but the day received very positive responses from staff, students and our many guests. The encapsulated much of what our Humanities Specialism is about.

 

3. Eco Build.

Considerable progress has been made in the design and planning of the build. Kingspan have very kindly agreed to provide the structure for the build and it is now our aim to create a carbon neutral build. The latest plans for the

build will be e-mailed next week.

 

4. H umanities Operational Group.

HOG meets monthly each week and is responsible for the implementation of the school and community plan and the progress towards meeting targets. All HOG Meeting Minutes are posted on the ‘staff drive’ under ‘curriculum’

and ‘specialist school’. The group will produce a termly report for the Specialist Management Group, Governors, staff, and community, business and school partners. HOG is responsible for producing Intervention Strategies and Programmes if

requested by SMT. Director of Humanities College/ History Subject Leader – Nic Dinsdale.

 

Geography Subject Leader – Kevin Smith.

 

English Subject Leader – Penny Williams.

 

5. School Plan.

5.1 Attainment:

GCSE Revision Clubs will start after Christmas to help raise attainment in each of the three specialist subjects. The ‘Geography Club’ meets each Friday lunchtime and ‘GCSE Geography Revision Club’ will start after Christmas. The ‘GCSE History Revision Club’ starts on January 9th meeting each Wenesday 4.00-4.40p.m. The ‘GCSE English Revision Club’ will start after February halfterm. The three subjects have increased the use of self and peer assessment at KS3

and KS4 – producing sheets to inform the assessment process and help students realize how further progress can be made.

 

5.2 Curricular Provision/Take-up:

The ‘Geography Club’ and ‘History Audio-Documentary Group’ are providing opportunities for students outside of lessons.

New units of study have been designed by the specialist staff to be taught over the year to provide further engagement and challenge and with the aim of aiding take-up at KS4 and 5. For example, ‘Geographical Information Systems’ software is now being used at KS4 and 5.

 

5.3 Enrichment:

Concern Universal led sessions on ‘Women’s Rights’ and ‘Water Aid’ for all Year 9 students.

All Year 7 students attended a performance on ‘Sustainable Development’ at the Courtyard Theatre.

‘Gardening Club’ has been operating on Tuesday lunchtimes since September.

Years 9 to 13 visited The Wyeside Arts Centre to watch a specially arranged viewing of ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Years’.

Year 10 and 13 students prepared and took a moving Assembly for Remembrance Day.

Year 12 students have been working alongside professional museum staff since September to create a state-of-the-art museum display on ‘Kington’s military hospitals’ for the visually impaired.

Sixth Form English students have attended A Level English lectures.

 

5.4 Whole School Improvement:

The three Specialist staff are involved in a rolling programme of ‘sharing good practice’. The specialist staff are currently involved in ‘Stage 1: Positive Behaviour Management’ and are working directly with staff in ‘sharing good Practice’ through observations, team teaching, organizing INSET opportunities and out of school observations and sharing strategies and methods of positive behaviour management. INDEX 1 Shows the ‘Rationale’ for the ‘Sharing Good

Progress’ programme.

 

6. Community plan

6.1 primary / other non-secondary partners

The specialist staff planned and delivered a whole day ‘RASKALs’ session on ‘Pirates and piracy: Past, Present and Future’. The day was a collaboration between the specialist subjects delivering important skills to students from all of our primary partner schools.

 

6.2 secondary partners

The specialist staff are working alongside staff from our Secondary Partner School (Fairfield) to deliver learning and teaching opportunities for their students. For example, Fairfield students will be working alongside LHS students in carrying out a full archaeological survey of a local site with staff from the University of Southampton. Geography will be providing GIS training for Herefordshire Geography teachers next term.

 

6.3 wider community groups including business/employers

School and community plans – monitoring and evaluation

History talks have been organized for U3A on the topics of ‘The D-Day Landings’ (by NJD) and ‘Another Man’s Shoes – The Story of Escape from the Nazis in Norway’ (by guest speaker Ellie Targett). The U3A group have used LHS ICT equipment and accommodation.

 

7. Aims for Year One.

Geography Ojectives – Year One.

· Raise Level 5 + and Level 6+ through self and peer assessment

· Raise attainment Level 5+ in ‘geographical enquiry’

· Provision to raise A*-C and boys’ performance

· Provision to raise A*-C and boys’ performance through increased ICT access

· Provide a vocational input into Key Stage 3 Geography

· New units for self and peer assessment and geographical enquiry.

· Provision to increase uptake in Geography by offering Entry Level Geography.

· Introduce Year 10 GCSE Geography fieldwork on local quarry

· World Development Day for Year 9

· Farm and river study day for Year 8

· Provision to raise % A-B at AS level.

· Provision to raise A-B at A2 level.

· Provision to increase take-up in Geography AS .

 

History Objectives – Year One.

· KS3 – raising of L.5+ through self and peer assessment linked to assessment tasks

· KS3 - raising of L.6+ through new challenging unit in Year 9

· KS4 – raising attainment A*-C through GCSE revision

· KS4 – raising attainment of middle and higher ability students through self and peer

· Assessment

· KS4 – raising boys’ attainment A*-C through introduction of structures for learning and

using factual information

· ICT provision

· Provision for peer and self-assessment in History

· Increase GCSE take-up through introduction of unit on practical application of History

and relevance to workplace

· Take-up: ‘History Group’ of Year 10 and 11 students to encourage take-up for GCSE and

A Level

· Practical application of History and relevance to workplace

· D-Day and the Battle of Normandy Trip

· ‘History Group’ (Year 10 and 11 students) to provide new learning opportunities in

History

· Year 9 Unit offering practical application of vocational skills related to history

· KS5 – raising AS Level A-B grades through lecture

· KS5 – raising lower and middle ability attainment on Synoptic paper

· Practical application of History and relevance to workplace

 

English Objectives – Year One.

· KS3 – Raise Level 5+ through pupil self-evaluation and target setting

· KS3 - Raise Boys’ reading Level 6 and above

· KS4 – raising English attainment A*-C through poetry provision

· KS4 provision for raising attainment on multi-cultural poetry

· KS4 provision for raising attainment on multi-cultural poetry

· KS4 provision of laptops for raising boys’ writing achievement

· KS4 provision for raising English Literature attainment through extra-curricular revision

classes

· EAL provision in KS3

· Introduction of visiting writer

· KS3 provision of laptops

· Establish new input into vocational CoPE course

· Humanities provision in teaching of multi-cultural poetry

· EAL provision in KS4

· Year 7 to 11 students will work with one professional writer and one professional poet

· ‘Poet in Residence’ programme

· Drama workshops to support teaching of Shakespeare

· Increase Students’ Critical Reading

· Establish new cross-curricular links with Humanities

· Increase numbers of pupils opting for A Level English Literature

· Build AS ‘taster’ lessons into the GCSE curriculum in Year 11

· Provide vocational opportunities related to English skills / literature

· Increase provision of enrichment activities at Key Stage Four

 

Whole School Improvement – Year One.

· KS3 – raising of L.5+ through self and peer assessment linked to assessment tasks -

Assessment for Learning

· KS4 – raising of A*-C through revision techniques

 

Community Primary Partners – Year One.

· Geography provision for KS2 map skills to ease transition Year 6 to 7

· History provision for Kington Primary on ‘Roman Britain’

· History provision for Eardisley and Almley Primaries on ‘Remembrance Day’

· Summer School learning opportunities for Year 6 students in History

· Summer School learning opportunities for Year 6 students in English.

· Provide poetry skills workshop to Year 6 students (Kington Primary).

 

Community Secondary Partner – Year One.

· Fairfield and Kington Geography Departments will meet for a day in January 2008 to

jointly plan a new unit of study on ‘China – the new superpower’ for KS3.

· Year 9 ‘local history’ day at Kington Camp

· Fairfield students to attend drama production at LHS of Shakespeare play set for SATs

 

Wider Community Groups – Year One.

· U3A Geography implementation – sessions on ‘energy and the future’

· Tarmac Geography implementation – Running geography fieldwork/site visits.

· KCC Geography implementation – ‘Looking after our environment’.

· Kington Over 60s History implementation – oral History project.

· U3A History implementation – Researching the First World War.

· Kingspan employees’ literacy implementation