School Blog

The apparent decline of the arts subjects in many schools across the country appears to be an unintended consequence of the coalition government’s decision to champion a more overtly academic regime, with its related reforms to the exam system. With hindsight, this decline does not seem so remarkable, perhaps, particularly in the light of the dissolution of local authority control in favour of independent academies and multi-academy trusts, and the consequent loss of long-established networks of advisory specialists.  Furthermore, according to a new report funded by the Nuffield Foundation, faced with the inspectorate’s (Ofsted’s) focus on national test outcomes as the key measure of school success, headteachers have been forced to react restrictively to avoid the disastrous impacts that failure on these metrics can have on pupil and staff recruitment, as well as the wider reputation of their schools (1).

The narrowing of the curriculum that has been the result of all this has only relatively recently been recognised as a potentially damaging trend in economic terms. The creative industries contribute in excess of £90bn to our GDP and account for 1 in 11 jobs. These numbers have been rising at a rate faster than all other parts of the economy in the recent past, reliant to a large extent on immigrant talent attracted to our creative hubs. However, the danger that a large gap in the supply chain for future employees in these industries might emerge following Brexit is now very real, according to John Kampfner, CEO of the Creative industries federation, with ‘17 defined skills shortages in areas such as animation and special effects’ (2).

As with other independent schools, at Northampton High we have the freedom to consider developments in national education policy through the lens of our own philosophy and educational beliefs. This gives us the option of only gathering up innovations when we think they are beneficial and channeling our approach to structural changes, so that we can focus on the learning experience and help our students to find their own paths without having to compromise the breadth and balance of the choices they can make. We know that this leads to our Sixth Form students leaving us to go on to a striking range of futures beyond the purely academic or scientific, large numbers of them specifically arts related and many more very closely allied.

As befits our aim of helping our pupils come to a 360-degree understanding of what drives and inspires them, we place the arts squarely at the heart of school life and we encourage them to weave a path in and around the more traditionally academic subjects. Hence art, literature, film, music, food, textiles, dance and drama all feature in the day to day lives of the girls, both in curriculum time and in the wider life of the school. To mention but a very few examples from the last 12 months, this has been seen in our work with both an artist and director in residence, a link with the National Leather Collection, national awards for film, textiles and food collaborations with junior school girls, a dance and gymnastics celebration evening and extensive partnerships with humanities, science, maths and arts subjects across the school, including a STEAM extravaganza last month.

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention our stunning annual Arts Festival which this year was bigger than ever, in honour of our 140^th birthday, including 3 invited authors to suit all age groups (and parents!), a recital of music performances from girls aged 7 to 18 and arguably the most technically accomplished musical ever produced by the school, the Sound of Music. To finish off a fabulous year for the arts, we are refurbishing our Music department over the summer with the theme of female icons in music, practice rooms no longer being known as room 1 or 2, but by the name of an artist or composer, such as Beyoncé or Clara Schumann.

Needless to say, while the arts are flourishing at Northampton High and at other schools like ours, we cannot do it all. I sincerely hope that the wake-up call to government does not come too late to avoid our national influence in this vital sector being reduced beyond all recognition.

1. Toby Greany and Rob Higham, UCL Institute of Education. Hierarchy, Markets, and Networks: analysing the self-improving school-led system agenda in England and the implications for leadership, Nuffield Foundation and IOE Press, July 2018
2. John Kampfner. Creative industries are key to UK economy, the Guardian, January 2017

Mr Rickman, Deputy Head Academic

Think about Politics for a moment. A Conservative government struggling. Divisions in cabinet as plots swirl around Westminster and knives are sharpened as rivals jostle to satisfy long held ambitions. The issue of Europe is high on the agenda causing exasperation and confusion. The economy is still unable to generate anything remotely like a feel-good factor. We have the resignation of cabinet ministers for falling short of the required standards of professional, parliamentary behaviour. There are concerns amongst the general public that the NHS is on the verge of breakdown and that the privatisation of the public sector is serving to enrich the few and leaving the many to pick up the pieces. There exists a resurgent opposition with a populist leader allegedly more in tune with the common man and woman. There is a tangible sense of despair; a concern that society isn’t working and that something has to change.

Were you thinking of 2018 and the recent political scene? Did you picture Theresa May, Carillion, the NHS winter crisis and Brexit? Did you recognise Boris and Gove and think about what might have been on Damian Green’s internet browser? Were you running through fields of wheat or at Glastonbury with Jeremy Corbyn? Or were you thinking of food banks or whether you should have left some spare change with that homeless man or at least gone and bought the poor bloke a coffee from the Starbucks across the street?

Or were you back in the 1990’s? Was it an ailing John Major that you witnessed, shovelling peas around his plate on Spitting Image and getting greyer and greyer by the episode? Did you see a country still debating our future in Europe, contemplating the surrender of the pound and noting the arrival of UKIP on the political landscape? Did you recall Neil Hamilton, Cash for Questions, Jeffrey Archer heading to prison or David Mellor and his Chelsea shirt? There was the re-emergence of the Labour Party under Messrs Smith, Blair and Brown and the prospect of the railways, the Post Office and even the NHS being sold off to the highest bidder at some point in the future. Then there was Black Wednesday in 1992, the Bulger murder in 1993 and the unnerving feeling that things were just not how they were supposed to be.

Perhaps, some of you were back in the early 1960’s with Harold Macmillan and the Etonian gentlemen clique trying desperately to run a nation that was socially leaving the familiar world of austerity and deference behind? The stop-start of the economy and the rejection of De Gaulle as we begged to join the European Economic Community and the Night of the Long Knives where the embattled PM sacked a third of his cabinet in a matter of hours including many of his closest friends and colleagues. A much younger Harold Wilson offering a revived Britain in the white heat of the technological revolution to the accompaniment of a society falling in love with the Fab Four, reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover and entertaining the end of capital punishment and decriminalising homosexuality. Did you think of Profumo and Christine Keeler and that picture of her posing on that chair? Did you experience that feeling again that we could do better and needed something different?

We could go back further but we’ll stop there. We’ll stick to the period of Modern British History that our Sixth Form girls study at A Level. History and Politics runs in cycles, almost as if there are simple routines that are repeated and played out on a nationwide macro scale every couple of decades or so. That should not be surprising; from the moment we wake up, indeed from the moment we are born, life becomes a repetition of certain rules, practices and regimes. It would be ridiculous and somewhat naive for us to think that History and Politics do not tread a similar path. Some would say that through History we learn about the past but I’d like to think it also teaches us about the future.

“They say the next big thing is here, that the revolution’s near, but to me it seems quite clear that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating.”
– Shirley Bassey (with Propellerheads)
“Maybe history wouldn’t have to repeat itself if we listened once in a while.”
– Wynne McLaughlin

Andy Donaldson, Head of History

 

We are constantly warned of the dangers of The Digital Age from its ability to limit our powers of reasoning to being a destroyer of good health, both mental and physical. Perhaps most worryingly, employers from all sectors warn of the damage The Digital Age has already caused to the way in which we communicate. That is why oracy, the skill that enables us to be confident, fluent public speakers through opportunities such as debating, discussions and engaging in dialogue, is so vital. Learning to use the spoken language are as important as learning skills in literacy and numeracy.

Well, I am here to report good news! The skills needed for effective oracy are alive and well for girls at Northampton High School and in the wider community we have reached out to during our Outreach Debating Project.

In partnership with Noisy Classroom, an organisation dedicated to ensuring the skills of effective oracy are kept at the forefront of educators’ minds, we have successfully worked with Year 5 and Year 6 girls from three local primary schools to explore oracy through debating.

These workshops culminated in a final day of debating where all schools taking part proved, without question, that the skills of oracy are indeed alive and well. Perhaps even more importantly, the day also further emphasised just how important that we, as the guardians of future generations, must continue to give our girls the opportunity to develop this invaluable life skill whether it be at the dinner table at home or in the classroom!

Let the debate begin!

Karen Fordham

Year 6 teacher and Humanities Coordinator

Universities have long complained about the lack of academic independence which many of their new under graduates exhibit. Research into this area has found that many new students struggle to write essays, carry out independent research and build arguments; a lack of skills which leaves them ill equipped for the rigorous academic approach required in higher education.

Many universities have responded by providing study skill sessions for their new under graduates. The University of Edinburgh for example provides modules on ‘Taking effective notes’, ‘Preparing bibliographies and avoiding plagiarism’ and ‘Using the Library and understanding your reading list’.

At the High School, we take a proactive approach to study and research skills, equipping our students with the skills to make their transition into higher education a smooth one.

Library orientation and research skills such as planning, note taking, bibliographies and plagiarism are embedded within the Humanities curriculum, through History in Year 7 and Geography in Year 8. In Year 8 we are particularly ambitious for the girls, teaching the use of citation, a challenge which most of the girls rise to with aplomb.

In Autumn 2017, Ms Heimfeld and I have introduced a new initiative based around the Reith Lectures. Girls in U4 have the opportunity to practice the skills learnt through Humanities Transferable Skills and linked to the marking criteria of the EPQ, whereby we are interested in the process of completing a piece of work, not just the end product. The aim is for the girls to finish their essay on their chosen subject by Easter, presenting their findings in the summer term.

The EPQ (Extended Project Qualification, worth half an A Level at A2) is one of the elective choices on offer to the girls as they move into the Sixth Form. A response by the examination board AQA to university complaints about student lack of research skills, it allows candidates to choose a topic they wish to explore which isn’t covered in any of their exam subjects or to take a subject of interest beyond the curriculum. Similar to writing a dissertation at university, in that the end product must come out of academic research, but very different in that candidates are credited for the learning journey, not just the end product. The end product may also be an artefact, which can be pretty much anything, from making a film to designing and building a hover board!

Candidates have the opportunity to learn how to work at university level whilst having support within the school environment; the EPQ is proving a popular qualification with our girls.

“I would say that the EPQ has helped me gain skills that will be essential to life at university – and who wouldn’t love those lower university offers! An EPQ is a great asset to your personal statement and makes you stand out at interview”.

Lara Pieczka; Lara completed an artefact for November 2017 submission – The Queen’s Codebreaking Catastrophe: A code breaking workshop for Key Stage 2 pupils.

“The EPQ was an inspirational process for me, the freedom to think, away from the curriculum, allowed me to realise my true interests; it was a deciding factor in my choice of degree for university, clarifying the situation hugely”.

Julia Wardley-Kershaw; Julia completed an artefact for November 2017 submission – The Violet Hue: an exploration into European cinematography.

We look forward to this year’s girls receiving their results in January as the new 6.1 girls begin their EPQ journey.

Mrs Buxton, School Librarian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUmk20I74o

According to the World Economic Forum, it could take 217 years for the disparities in pay and employment opportunities for males and females to end. In sport, despite the successes of our female sports women on the international stage, there is still a veritable gulf between men’s and women’s sport in a range of areas. In the context of professional football, the highest paid English female footballer Steph Houghton earns £65,000 a year whilst Wayne Rooney earns £300,000 a week. Will this be a gap in professional sport that could ever be closed, or even should it be?

We hear comments such as ‘women’s sport isn’t as exciting to watch’ or ‘women aren’t strong enough’, or the particular favourite ‘sporty women are aggressive or unfeminine’. All of these myths have been dispelled many times, and time over elite sports women have shown that female sport is no worse than men’s sport – it is just different. Women’s sport often involves higher levels of skill, as the level of power is lower. Advertising campaigns such as ‘This Girl Can’ have gone a long way to diminish the gender stereotypes associated with sporty women, highlight the opportunities for all females and the diversity of the sporting offer nationally. Why is it, then, that the press is still full of articles such as ‘Tubby and Terrified – How girls’ fear puts them off PE’ or ‘Girls lose out in the PE Gender Gap’? From what has been said, girls are not losing out, but coaches, schools, staff and parents have to adapt to the changing mind set of female athletes. This is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Girls are struggling with a lack of high profile female role models.

This movement started last summer when 1.1 million people tuned into Sky Sports to watch hosts England win the ICC 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup. This was three times more viewers than the number watching the final day of England men’s victory over South Africa in the first Test of the series at Lord’s. For the first time, Lord’s cricket ground was a sell-out for Women’s Cricket World Cup Final; 50% of World Cup ticket buyers were women. We have started to reduce the gender gap, but this is only in one sport. Traditional ‘female sports’, such as netball, are increasingly receiving more television coverage, but the levels are still significantly lower than for their male counterparts.

So how do we reduce this Sporting Gender Gap significantly faster than the gender pay gap is closing? Females in sport still need to be females. Sports clothing is now much more fashionable – it is no longer the wrap around skirt and gym pants. Girls need to be provided, as standard, with girls’ fit sports clothing, in a range of styles and cuts. We need more high profile female role models, and alongside this more mums at home exercising, encouraging their daughters to exercise and show that this is the norm. We need PE departments to offer varied and diverse programmes of study and activities to engage and inspire all. We need to highlight player pathways and opportunities that sports can open up.

None of this is new or revolutionary. Many male coaches have found success coaching female teams, and have discovered that the coaching style required can much more complex. Mark Robinson, Head Coach of the England Women’s Cricket team, said ‘generally nothing they do is ever good enough [in the women’s minds]; it’s all about giving them belief’. He has had to change his delivery style to reach all players and help them to achieve their potential.

Sport needs to become trendy. In 2017, it is the accepted norm for females to participate in sport and want to show their competitive side. We need to highlight what is good in female sport and not focus on the negatives. Yes, there is a difference between men and women’s sport, but does that matter? Sport is reinventing itself in so many areas; look to tennis and Wimbledon. The prize money on offer now shows promise that sport can break down the Gender Gap, but that this is still a work in progress.

Mrs Hackett

Confidence is a highly desirable attribute, in life and in learning. The magnetic illumination we sense around people with confidence is almost physical, while the feeling of being confident is exhilarating and empowering; an unstoppable force where there are no immovable objects.

Gaining or maintaining confidence is the tricky part of course. Whether it be a nagging inner voice which tells us we are not good enough, or past mistakes that have scarred us, or others’ judgements voiced without thought for the consequent impact, or even well intentioned praise which is twisted around, it can be difficult to gain the magnetism of a virtuous cycle.

Self-awareness can be double-edged, but critical in sustaining a resilient sense of our own identity and in valuing our own attributes, as well as those of others around us. Filtering the pseudo-perfect and finding the grittier reality allows us to gain traction and control.

It can seem murky and lonely, like staring up a darkened cliff-face from a seeming abyss, when the familiar crumbles or change swifts in with rug-pulling challenges, scattering our beliefs like iron filings. At such times it is understandable that we might hide, avoid, fall silent, excuse, flee, lash out; but in order to climb back into the light and re-forge our beliefs, we must take a risk, take on the challenge, find or re-polarise our magnets: our sense of self.

I am confident. I say it and therefore I am. My inner voice is very nice to me; it didn’t use to be, so I sacked it years ago and hired one of my own choosing. I am in no way remotely perfect, yet experience has taught me what I can achieve when I set my mind to it.

How startling it was then, ten months ago, when I confidently sat down one Sunday morning in January to write model reading answers for the new English Language GCSE. I had marked my Upper Fifth’s papers, had seen and understood the mark scheme, had had time to let the source material sink in. I had one hour, a pen and paper. I had my experience and my confidence, as a student but also as a teacher. There were four questions, with 40 marks distributed unevenly towards the latter questions. I expected almost full marks.

As time ticked inexorably on, I began to realise that I had seriously misjudged things. Each question seemed to require far longer than I could afford to give it, yet my experience told me I had to stay calm and see each point through properly, otherwise it would be wasted. At every pause there came a fresh wave of rising panic, a rush of blood, a prickling of the skin, a sense of things unravelling. Not since an A Level Biology examination some 21 years ago had I expected so much and delivered so little. I was being harsh on myself of course, but I had effectively failed; I had only answered three questions in over an hour and needed at least 25 minutes more for question 4. My ambition, my confidence, my sense of self were being threatened.

I would not accept it.

This was not a real examination. I could re-write my answers, learn, adapt, cut back, speed up. I had a coffee break and started again. 75 minutes later I had something like I had expected the first time around, with the benefit of having learned from a mistake. I shared the experience with my Upper Fifth. I think they appreciated the honesty. My message to them was to take confidence that we all learn to adapt, that with practise comes improvement and to repeat my advice that mocks are so valuable as long as you give it everything you have at that point.

It has been said that we learn best by teaching, something I tend to agree with. I decided to take it a step further: we learn best when there is motivation. For me that motivation involved a risk, one which would sharpen my own learning and therefore my teaching and consequently my students’ learning. I entered myself for the actual public examinations in June.

I was called “a brave man.” If I was expected to gain the highest grade, what was there other than the risk of failure? To me, it was a principle: if I expected my students to do it, and yet I was not confident that I could do it myself, I needed to regain that confidence. With greater risk came greater motivation and from that the ‘confidence trick’. I believed I could do it, I worked towards it, I practised. I sat the examinations in real conditions and experienced again all those sensations felt by teenagers across the country. I walked out knowing I had done my best, had stuck at it when the going had got tough, had stayed calm and strategic.

Regardless of any outcome, I was proud of myself because I had not hidden, but had played my trick and forged ahead, feeling the dynamism energise me as I did so. 21 years ago I entered an examination expecting to gain the highest grade, having worked for it, and the wheels came off. 6 months later I re-sat the paper, dealt with the pressure and gained the grade I wanted. That was the start of my belief that I could do anything if I applied myself to it; my ‘confidence trick’. 21 years later I have revitalised that trick. It would be easy to make light of what I did, or to dismiss it, but that would be to rob me of my confidence, to doubt, to criticise, to put obstacles in front of something so hard won and so easily lost: confidence.

I often talk about confidence with students and parents and it is something I seek to nurture. Our school is a brilliant environment, where the girls really do grow visibly in confidence over the years, albeit not without bumps along the road. All I really want is for our students to be confident enough to dare to be the best them they can be on any given day.

So, look out for opportunities to build confidence, be kind to yourselves and each-other, feel able to take some risks and become unstoppable forces.

Mr Williams

As we finish preparations to allow younger girls from age 2 to experience Northampton High School it has sparked thoughts of what makes the best environment for the perfect learning experience, and do the requirements change with different ages? It is probably best to start by thinking about two prime ingredients in all aspects of education, namely safety and enjoyment. A safe learning space for a 2 year old is very similar to that of older nursery age girls. We believe that an open plan space which enables girls to learn routines and rules whilst also making decisions for themselves is important. All nursery aged children should feel that they have space to move around and that their area is full of a wide range of learning and playing options, as well as space to be alone, to be quiet and to watch the goings on of others.

Girls under 3 do need to have a higher level of adult supervision and support whilst learning to be independent but the requirements of space remain the same. Happiness comes through from our environment but also the types of activities which should be stimulating and challenging, ensuring that well-rounded progress is made. Nursery age girls most definitely require a different experience to boys of the same age. Girls crave structure and routines, where boundaries are clear and expectations high. I am frequently asked about the suitability of girls only at the nursery age and can answer the question simply by giving a tour. Seeing the learning, both direct and indirect, in our setting along with the standards of behaviour and positive friendships is often sufficient to answer the question for me.

With each year that passes there are subtle changes required to create the best learning space. Role play areas can become more adventurous and allow interaction which is at an age appropriate level. Right now, our Reception girls are able to experiment with light in their own dark room and have a space full of reflective surfaces to create reflections and patterns. Outdoor spaces are vital in the daily routines of children at school and they will gradually need more freedom to create their own games and to turn the space into an area for whatever activity is currently popular. We use our outdoor areas for growing and girls enjoy learning to plant, water, weed and feed; instilling in them the need to be responsible and reliable, or else the plants will wither.

Vegetation in the classroom is an idea that we are currently investigating in the light of a GDST research project into CO2 levels and classroom productivity. Some of my favourite classrooms as a child were the ones with huge pot plants that generated interesting smells and shadows. They also help to replenish the air with oxygen, an ingredient which can often be taken for granted in the classroom. We are preparing to install some CO2 monitors in our classrooms to monitor the levels and make sure that a window is opened whenever we reach the cut-off and girls begin to lose their focus. I am sure we will also see classes popping outside for a quick-fire exercise session to reinvigorate and boost those O2 levels in preparation for more hard work.

Many of our girls would argue that the perfect learning environment is actually in our Forest School, and I find it hard to disagree. I am always amazed by the work that takes place ‘at the end of the field’, across the full range of curriculum areas. The elements never seem to get in the way as the tarpaulin shelter is rapidly put up. We hope to make this an even more comfortable space when the clouds darken by installing a permanent shelter to go with the composting toilet!

On reflection, I don’t know that anyone can tell you what makes the perfect learning space but there are certainly guiding principles to follow. Our school building may be 25 years old but it has withstood the test of time and continues to provide a wonderful place for girls to learn and play.

Mr Ross Urquhart, Head of Junior School

In a few weeks’ time, my usual brood of children will temporarily drop down from 3 to 2. One will be participating in the Year 8 trip to Normandy whilst the other will be heading for the ski slopes of Alpe d’Huez  on the Junior School trip the following week. Apart from the logistical headache of collecting one at 11pm one night and dropping the other off at 3am four hours later, the fact that our normal family of five will be four for two weeks is a rather curious feeling.

 

As a parent, it is only natural to worry about your offspring – will they be homesick? Will they eat enough? Did I pack enough socks/snacks/sun cream (delete as applicable!). What if they’re ill? But as a parent and a teacher with experience of many school trips, perhaps my level of anxiety is less, simply because I know what goes on behind the scenes before, during and after any school day trip or residential.

 

In my professional career, I have undertaken many duties on trips which can be part and parcel of the job: dried up tears, mediated in teenage squabbles, cleared up sick, accompanied injured students down a mountain in an ambulance, acted out concussion in the A&E department of an Italian hospital, effectively bribed a child to carry on walking in the Lake District using chocolate raisins and even re-dressed an infected in-growing toenail on a daily basis! Perhaps the person who said “never work with animals and children!” was right?

 

But alongside the less glamorous side to the job is the immense pride I feel when a student overcomes their fear of heights, or picks themselves up after falling over on the slopes, or makes a purchase using a foreign language or even just looks at something with new found awe and wonder. Effectively, you get the buzz of parental pride, just with someone else’s children and that is what makes me get up for work in the morning.

 

The concept of  “in loco parentis” is not a new one. Teachers have a duty of care to pupils which derives from ‘common law’ i.e. developed through decisions of the Court as opposed to law which has been determined by Parliament and set down in statute.  Traditionally, the term “in loco parentis” was used to describe the duty of care that a teacher has towards a pupil, to the effect that a teacher has a duty to take the same reasonable care of the pupil that a parent would take in those circumstances.

 

“In loco parentis” originally embodied the nineteenth century common law principle that a teacher’s authority was delegated by a parent so far as it was necessary for the welfare of the child. A court held, in 1893, that “the schoolmaster is bound to take such care of his pupils as a careful father would”.  During the 1950s and 1960s, case law was developed further by the courts. In 1955, it was held that “a balance must be struck between the meticulous supervision of children every moment of the day and the desirable object of encouraging sturdy independence as they grow up”. Teachers’ professionalism was recognised by the courts in 1962, where the “standard of care expected of a teacher was held to be that of a person exhibiting the responsible mental qualities of a prudent parent in the circumstances of school, rather than home life”.

 

The current standard of care expected of a teacher is that of a reasonable person in the circumstances of a class teacher. It has been recognised that a teacher’s duty of care to individual pupils is influenced by, for example, the subject or activity being taught, the age of the children, the available resources and the size of the class. Furthermore, it is clear from case law that the standard of care expected is the application of the ordinary skills of a competent professional, the skill and care of a reasonable teacher. If it can be shown that a professional acted in accordance with the views of a reputable body of opinion within their profession, the duty of care will have been satisfied, even though others may disagree.

 

So as teachers, it is our duty to assess the risks, plan for many eventualities (including those curve balls that life sometimes throws), oversee the many and varied activities that our students participate in, rejoice in their successes, commiserate when things don’t go according to plan and bring them home to their parents full of stories of new experiences and with a little more independence and resilience. It’s not that dissimilar to part of the role of being a parent.

 

So as the departure dates approach for my own daughters, I will endeavour not to show that I am anxious, I will revel in their excitement and intrepidation. I will hug them a little tighter and wave them off on their travels. While they are away I will sleep a little lighter but ultimately I am safe in the knowledge that they are in the best hands as they broaden their horizons beyond the confines of the classrooms at Northampton High.

 

Imogen Tansley, Subject Leader Economics and Business

This year at Northampton High School, as part of our outreach programme, we have run the SHINE- ‘serious fun on a Saturday’ project. SHINE is an education charity that gives children the opportunity to acquire the skills and confidence they need to turn their potential into success at school and beyond. The charity assisted us in providing ten workshops to twenty-four Year 5 girls from local primary schools.

The workshops cover a variety of subjects including geocaching, drama, forensic science, water works challenges, Atomic Science and engineering to name but a few.
These sessions have either been presented by external experts or school staff have volunteered their time and the project has been coordinated at the School by Claire Tilley, Physics Technician.

Below is an account of one of the sessions which was run by Anne Buxton, Librarian and Leona Heimfeld, English/Film Teacher.

Anne Buxton, Librarian

When I volunteered to run a SHINE session in Spring 2016 I hadn’t any idea what sort of session I would deliver. However, after a very successful summer term shadowing both the Carnegie and Greenaway book awards (the latter with girls in the Junior and Senior School) it seemed an obvious activity to try with the girls during my session with them in November.

The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal was established in 1955, for distinguished illustration in a book for children. It is named after the popular and highly influential nineteenth century artist known for her fine children’s illustrations and designs. Awarded annually, the Medal is the only prize in the UK to solely reward outstanding illustration in a children’s book. Previous winners include Levi Pinfold, Raymond Briggs, Shirley Hughes, former Children’s Laureates, Quentin Blake and Anthony Brown, and current Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell. In school we shadow the award in real time over a number of weeks trying to work out who we think the overall winner should be and then waiting to find out if the judges agree with us at the awards ceremony in June! Marks are awarded out of ten for artistic style, format, the synergy of illustration and text and overall visual experience.

As I would have just over an hour with the girls it seemed sensible to make this a timed activity, in effect, speed dating with picture books! Ms Tilley divided the girls into groups and each group had an attached member of staff or sixth former. One of the Sixth Form became our time keeper, each book being allocated six minutes to be read and swiftly judged. The girls rose to the occasion, quickly understanding what was expected and making very perceptive comments about the books.

The girls’ overall favourite was There’s a Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins which “Reminds us to share. Shows us not to hold a grudge” –   Eleanor.

The actual winner, The Sleeper and the Spindle written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell, was also popular but did divide opinion. The girls weren’t always sure about a Queen going on an adventure and leaving the Prince behind!

Mrs Heimfeld – English/Film Teacher

The second part of the session aimed to develop engagement with the books into a creative act. Equipped with their evaluations, the girls set out to make a film trailer for an imagined movie of the books. First, each group decided what genre the film would encompass (romance, adventure, fairy tale or comedy) and chose a suitable background and music. Next ideas were story boarded, considering how to best convey the plot and the spirit of the illustrations. The production was cast, a director chosen, and locations were scouted. Then they took the iPads and with just half an hour to complete the projects, began filming. The results were imaginative and faithful to the books, with the girls translating the often subtle and particular nuances of the illustrations into moving pictures.

Sources:

https://northamptonhigh.fireflycloud.net/film/shine-greenaway-prize-films

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/