New Basics Curriculum
In 2011 Collegiate changed the way students learn. They teach students in a way that no other school in Blackpool does. They have are introduced a brand new curriculum in Year 7 called New Basics. It deals with new student identities, new economies and workplaces, new technologies, diverse communities and complex cultures.
The New Basics Curriculum has rigorous standards of the National Curriculum standards whilst still freeing up the curriculum offer to ensure personalised learning is paramount.
This will change the way students learn. Rather than traditional teaching methods and routines of students going to teachers, teachers will come to the students. The students will be taught in "Pods" of 45 with three specialist teachers with them at any one time, always led by their "Pod Teacher" who will stays with the students for the majority of the week. There are similarities with the Primary School model and should enable a smooth transition from Primary to Secondary, although the standard of work in the schemes reaches GCSE level and beyond at times.
A large part of the curriculum is enabling students to learn for themselves, They managed to confirm some exciting guest speakers to meet our students so they can openly ask questions and take notes on an iPod Touch mobile digital device which each student is supplied with about their presentations.
Gill Smith, Deputy Headteacher has overseen the introduction, development and launch of the pods in September 2011 and is excited by the year. “Our students will be better equipped to cope in today’s fast paced and ever changing world. They will direct, drive and track their own progress, with rigorous targets set at every opportunity. Not only do they have to demonstrate their learning in all the National Curriculum subjects, but they also need to prove they have skills for life and the ability to work well with others. Pod teachers will ensure that the curriculum is personalised to meet the needs of every student, and will plan activities and support that will enable all students, whatever their ability, to succeed and achieve. Specialist teachers of all subjects will teach in the pods to deliver sessions through ‘Rich Tasks’ - rigorous challenges with a real-life outcome at the end.”
Read more about this topic: Collegiate High School, Blackpool
Famous quotes containing the word curriculum:
“If we focus exclusively on teaching our children to read, write, spell, and count in their first years of life, we turn our homes into extensions of school and turn bringing up a child into an exercise in curriculum development. We should be parents first and teachers of academic skills second.”
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)