A helping hand on the learning journey
There is no one-size-fits-all in education. Some students need assistance to come to grips with literacy and numeracy, while some cruise along doing exactly what they need to in order to get by. Others soak up everything they are taught in the classroom and are always on the lookout for a new challenge. Our subject specialist teachers work hard to meet each boy’s needs, but sometimes boys need something extra, and that is where a referral to the Learning Centre or plugging into Advanced Learning opportunities can make all the difference. Learning Centre Head of Department Gill Kilpatrick and her team – teachers Shelly Jackson, Sarah Loughnan, Kate Morris, Alexandra Robertson, Jo Wilkinson, and Claire Sparks, plus special assessment conditions co-ordinator Kate Barber – cater for boys who need extra literacy and numeracy support. Sarah, Claire, and Jo focus on Year 9, Kate looks after Year 10, Sarah takes care of Year 11, Gill works with our senior students, Alex concentrates on English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), and Shelly, Claire, and Jo focus on numeracy. “We’re here to support any boy who has an area of need in his learning. Some boys have ongoing needs and work with us the whole time they’re at College. Others just want a bit of extra help at a particular time to fill a gap in their knowledge,” Gill says. Juniors who may benefit from Learning Centre input are picked up in levels testing or through information provided by previous schools. Students can also self- refer or be referred by classroom teachers or parents. “Parents are always welcome to come and talk to us if they have any concerns and we are closely connected to classroom teachers, providing information, learning profiles, and feedback, and always open to discussing boys and their needs,” Gill says. “We care about our students. We understand how frustrating it can be to struggle with aspects of learning and have seen time and time again how individual or small-group tuition can help. It is an incredibly valuable service and makes a real difference in the boys’ lives.”
Making a difference also drives Head of Advanced Learning Emma Bracken, who says curiosity and creativity, which can sometimes be inhibited in a traditional school environment, are key factors of intelligence and indicators of future success. Emma is passionate about nurturing the talents of those boys who want more, working with students who are interested in going beyond the curriculum in any subject or aspect of their learning, and those who want extra opportunities to enrich and enhance their education. She believes the best education is inspirational, aiming to keep that creative spark alive, and encouragoing curiosity while instilling a culture of academic expectation and celebrating academic success. Emma encourages boys to participate in enrichment opportunities outside the classroom. Such activities may include writing competitions, Ethics Olympiads, Da Vinci Decathlons, Model United Nations, and political or philosophical seminars. Boys who seize every opportunity and organise their time so they can fit everything in receive excellent training for life. There are also opportunities within subject areas to be involved in subject Olympiads, Cantamath, and competitions. Which is, after all, what College aspires to be – a place where each boy, whatever his skills or talents, can find a way to be at his best and then leave, ready for life, and ready to take on the world.
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