INTRODUCTION: FREE LEARNING Since the last publication of Thinking Matters, the College has adopted a new timetable in which the length of lessons has increased from 35 to 55 minutes. Along with reducing the time spent running from lesson to lesson, a major reason for the change was to give pupils more time to work independently and to give teachers more time to demonstrate how their subjects apply in the world beyond the classroom and to engage the intellectual curiosity of pupils. In other words, to make Free Learning part of what teachers do every day. Many of our supra- curricular activities, those intellectual activities that exists between the classroom and the co-curricular sphere, no longer take place in the crevices of the timetable or in stolen minutes at break, lunch and after school, but during lessons. The new timetable also afforded us an opportunity to devise a bespoke course for the Upper School, called A level Plus. This course offers in-depth and inter- disciplinary investigations of areas of study pupils are looking to follow at university and are co-taught by teachers from different departments. A level Plus, along with the Upper School Symposium, our Creative Learning Weeks, our Scholars’ Programme and Extended Essays, capture the essence of our Free Learning initiative.
In this booklet, you will read about the ways in which our pupils are pursuing their academic passions across all subjects. We believe these opportunities are enabling them to develop their creativity, independence and sate (or perhaps extend) their thirst for knowledge. The possibilities are endless; bounded only by the boys’ own motivation. Whether it be showing qualities of leadership by running events, debating with others from different cultures, or participating in national competitions, everything our pupils undertake is serving to broaden their minds and foster resilience and independence of thought. Free Learning has become part of the DNA of the College. We believe that those boys who most enthusiastically engage in Free Learning opportunities perform best in public examinations and are those who are most likely discover a richness in life beyond Dulwich.
D A P King Deputy Master Academic Dr Joe Spence Master of Dulwich College
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