Year 9 students graduate!
Mon 20 May 2019
On Tuesday 14th May, nine of our Year 9 students went to Robinson College to graduate from the Scholars’ Programme. 's Scholars’ Programme is designed to emulate teaching and learning at a highly selective university. The charity recruits, trains and places PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in schools to deliver programmes of university-style tutorials that develop knowledge, skills and ambition. The length of tutorials and the size of groups vary depending on the Key Stage, but never exceed a maximum of six students.
The Programme began with a Launch Trip to UEA in Norwich, where our students met their PhD tutor Matthew Lampitt. They also took part in a variety of learning activities, including their first tutorial. They were given their programme of study which would be based on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in Medieval French Literature)”.
Over the next eight weeks, Matthew spent half a day a week in school delivering two tutorials each time. Our pupils were also required to undertake weekly reading and writing assignments that lead to the completion of an extended assignment which the PhD tutors then mark and provide feedback. The programme finishes with a final 2000 word assignment and a university-style grading. All of our students achieved a 3rd Class or better with 5 students achieving the top grade of a 1st. This is well above their current Key Stage and is in line with an excellent A level grade.
The graduation ceremony is always held at one of the country’s most prestigious universities. Robinson College is one of the more modern of the Cambridge Colleges but equally as beautiful. The students were given a tour of the college including accommodation in the ‘Staircases’ and the big graduate houses. The grounds were stunning and beautiful setting matched the weather for the day perfectly.
Students were treated to a university-style formal dinner which they all enjoyed very much especially the Cambridge Cookies. Our students represented the school impeccably; a special mention goes to Anna and Marloes who volunteered to give a speech about their experience on the day.
The students all loved their journey on the programme with many of them wanting to do it again next year. They loved the opportunity and said that they felt a great sense of achievement on completing the course.
You can read more about the opportunities that this programme brought to our more able students at . Parents and carers were able to sign up for a parents and carers newsletter, which offered useful resources on extra-curricular activities, researching universities and university applications.
I am so proud of their achievements and know that these wonderful students have a very bright future ahead of them. Well done all.
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