On Wednesday 1 February, Northampton High School were delighted to host our first ever Learning Ambassadors Conference, a collaborative event almost 2 years in the making.
For this event, we were delighted to be joined by our friends and fellow GDST member school Oxford High, to present and discuss the findings of 18 months of disciplined and vigorous research. The day began for our students with a whistle-stop tour of the school, in which our Sixth Formers hosted our visitors from Oxford. After an introductory lunch in the dining room, our teams of students were tasked with presenting their research to an audience of their peers and teachers.
Each of the 6 teams took it in turn to present on their topic of choice. From Northampton High; Flo, Tendo and Abhi talked about ‘Learning Characteristics’ with Lilia and Rose discussing ‘How Effective is Google Classroom as a Learning Platform’. From Oxford High, we were treated to thought-provoking presentations on ‘Year 7 Homework Management’, ‘What effects do Rewards Systems have on motivation and ambition’, ‘Exploring how student behaviours in KS3 and 4 impact summative assessments’ and ‘Effective study methods for essay based subjects’.
Each of the 6 teams, made up of students from Year 7 all the way up to Year 13, spoke passionately about their chosen subjects. They articulated their reasonings, what they aimed to achieve, their outcomes and reflections, along with their ideas and proposals for next steps and how they can be implemented – which sparked fantastic discussions amongst the audience. The quality of each of the presentations was outstanding. It was evident that each of the teams, and in turn, each team member, were passionate about their work, and the confident and composed speeches delivered are a testament to all of their hard work and efforts.
After what was an event filled with expression, collaboration and teamwork, we thank all of our amazing groups – from Northampton High and our guests from Oxford High – for creating a memorable afternoon. We are excited to see how the research compiled as part of this conference influences the way that our students learn moving forward!
