School Blog

The Rowan tree outside my classroom has just started to show signs of life. It is not the first tree to blossom in the spring but it is one of my favourites because they have, what garden centres nationwide would describe as, “Three seasons of interest!”. It sits next to another tree which I think (having trawled multiple dendrological websites), is a Northern Capalta, more commonly known as an Indian Bean Tree, which also offers an impressive floral display in late spring and follows this up with the production of abundant slender seed pods which look like runner beans. I have grown particularly fond of these two individual trees because they have framed the view from my classroom for the last 11 years. The bright green buds that burst forth from the Rowan at this time of year, are a sure sign that spring has officially sprung and warmer climes are on their way. Today, as I write this, there is not a cloud in the sky and the hopeful, watery warmth from the March sun promises a very different outlook on this season from the sudden and somewhat aggressive flurries of snow that hit us a fortnight ago.

As a keen gardener, I love this time of year. The reappearance of daffodils with their hopeful yellow glow, or feathery shoots from the peonies reassuring us that they have survived another cold and wet winter are wonderfully affirming that new life is on its way. For many of my students however, this time of year is not as joyful. The looming exams that will start in earnest after the Easter break are a hurdle that must be faced head on for all our GCSE and A Level pupils. A certain level of concern, and even anxiety, is natural and to be expected at this time of year as they prepare for these important assessments. However, there are things that can be done to alleviate some of this worry.

Getting outside and reconnecting with nature is an effective and easy method of reducing some of the anxiety associated with exams. There is a reason that GPs and other medical professionals are starting to prescribe time outside to their patients. Not only for physical exercise and fresh air, but also for positive mental health and wellbeing. You do not have to be particularly green fingered to enjoy the positive impact of getting outside and even sitting in the garden for half an hour can be hugely calming and rewarding.

There is plenty of available research around the positive impacts of plants on our wellbeing. Horticultural therapy, sometimes referred to as ‘Plant Therapy’, is a technique that relies on plants and gardening to help people overcome health issues such as high blood pressure and memory disorders. It can also greatly help those battling depression, anxiety, addiction, and for survivors of abuse. This form of therapy is connected to the concept of ‘biophilia’, which is the idea that people are genetically connected to nature and plant life. The goal of horticultural therapy, or ‘Plant Therapy’, is to help patients build self-confidence, social connections, increase compassion, and get out into nature more frequently. Watching the latest David Attenborough series, which focuses on the British Isles, I am reminded of the beauty that is on our doorstep and would actively encourage anyone to get outside and explore and enjoy the benefits of reconnecting with our natural environment.

Many studies have been conducted to prove that plants have therapeutic effects on people. One clinical study in particular found that people who care for plants tend to be more compassionate and empathetic towards those around them. Additionally, further research by George Berreto (et al, 2017) published with the National Library of Medicine, reinforces that this form of therapy has a positive impact on anxiety and can improve overall mental health and wellness. Some universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, continue to see positive results in research that gardening is a productive way to improve mental and emotional health.

Engaging with nature outside of the house has other benefits. As humans, we are not designed to be cooped up inside all day. We need natural light and fresh air. Movement offers us an opportunity to refuel our brains with oxygen and the sunlight helps our bodies to absorb key vitamins that are essential for both physical and mental wellness. 

For those of you with children who are sitting public exams this year, talk to them about their revision timetables. Check in with them that as well as having a sufficiently rigorous grasp on their revision for each subject, they are also scheduling regular and meaningful breaks. Some of these should be outside, away from their screens, away from social media and away from the noise of continuous online interaction. Take a moment to stop and breathe with them outside. Slow the pace completely and reset before the next round of revision kicks in. Not only will this provide them a much needed mental recharge, boost their mood and restore some positivity, it will also make them significantly more effective as learners and ensure that the revision they are completing is high quality and impactful. 

For those of you with children in other year groups, who can perhaps enjoy a more relaxed pace to the Easter holidays and the changing seasons more generally, what activities will you be planning that are outside? They do not need to be extravagant or expensive. A simple walk can do wonders for the soul and offer opportunities for discussion and reconnection with each other, as well as with nature. Encouraging them to learn a new skill outdoors, like gardening, can be incredibly rewarding and offers ongoing activity and interest as we move into the summer months. 

Now, as a Geographer, I am painfully aware that our British weather is not always conducive to enjoying the outdoors. Whilst I would always still encourage donning your wellies and tromping through the puddles on a brisk, if a little soggy, walk, I appreciate that this is not for everyone. If you can’t get outside, or the garden is not an accessible or practical option for you, bring the outdoors indoors. House plants can be an inexpensive but effective way of experiencing similar benefits to being outside. Certainly the popular trend of biophilic design in modern day living, looks as though it is here to stay and again, the research supporting this is wide and compelling. Caring for any living thing, flora or fauna, that will develop and flourish over time provides us with a great sense of achievement and teaches responsibility. Whilst a pet may be impractical for many reasons, a plant that relies on you for survival is a great way to teach children responsibility, without the same impact if things go slightly pear shaped. Even the smallest amounts of plant care, with specimens that are simple to look after and require very little fuss, can help children to appreciate nature, develop compassion and strengthen their skills in empathy. There is no feeling like seeing a new shoot from recently planted seeds, or a fresh leaf from a propagated succulent, or the bright flash of colour from the first flower, because at that point you are rewarded for all the love and hard work that you have put into it. 

Plant Therapy, by Dr Katie Cooper, talks about  why being surrounded by house plants can naturally boost your wellbeing, no matter what your environment. Living in a world full of technology and the ever increasing pace of modern life, tending to and caring for plants, both in and out of the house can offer an escape from the pressures of the daily routine and offer us a deep rooted connection to nature. The mindful nature of caring for house plans or tending to our gardens has also been compared to meditation. The process of focusing the mind on another task and being present in that moment can be wonderfully distracting from anxieties and offer us a much needed break from our screens or our textbooks.

For me, the Easter holidays offer these same moments of peace, tranquillity and reward in the garden. In between the moments of waging a war on the slugs that persistently attack my beloved hostas, I know I will take great pleasure in the methodical and rhythmic actions of weeding, re-planting and general tidying as well as enjoying the mood boosting explosions of colour from the cherry trees and spring flowers that come into their own at this time of year. 

I wish you all a wonderful break over the Easter period, when it comes at the end of next week, and I hope that it offers you all a chance to recharge after a busy and high energy term. Very best of luck to those preparing for exams and I hope that as part of that preparation you are able to get outside, or reconnect with nature in your own way so that you are your best selves for the GCSEs and A levels when they start in May.

Mrs Kneen
Deputy Head Pastoral

Warning! The following blog was written by Artificial Intelligence*

*Actually, only part of this article has been created using ChatGPT, an app developed by OpenAI, designed to respond to text-based queries and generate natural language responses. I started the blog by asking ChatGPT how Artificial Intelligence (AI) might impact positively on education and help teachers to work on a more developmental level with students. Can you work out which paragraphs have been left as originally produced by the bot? There are 3 of them and I’ll reveal all at the end!

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise the way we learn and teach, bringing about significant positive impacts on education. However, as AI becomes increasingly integrated into the classroom, it may also pose dilemmas for teachers trying to differentiate between real student work and that produced by machine learning.

One of the most significant ways AI can benefit education is through personalised learning. With AI, teachers can gather and analyse data on each student’s learning style, strengths, and weaknesses, allowing them to tailor their teaching to meet individual needs. Moreover, AI can also help teachers save time on repetitive tasks such as grading assignments, leaving them with more time to focus on teaching and interacting with students.

This is not a new concept and the use of AI assistants is already widespread to help with answering simple, repetitive questions or by marking multiple choice assessments etc., all of which ‘allows teachers to dedicate their saved time to higher-value work’ (Goel & Polepeddi, 2016). However, additionally, AI can help teachers to identify struggling students by analysing data over time, finding patterns and areas of weakness. This information can then be used to help teachers to meet each student’s unique needs, improving overall performance. Currently in most schools, this work is still relatively time intensive for teachers and administrators, and requires grades and other data to be input manually once papers have been marked (also manually).

So, in theory, by moving to AI, increased efficiency can lead to a more productive and fulfilling teaching experience. Beyond the purely mechanical processes of grading and storing data, it can also help teachers to create more effective and efficient learning materials that are tailored to each student’s learning style and pace. One such tool is Education Copilot which enables teachers to ‘generate lesson plans & other educational materials in seconds’. As with other industries, then, AI can take some of the grind out of the day-to-day nature of teachers’ work and give them back time and energy to be spent on the individual learning needs of the students. Furthermore, it also has the potential to help students to stay motivated to continue learning by delivering more immediate feedback that allows them to identify areas of improvement in the moment.

However, as AI becomes more prevalent in education, it may also pose dilemmas for teachers. One of the most significant concerns is how to differentiate between real student work and that produced by machine learning. AI-powered tools can generate high-quality essays, reports, and other assignments, making it difficult for teachers to distinguish between authentic student work and that produced by machines.

This raises concerns about academic integrity and could potentially undermine the value of the work all students produce, with or without AI intervention. Effectively, if students can produce high-quality work without actually putting in the effort, it could lead to a devaluation of education and limit the skills students develop through their studies. Indeed, the Australian education ministry has tried to ban AI from schools altogether, claiming it is essentially cheating.

So far, nothing particularly surprising you might think. However, while the prospects for AI are certainly promising, according to the Seo, K., Tang, J., Roll, I. et al. in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, ‘the impact of AI systems on the culture of, norms in, and expectations about interactions between students and instructors are still elusive’. This is because relationships are at the heart of any learner-teacher interaction and the quality of personal communication and human support that lead to trust and freedom of thought, cannot be replicated by a machine.

In conclusion, AI has the potential to help teachers work on a more human level by reducing the time-consuming elements of their work that do not impact on improving performance. By automating administrative tasks, grading, and providing personalised feedback, AI can help teachers create a more effective and efficient learning environment that benefits both students and teachers. By leveraging the benefits of AI, we can create a more personalised and engaging education system that meets the needs of all students.

No, actually in conclusion, it seems to me that the news about AI is essentially quite good, as long as we can educate students about its use as a tool to enable us to make the most of our humanity in our day-to-day work and interactions. Where it is used as an assistant, it can improve our impact because it can build solid foundations from which detailed analytical and imaginative work can spring. It does not replace this overarchingly creative role for human beings because it can only really gather information, like an electronic magpie; it does not create anything new, as such. This is true not only for the text that Chat GPT produces, but also for the artwork that the image generator Dall-E (also developed by Open AI) creates.

And, in any case, the fight-back from (real) content creators is already beginning. According to Bloomberg Law, nascent legal cases in the US ‘could limit the number of images the tools [like Dall-E] ingest for training, ultimately affecting the content that they produce’. I wrote an assembly recently for the Sixth Form about French philosophy and asked Dall-E for its generous help with creating a picture of a ‘kind French philosopher’. His image now sits at the top of this blog. Is it just me, or does he have a passing resemblance to Johnny Depp?

 

References

Goel, A. K., & Polepeddi, L. (2016). Jill Watson: A virtual teaching assistant for online education. Georgia Institute of Technology.

https://educationcopilot.com/

Seo, K., Tang, J., Roll, I. et al. (2021) The impact of artificial intelligence on learner–instructor interaction in online learning. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 18, 54

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/23/queensland-public-schools-to-join-nsw-in-banning-students-from-chatgpt

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/16/the-stupidity-of-ai-artificial-intelligence-dall-e-chatgpt

https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/first-ai-art-generator-lawsuits-threaten-future-of-emerging-tech

*Paragraphs 1,2 and 8 were written by Chat GPT

This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme #EmbraceEquity has invited the school community to reflect on the role of women in society, and urged us to work towards creating a world in which gender is no longer a barrier to success. 

Observed since the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world, which saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies – IWD started in earnest in 1911, and remains an important moment to continue the advance of women’s equality today. 

Celebrated on 8 March, IWD is about women’s equality in all its forms. It is also an official holiday in many countries including: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. In Germany, Berlin’s parliament approved a bill in 2019 to make International Women’s Day a public holiday. Whether you feel this should be a global holiday or not, IWD is here to stay.

Here in school, we started the week with Dr Lee’s powerful assembly titled ‘The Power and Influence of Women’ to kick off our celebrations. Dr Lee reflected on this year’s theme – to give equity a huge embrace. Staying with the theme, our termly workshop with the school’s governing body this week focused on diversity and inclusion, and the importance of equality in a wider sense for our whole school community.  

The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably. As a linguist, I am fascinated by the etymology of words. Etymologically, the root word equality and equity share is aequus, meaning ‘even’ or ‘fair’ or ‘equal’, leading to equity being from the Latin aequitas, and equality from aequalitas. However, despite these similarities, equity and equality are inherently different concepts. 

As a starting point, the basic definition of the words is important. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities, whereas equity recognises that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. 

Equality focuses on providing all genders with equal opportunities, such as a woman’s right to vote. IWD strives to endorse the belief that women should belong in a global culture that actively promotes and supports them in all aspects of their life, from education to the workplace to health. Gender is intersectional, and women as a group are truly diverse. 

By embracing equity, we can create a world where women and girls are valued and empowered to reach their full potential. Girls’ schools play an important role in promoting equity by providing a safe and supportive environment where girls can develop their skills and talents without facing gender-based or -biased barriers. 

Equality-based solutions to social issues may believe in impartiality, and that there should be no difference in services and policies. However, equity-based solutions take into account the diverse lived experiences of individuals and communities, adapting services and policies according to these differences.

Equity is a long-term and sustainable solution, and is a process for addressing imbalanced social systems. Girls’ schools, including Northampton High, help to level the playing field by providing girls with a nurturing and enabling space for girls to pursue their passions and succeed in their chosen fields.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

Childhood school memories are precious.

They stay with us for a lifetime.

That’s why school residential trips are special. They give our pupils experiences that will be remembered fondly and develop their learning.

The girls at Northampton High School get the chance to participate in overnight trips from Year 3 onwards. These trips encourage our girls to step out of their comfort zone and embrace the world without their parents. For many children, the Year 3 trip is the first time away from their family, which aids social development through creating bonds with their classmates, using initiative to problem solve, and allowing freedom of choice in a safe environment. It helps to develop:

• Independence
• Time management skills
• Ways of supporting classmates

The Year 3 trip helps children learn basic everyday skills such as making a bed, being responsible for their own belongings, sitting at a table and eating their dinner with friends, learning to set the table for dinner, keeping their bedroom tidy, eating a healthy meal, going to sleep at a reasonable time so that they wake up the next morning, ready to have a positive day. Although this last one often happens after the first night!

The focus for the residential trips in Year 5 and Year 6 is completely different. The girls face challenges and achieve things that they did not think possible. This approach gives them a confidence boost they can take into other areas of their life and learning.  Crate-stacking is a fun team activity where they work together to build a huge tower of crates while standing on the top in Year 5, while Year 6 use strength and determination in an exhilarating dragon boat race on water. Our hope is that the girls emerge from their residential trips changed to some small degree. A small step towards developing into their truest and best selves whilst even more prepared for the exciting world in which we live.

And having created those incredible memories that you remember for the rest of your life.

Mrs Smith
Class 4N Teacher

Year 13 students are finishing their A Level mocks today. It marks the culmination of months of effort, with the last few weeks, in particular, characterised by a quiet determination in the Common Room, as students have worked to get themselves into the best possible position to perform well. They are to be congratulated on their focus, which will no doubt bear fruit in the summer exams.

Over the half term break, I was thinking about the degree to which our students ­– supported by teachers and working hard themselves – aim to control the outcome of their exams, to what extent this is feasible and why that matters. My thoughts were prompted by reading a book by the sociologist Hartmut Rosa, The Uncontrollability of the World. I wanted to share a couple of those thoughts with you, as they have helped me to revisit some of the guidance we might offer our Sixth Form students.

In his book, Rosa argues that modernity is characterised by a desire for control and mastery: “Everything that appears to us must be known, mastered, conquered, made useful […] Lurking behind this idea is a creeping reorganisation of our relationship to the world that stretches far back […] but in the twenty-first century has become newly radicalized […]”​. We try to eliminate risk, increase productivity, extend our reach, expand our skills and powers, in what Rosa describes as an “aggressive relationship to the world”. At the same time, however, he notes that the more we do so, the more we find our control slipping away: the “controllable world mysteriously seems to elude us or to close itself off from us, becoming mute and unreadable […] ultimately constitutively uncontrollable”. As a very everyday example, we might think of the way in which the ‘marked as read’ feature of WhatsApp gives us greater knowledge, but might also increase anxiety and highlight our lack of control while the read message remains unanswered…

For Rosa, the reality is that our world is fundamentally uncontrollable and that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing (he cites as an example from his childhood the joy of unexpected snowfall). When it comes to exams, however, it is more than reasonable to try to control the outcome as best you can through excellent preparation and consistent effort. But, given the uncontrollability of the world – a bad night’s sleep, a question that throws you – I would want to highlight the importance of making key decisions dependent on one’s values and meaningful intentions, more so than on particular outcomes. When thinking about life after school, for example, perhaps we might do well to ask questions such as, how do I see myself contributing to the world around me in the future? how do I want to spend my time? what matters to me? what kind of a person do I want to be? If we have answers to those questions, we may be better able to respond with purpose to any situation, whatever unexpected things life might throw our way. You might say it’s a way of taking back control.

Mr Viesel
Director of Sixth Form

Dr Alex George – TV doctor, Youth Mental Health Ambassador to 10 Downing Street and author of Children’s Book ‘A Better Day’ – explained his Top Five Tips for Good Mental Health and Wellbeing. His number one Top Tip? Get outside!

Whether it’s the rows of small wellies lined up, anticipating a fresh coating of mud or the hustle and bustle of children eagerly pulling on their waterproofs, ready to head down to Forest School, here at the Junior School at Northampton High, our passion for the outdoors is evident!

But why is it so important?

In recent years, we have welcomed more awareness of the importance of mental health, including children’s mental health. Since 2015, February has brought with it Children’s Mental Health Week. This year the theme was ‘Let’s Connect’ as it is known that, when we make meaningful connections with others, we stand a greater chance of holding the tools and resilience to be able to navigate the challenges that can affect our emotional wellbeing.

But did you know that there is increasing evidence to suggest that creating connections with nature can also have a significant positive impact on our mental health? A study conducted by the Government adviser for the natural environment, Natural England, found that ‘people who spend at least 120 minutes in nature a week are significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological well being than those who don’t visit nature at all’.

Sadly for many, modern-day life brings obstacles when it comes to children accessing the outdoors for extended periods. Busy roads, concerns of ‘stranger danger’ and fewer green spaces are just a handful of reasons why many children simply do not have the same opportunities to ‘play out’ as previous generations might have done.

Therefore, we feel very fortunate to have such a fantastic calm and peaceful woodland area and we are proud that all year groups – from Nursery through to Year 6 – use it regularly for their Forest School sessions.

Here are just a few reasons why spending time outdoors and specifically Forest School, is beneficial for children:

Confidence and Self-Esteem – Forest School presents learners with opportunities to take part in challenging activities. By encouraging children to step outside of their comfort zones, a whole host of skills are utilised and refined, including collaboration, problem-solving, concentration, perseverance and ultimately the opportunity to be successful! These transferable skills can then filter into other areas of their lives, promoting an increased sense of confidence and higher self-esteem in children.

Exercise – Many of us feel great after a visit to the gym or a jog round the park. It’s well known that exercise is one of the most effective ways to encourage the release of endorphins – the feel-good hormone. For children, at Forest School, many of the activities are a great source of exercise – jumping in puddles, rolling tyres, climbing trees, building dens – they all help to raise heart rates and contribute to the development of strength and coordination.

Decreased Cortisol – Have you heard of Forest Bathing? Far from being an activity that requires a swimsuit and a towel, this ancient Japanese mindfulness ritual also known as shinrin yoku is gaining popularity as a way to escape hectic modern-life by immersing ourselves in nature. This practice is actually considered so powerful that in some countries it is prescribed by medical professionals as a way of helping people experiencing conditions such as anxiety or depression. Imagine viewing sunlight dappled through green leaves, listening to gentle birdsong, smelling the scent of wildflowers…It is believed that spending time in a natural environment, particularly around trees, results in decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Forest School provides children with the opportunity to do just that. To escape the stresses of everyday life, just for a little while.

Improved Sleep – We all sleep that little bit better after burning off some energy in the fresh air and the same goes for children. Better quality sleep brings improved levels of energy, concentration and positivity the next day, promoting feelings of happiness and allowing us to learn more effectively.

Fun and Friendship – Is there any better pathway towards happiness than having fun? The sounds of chatter and laughter tells us that for children there is no doubt about it: the simple pleasure of being outdoors is incredibly enjoyable. It seems that playing with others and getting muddy is just wholesome good fun and who better to do this than your peers? The connections children make with others during the shared experience that is Forest School, promote strong bonds with others and help encourage the development of friendships.

Of course, it is important to note that the factors that affect emotional wellbeing are multifaceted and complex. Therefore it is essential that children experiencing significant challenges with their mental health should access relevant support. However, if we can all spend a little time outdoors, we will all reap the benefits!

Dr Alex George’s Top Five Tips for Mental Health and Wellbeing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqcCf8DqIy8&t=36s

How can nature benefit my mental health? https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/nature-and-mental-health/how-nature-benefits-mental-health/

Two hours a week outside is important for health and wellbeing: https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2019/07/12/two-hours-a-day-outside-is-vital-for-health-and-wellbeing/

If you would like to know more about Forest Bathing, Forestry England has some great resources: https://www.forestryengland.uk/resource/forest-bathing-home-activity-sheets

Mrs Cartlidge
Class 6 Teacher

 

Careers advice has changed a great deal since I was at school. It has probably, dare I say, changed a great deal since the majority of you, as parents, were at school as well. I don’t know what your individual experiences of this were like, but I know mine was not great. 

Back in the early 2000’s careers advice was limited to a paper survey that asked a range of questions about your preferences for working environments. Questions such as, “Do you like working with children?” or “Do you like working outside?”, were all answered on a form using a pencil to fill in the little check boxes for either a positive or negative response. Ironically, I distinctly remember answering “No!” to the question about working with children! I also remember the outcome of my questionnaire. It was ‘Park Warden’. The idea of being a park warden now seems rather idyllic and romantic, like something out of a good novel, but at the age of 15, I couldn’t think of anything less inspiring. I wanted to be a Vet, or a Lawyer, or the next David Attenborough, not maintaining rhododendrons in the rain and telling people to “get off the grass!”

Back then, as there had been for many years, there was a much greater emphasis on finding a career, getting into it and sticking with it until retirement at 60. At this point you would be presented with a gold watch for your years of dedicated service, and sail off happily into the sunset. Nowadays, this could not be further from reality. Aside from the change to the retirement age, pushing closer each year towards 70, the current generation of students in the UK, and those that follow, will have a significantly more varied career path than students who have gone before them. They will climb their careers ladders by hopping between companies, building up their networks and developing their experience portfolios. Research suggests that over 40% of the jobs that the current cohort of 14-17 year olds will go into, don’t even exist yet. The dynamic nature of our planet, and the increasing speed in which we are required to adapt to change, means that we are preparing teenagers and young adults to enter the world of work with somewhat limited information on what opportunities might be available to them. A little worrying perhaps, but very exciting!

Preparing students for such a transition from the tight structure of British education to the world of work, where there are multiple uncertainties, is therefore something that schools must carefully consider. Here at the High School, careers education is carefully embedded across the curriculum from an early age. We start by looking at ourselves and identifying who we are, what strengths we possess and where our interests lie. 

As students progress through the school, we look more at some of the practical elements of the world of work. Making choices for their GCSEs in Year 9 is one of the first big turning points for our Senior students and they are ably assisted in this process by both academic and pastoral teams across the school. Workshops on CV building, interview practice and making a good first impression are still relevant and play an important part of our Year 10 careers curriculum. This year group also have the opportunity to engage with some optional 1:1 sessions with an independent careers advisor as part of their preparations for their post-16 education decisions. This forms an important opportunity for them to gain some independent advice and carefully consider their next steps. In order to provide this effectively, we use an external company, CWR, who are local to us here in Northampton. In the 1:1 sessions students will be exploring what they enjoy, strengths and interests and looking at post-16 choices. Together with a CWR Careers Coach, students will put in place a plan and have a clearer path forward, enabling them to feel more confident making their choices.  There will be a further 1:1 session available in the autumn term 2023 for those needing additional support.

 The CWR team have run career workshops for our students for many years.  The workshops are thought provoking and comprehensive, which our students find to be both useful and inspiring, helping hugely to enhance employability skills of our students. The company is headed by its founder, Charlotte Sykes.

Charlotte has extensive experience delivering dynamic training, coaching and recruitment to businesses, individuals and to the education sector.  She has a wealth of industry knowledge, an extensive network and a reputation for the quality of her approach. She is a Registered Professional with the Career Development Institute, a Member of the CIPD, a Member of the Association for Coaching and an Enterprise Advisor for a Northamptonshire School for the Careers & Enterprise Company. She is a Level 6 Qualified Careers Coach, REC Qualified Recruiter and Co-Founder of Be Career Confident.

Then in Year 11, all students are invited to attend the consultations evenings, where staff will host discussions with them and with you as parents. This support is mirrored by the ongoing support throughout the Sixth Form, in guiding students towards potential university places, apprenticeship opportunities and the wider world of work beyond education. 

The period of time between Year 10 and Year 13, often referred to as the ‘Four Year Journey’ by us here at the High School, is an important and exciting time for students. Decisions to be made and choices to consider, but we are here to support our students, and their families, as they embark on this voyage. If you would like any additional information on our dynamic careers programme at Northampton High School, please do reach out to us and we will be pleased to explore this with you. 

Miss Kneen
Deputy Head Pastoral

In a blog, software engineer and net entrepreneur Nartey Ephraim says that the classroom ‘isn’t just a room full of desks and books’. He comments that it is also ‘an online community and a place where students can receive support from their peers and teachers.’ Indeed, schools are moving ever more rapidly towards the wider use of educational technology (or EdTech) to support learning. This is both to deliver content in more experimental and/or adaptive formats, and also to allow students and teachers to connect with each other within and beyond the constraints of the traditional dusty classroom ‘box’. But how do we go about making sure we are using technology in the best possible way to build the kind of classrooms that are fit for the modern world?

EdTech comes with some clear benefits. It allows teachers to develop themes before lessons start, so students can engage with topic information in advance. It encourages and supports shared working and, arguably most importantly of all, it enhances the way feedback and pupil/teacher dialogue can take place. Done well, all of this leads to continual improvement in skills and understanding, and ‘learning without limits’, a golden principle in the High School’s educational philosophy.

We refer to all things digital in school under the banner of Digacy. This programme works from the core principles of digital literacy, including online awareness, computational thinking and the creation of content, to ensure that pupils have the adaptability they will need in the future. You can read more about the programme on our website here. To support this, we use shared platforms in school, Firefly and Google Classroom, which allow us to offer seamless learning approaches, ensuring all pupils have the resources they need and access to their teachers’ expert advice, at home as well as at school.

Our access to the GDST is hugely beneficial as we move forward on our digital journey. We benefit from the support of a dedicated Consultant Teacher for Digital Innovation, Fee Kempton, based at Norwich High School. She works across the Trust, encouraging teachers to develop their skills via Google courses and building awareness of the ways technology can improve teaching and learning. Furthermore, through GDST-led research we retain a laser-like focus on the wider issues that link to technology, specifically the future skills that pupils will need to be successful. In the recent GDST Girls’ Futures Report, girls speak about how they want to be armed with practical tools for the future, knowing that they require the skills to navigate social media, with the ability to tell fact from fiction. They also want roles that make a difference to society and the environment, whilst allowing for family life to flourish.

At its best, EdTech supports these ambitions because it facilitates truly transformational approaches to teaching and learning. By this I mean approaches that cannot be replicated by traditional means, perhaps most significantly, the increased and varied opportunities for collaboration and innovation in the form of apps and software. Indeed, since we introduced the 1-to-1 device policy in 2020, we have expanded the range of additional software that teachers and pupils can use through the Google platform exponentially.

A recent survey of our teachers showed the huge range of applications and platforms in use. These range from the standard Google products for day-to-day sharing and collaboration, through to Mote, software for giving verbal feedback to pupils via Google, to Kahoot, Quizizz, Seneca and Quizlet, which are apps that support rapid understanding checks to take place. Beyond this, teachers reported using applications and add-ons like Language Gym, Sibelius, Times Table Rockstars, Dr Frost, My Maths, Khan Academy, EdPuzzle, EdShed, and many others. Traditional textbooks, too, are gradually being replaced by elements such as AQA/Pearson eTextbooks, Kaboodle, Purple Mash and the Everlearner.

As a result of continued support and training, teacher confidence in using technology has improved markedly since the introduction of 1-to-1 devices and Google Classroom. The graphic below shows teacher responses on a number of areas, with the wider the band the higher the perceived importance, confidence or regularity of use etc. of the element in question. Teachers are very confident in using Google Classroom and Google Apps, and classroom use of EdTech generally is very strong across nearly all areas of the school. Junior school use of Google Classroom is generally restricted to the older year groups and we naturally retain a high degree of importance on handwriting and other more analogue approaches as pupils develop core motor skills. 

Why is it important to find out how teachers feel about EdTech? Well, if educational research has proven anything in the last half century, it is that good teachers are the most important factor in improving outcomes for pupils. Bill Gates agrees, saying ‘technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.’ It is simply not enough to believe in the value of technology to improve the learning environment. To support their pupils properly, schools nowadays have to be both teacher and tech friendly: in Ephraim’s words, the classroom should not feel distant and isolating, ‘it should feel like home’.

Mr Rickman
Deputy Head Academic

References:

https://adiutor.co/blog/lessons-learnt-if-we-teach-today-as-we-taught-yesterday/ Accessed 28/1/2023

Hattie John (2003) Teachers Make a Difference – What is the research evidence? University of Auckland, Australian Council for Educational Research, October 2003

Gates Bill, Quoted in the Independent on Sunday, 12 October 1997

Ask any child the question ‘What is a scientist?’ and the answer may surprise, delight or bewilder you, depending on their age and how well you know them! 

When I posed this question to some of our younger Junior School pupils recently, answers included: ‘they put candles on a cake’, ‘a crazy man who goes on computers’ and most common of all, ‘they make potions’. White coats and goggles were also mentioned quite a lot! 

Perhaps some of this confusion lies in the fact that they do not have a clear idea of what is meant by ‘science’. So I then explained that science is learning about everything in the world around us and scientists do this by observing, describing and experimenting. The word ‘experimenting’ prompted enthusiastic responses such as ‘I like test tubes’, ‘I’ve got a science kit and I do it with my daddy’ and ‘I made elephant’s toothpaste.’  

Science kits received as presents were popular with many of the girls that I spoke to and seem to be a great way of getting children interested in the subject, although the emphasis on mixing ‘chemicals’ to make ‘wow’ things happen means that they often equate science with chemistry, which is only one aspect of a very broad subject.  

Perhaps they are also influenced by what they see on television and online. If you carry out an internet search for images of scientists, you will find endless photographs of people in white coats working in sterile laboratories, mixing liquids or looking down microscopes. 

However, science isn’t only about working in a laboratory. Science is observing the weather, growing plants, comparing rocks, making electrical circuits, describing animal life cycles, classifying materials, testing magnets, learning about healthy eating, separating mixtures and much, much more.    

It is for this reason that Key Stage 2 pupils have their Science lessons in the Junior School Science Room, a deliberate choice of name to avoid the stereotype that science is something that only takes place in a laboratory whilst wearing special clothing to protect you from dangerous chemicals. 

Of course, my observations from talking to some of our girls are anecdotal rather than scientific, but they highlight the need to make sure that our pupils study a broad range of science topics. They also need to be explicitly taught about the links between their lessons and ‘real life’ situations, whilst being encouraged to retain their natural curiosity and ask lots of questions!

Junior School Science Coordinator