Summer School 2021
During the summer holidays, new Year 7 students at Northallerton School & Sixth Form College took part in our Five Amazing Days of Summer School programme to prepare for September.
Over the course of the week, students had the chance to get involved in a wide range of activities to help bridge the gap from primary to secondary school.
Mornings began with chair yoga, followed by core subjects English, maths and science, building on key skills that students will need in September. In the afternoons, students took part in a reciprocal reading session and enrichment activities. Finally, students had the opportunity to get involved in a range of sports including tag rugby, hockey, basketball and netball.
The whole week took place in our new state-of-the-art Sixth Form Centre on Brompton Road.
Feedback from parents was very positive, and included the following comments:
‘’I am extremely grateful for the opportunity my son has had to attend Summer School. I have seen a big difference in his confidence. He has really enjoyed his lessons, making new friends and meeting some of his teachers.’’
“My son has come home absolutely buzzing. It has definitely eased his anxieties about starting secondary school and boosted his confidence.’’
“I’m very pleased with everything so far. The quick response from staff has been amazing and makes me feel at ease.”
Vicki Rahn, Headteacher, said:
We have really enjoyed getting to know the Y6 students who attended our Summer School. I am very proud of the students for their excellent conduct and high levels of engagement. There has been a very positive atmosphere all week and it has been great to see lots of new friendships develop.
Anna Cox, Assistant Head, said:
Our Summer School was a great success. The children, the 6th form helpers and the staff all thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other and learning together. We had amazing support from the community, Proper Tasty kindly provided delicious lunches and Marks and Spencer donated fruit for our morning snacks. It was lovely to watch the children grow in confidence and enjoy their new school.
National Summer Schools guidance states “Pupils leaving primary school this year may have missed a significant proportion of key stage 2 face-to-face teaching and therefore missed valuable preparation for secondary education. They are likely to need additional support with English and maths, for example, to make it easier for them to access the secondary curriculum. A summer school gives an opportunity to offer that face-to-face support before they start a new school.”
Our aim is to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the children’s learning and progress.
The key indicators of a successful transition programme (from the Department of Children, Schools and Families report on transition, 2008), are that the children will:
- Develop new friendships and improve self-esteem and confidence
- Settle so well into their new school life that parents have no concerns
- Show an increased interest in school and school work
- Get used to new routines and school organisation with ease
- Experience curriculum continuity
To facilitate this, our Summer School provided:
Challenging, engaging and tailored catch-up in maths, English and science and enrichment activities to boost confidence and resilience so that the children who attended started secondary school in a better place, more able to be the best they can be.
Summer School took place from Monday 16th to Friday 20th August. We asked our partner primary schools which of their students would benefit from summer school, forty students attended.