Nurturing lifelong learning

Short, medium and long-term planning, along with prioritisation skills, are essential for high achievement in challenging academic programmes. The time-management strategies our students develop help them work effectively and efficiently, achieving a better balance between high achievement and life outside of academics.

By applying the principles of the 6 Desirable Difficulties and our own '1/3's Approach' during independent learning, our students deepen their understandings, effectively apply what they've learned in real-world contexts and on tests and exams, and retain what they've learned in the long-term, maximising their performance on high-stakes examinations. Our students also effectively monitor their own progress, ensuring a targeted approach to independent learning.

Students sometimes find the pace of the class moves too quickly, or they find it difficult to understand while simultaneously taking notes. Our students preview in advance of lessons to better keep up with the pace of instruction and participate effectively in lessons. Better participators learn more.

Students need to be able to read for varying purposes, depending on subject and how new knowledge will be applied. Our students apply critical thinking skills while they read, and use highlighting and annotating skills to keep track of their thinking and apply it effectively when writing, studying, and performing other academic tasks.

Students frequently 'dive in' to writing tasks without a clear understanding of what high achievement on that task entails. Our students apply a '10-Step Writing Process' that supports them in thoroughly understanding the demands of any writing task, at any level of schooling, and achieve high levels of success through a manageable, effective, step-by-step approach.

Many students are daunted by Maths, believing that challenging Maths problems are simply beyond them. This can be very limiting for ambitious students in an education system where everyone studies Maths until the age of 16, even if they have no intention of studying Maths at university. Our students view, and approach, Maths more like experts, leading to significantly increased confidence and improved performance.

It can be difficult for many students to understand how to maximise the support of teachers who want to help them. Our students view their teachers as allies on their learning journey and leverage their relationships with their teachers to ensure they flourish in school. Where possible, we liaise with classroom teachers to further support this.