St. Mary's RC High School, Chesterfield
Following my attendance at the PTI residential event in November, I was keen for our department to be part of the Schools Programme. The objectives we set varied in size, yet even the small ones are significant in raising standards, as the finer details can often be ignored or overlooked.
One of our main achievements was when Professor Mike Braddick , Head of History at Sheffield University, visited the school and delivered a lecture on ‘Choosing Sides in 1642’. Professor Braddick is an expert in the field of 17th Century English History and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Part of our A level syllabus focuses upon the causes of the English Civil War, and so his expertise was directly relevant.
The majority of our sixth form students attended this afterschool lecture, along with other sixth form students from a local school. I contacted the Head of History at Brookfield Community School, as I was aware that they follow the same exam specification, and twenty of their students also attended.
It was a very successful evening, valued by both staff and students. It was pleasing to involve the students from Brookfield, too, and both departments will now liaise to involve one another in future events. We are keen to maintain this link with Sheffield University and make such lectures more frequent, as it is evident from the pupil response that they enjoyed and valued the experience.
St. Mary's RC High, Chesterfield, is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, comprehensive school for ages 11-18 in Upper Newbold, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, that specialises in the teaching of languages. It received a School Achievements Award for the third time in 2003.