St. Wilfrid's Catholic High School and Sixth Form College
‘“What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”’
Lewis Carroll (1865) We teach in an age where students prefer to read the gossip and fashion-obsessed 'Heat' magazine, rather than enter the magical world of Shakespeare, Dickens or Carroll. The working world requires passionate, literate, outstanding communicators, able to articulate and explore complex ideas and views. So how do we produce a generation of students who have all the skills they need, and enjoy their learning so much that they strive for the highest standards? The PTI aims are key to working towards this goal, and at St Wilfrid’s we are completely aligned with these guiding principles.
Inspiration, enthusing students and having them talk about and share their learning is the way to achieve high standards. Teaching which ‘goes beyond the constraints of exam syllabuses’ is really helping to shape English teaching in our Department and provide students with a much richer curriculum, where they are able to explore and learn in a personalised and exciting way, both in and out of the classroom.
The famous author of ‘Shadowmancer’ and ‘The Doppelganger Chronicles’, GP Taylor, visited our students last year, and will be returning this year. Before he arrived, we worked with the Art Department on a project to explore the use of illustrations and comic strip in his novels, and the students were eagerly anticipating his visit. Following his spellbinding oratory, 150 Year 8 students queued through their lunch hour to get their hands on a signed copy of his novels. It was an absolute delight to watch many pupils crying with laughter at the author’s performance, which conveyed a very clear message: if you wish to succeed in life, then reading and writing are of paramount importance.
We are exploring ways for the entire school community to read more widely and to have a positive attitude to reading. Our ‘Drop Everything And Read’ days are a huge success. The concept is simple. Everyone on the school site, from teachers to students and from site staff to visitors, on the sound of the school bell, drops everything and reads! The event takes place at different times throughout the school year, to show our students that reading is a part of everything that we do and not simply limited to English lessons and visiting the library. The events were a massive success and both teachers and students commented afterwards how refreshing it was to simply stop the normal proceedings of the school day and enjoy ‘a good book!’
St. Wilfrid's Catholic High School, Sixth Form College, Dual Language and Vocational Specialist, is a Roman Catholic mixed comprehensive school for ages 11-18, based in Featherstone, West Yorkshire.