Years 7 and 8
Years 7 and 8 are tutored vertically. On arrival students are placed in mixed age groups of both Year 7 and Year 8 for their tutor periods.
We believe that vertical tutoring creates a better reflection of a “real life community” situation, encouraging Year 8 students to mature and show leadership qualities, by having to accept responsibility and “give back” to others. Older students are able to share their experiences and help to support Year 7 students. In addition, the two year groups are more likely to bond and this is very beneficial socially.
There are sixteen groups in Years 7 and 8. These are sub-divided into four houses – four groups in each house – called Malala, Einstein, Attenborough and Anjelou. The houses are used to create a real sense of identity and students are encouraged to engage in 2-weekly house competitions, based on a wide range of activities and behaviours – competing for points and the House Cup.
We run a two-week timetable, and this allows us to run a structured assembly programme:
Week A – a Vertical Tutoring assembly – all students from Years 7 and 8 attend with their Tutors.
Week B – we run separate Year 7 and Year 8 assemblies – Year 7 on a Monday and Year 8 on a Tuesday – leaving the group not having assembly with their tutors to focus on key events and targets for improvement.