Years 8 and 9

The focus of this evening was to inform parents about the experiences their son or daughter will have during the course of either Year 8 or Year 9. The event was opened by Mr Bryon Pearce, Assistant Head of Senior School, who welcomed the parents and stressed the importance of the two years as a way of consolidating learning and generating a sound platform on which to build their learning for the future. The evening progressed with Mrs Hilary Rowark, Assistant Head of Senior School, informing the audience about the way in which St Christopher’s endeavours to provide an experience for the broader development of the student through the concepts of the Global Citizen, the Competent Individual and the Autonomous Learner. Her presentation finished with a brief summary of the structure of the curriculum and key dates for parents to be aware of. Mr Pearce then presented parents with an overview of the work currently been undertaken as a result of the Learning2Learn initiative. This initiative develops a range of transferable skills to aid learning.  To emphasise this, parents were entertained by a short video ‘Shift Happens’ which looks to the future and the challenges our students may meet in the years to come. Mr Pearce then went onto inform parents about work currently being undertaken in the classroom with regard to pioneering research by Mr John Hattie. Mrs Rowark briefed parents on exciting developments related to the concept of Mindset and how research has identified the way in which our personal beliefs about ability can hinder or further progress. Mr Wilson, Head of Senior School, made the closing address.