Extended Learning Day 4
On Thursday 3 April, all pupils in school participated in our fourth ‘Extended Learning Day’ of the school year.
A literacy day was the focus of learning for Year 7 that encompassed English, drama and music. Pupils gathered in the hall to hear from children’s whodunnit author, Chris Martin, reading excerpts from his latest book ‘Inky Stevens- The Case of the Abominable Snowball’. Pupils used their questioning and comprehension skills to gather evidence and discover who committed the crime, had the opportunity to develop their dramatic reading skills and also act out scenes from Chris Martin’s books in a variety of creative ways. Another session gave pupils the opportunity to write and perform their own rap, looking at fluency of reading, finding the pulse and rapping to the beat.
Pupils in Year 8 worked with the English, Art and Computing departments to create a Fighting Fantasy style game book. Over the course of the day, they were responsible for designing an investigator who they could use to unravel the mysteries of the gothic mansion they would be creating with the English staff. Once they had mapped out their rooms they had to populate them with life; giving detailed descriptions of the rooms they passed through, their treasures and the fiendish traps and monsters which guarded them. The gothic mansions they ended up designing were filled with more horrors and challenges than those of Eel Marsh House, the gothic novel they studied earlier in the year, and their intrepid investigator, more capable than poor Arthur Kipps.
Year 9 took advantage of the excellent spring weather and wealth of history on their doorstep to embark on a walking tour of Preston City Centre to deepen their understanding of their key stage 3 curriculum and their hometown. Beginning at Preston’s iconic Bus Station, Pupils walked through the Flag Market where soldiers of the Preston’s Pals Battalion met and marched through the city before departing for the trenches of World War One in France and was also the site of the Jacobite surrender in 1715. Pupil continued to further back in time by studying the monument to 1842 strike action by Preston cotton workers, before making their way up Friargate where they examined the structures and organisation of houses which would once have made up the rookeries of Preston. Stopping outside the University of Central Lancashire complex pupils were able to envisage over 800 years of history as they viewed the sites of Preston’s motte and bailey castle of the Norman period and the Friary of the late middle-ages before stepping into the Victorian period by making their way to Winkley Square. The home of suffragette Edith Rigby and statue of the founder of modern policing Robert Peel provided the conclusion of the tour. Throughout the tour, pupils discussed the links and real-life examples they had learned about in class, as well as laying the foundations for GCSE which is an incredibly popular subject in school. As part of the day pupils were also challenged to take on the roles of historians and city planners and they designed proposals to honour famous people from Preston through the creation of statues and renaming of streets and building to further the historical awareness of people in and from Preston.
Year 10 took part in a day focused on exam preparation and data visualisation. Two sessions were delivered by colleagues from UCLAN on revision techniques, focusing on science knowledge and also the reduction of exam stress. Pupils enjoyed these sessions as it helped to focus them for their end of year exams. In the remaining sessions they continued their understanding of data handing which began in their CPSHE lessons as we took part in the Dataface project. Pupils were asked to present data in a creative and visual manner, there were some fantastic ideas on display and we look forward to crowning the winners at a later date.
Finally, Year 11 pupils spent the day focused on mathematics. Pupils completed two revision lessons, with all revision was based on the topics included on their third mock examination which was completed in the final two periods of the day.
Furthermore, as part of our whole school mission week the pupils were given an opportunity during their extended learning day to participate in a reconciliation service. Pupils were led in a time of adoration in front of the blessed sacrament led by Ruth and Immy our chaplaincy coordinators. The three Franciscan sisters of the Renewal and a number of priests from our diocese were available for conversations or for the sacrament of reconciliation. Every pupil in the school was individually invited for a conversation or reconciliation during the day and many pupils took part in this opportunity preparing themselves for the celebration of Mass on Friday and as part of their personal preparations during Lent.
Thank you to all staff and visitors for their hard work and support in ensuring our pupils enjoy these broader experiences, and to all pupils for their commitment and enthusiasm.
