St Edward's Chronicle Spring 2018

6 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

The Teddies Curriculum: Using grit and determination to make the most of academic challenge

‘Grit’ is a word with which all Shells should now be familiar. Its role in the lively academic life of the School is the focus of one of two key academic sessions in the Shell Enrichment programme. We spoke to Head of Shells, Milly Pumfrey, to get to grips with grit and to find out what it can do for us.

Tell us more about Shell Enrichment Activities.

learning when they go beyond the point of their own understanding and may suddenly feel adrift. The point of the session is to explain this process to pupils and to help them to navigate these uncharted waters. All learning means stepping into the unknown, and it is a fundamental part of the Teddies Curriculum that our pupils are equipped to embrace this journey. Emphasis is placed on helping the children to identify their own personal response to the challenge of the unknown. How does it make them feel? Frustrated, angry, worried, exhilarated? Pupils react differently to such emotions. Some will give up, some will distract their peers, some will become agitated – others will fly, enjoying being stretched.

The twice-weekly sessions are designed to introduce Shells to the wide range of opportunities available at Teddies – everything from archery to chess and current affairs to filmmaking. Importantly, Shells are deliberately not grouped into Houses or Forms, allowing them to make even more new friends and connections across the year group. Two sessions are dedicated to explaining the School’s academic ethos, introduced to Shells as the Teddies Curriculum. What happens in the first session? The first session is based around a classroom teaching tactic called ‘the pit’ – educational theorists’ description of a stage in pupils’

IQ and talent are not the most important things in learning. As long as you are hard- working and you are motivated, then you can do just as well or even better. Philippa Koh

One failure is a step to understanding. Andrew Rush

Grit is working hard at your worst lessons. William Newson

Lila Howard, Thomas Sheppard, Milly Pumfrey, Edward Crofts