BSF
Peter Rudd discusses his
safe, happy, inspired and more determined than ever to
make a success of their education.”
research into the impact
Certain points need to be borne in mind when
interpreting the findings from these surveys. First, they
were conducted at particular points in time and, although
of Building Schools for the
their timing was logical, it should be remembered that
these are “snapshots” of student attitudes and such
Future on learners
attitudes will clearly change over time.
Second, other factors may have affected student
attitudes, including any pastoral, curricular or staffing
HE MOVE to a new school environ- changes within the school; and third, the survey was
T
ment can have a very considerable only conducted in one school, so there may be factors
impact upon the attitudes and aspira- that affected attitudes that were specific to this school.
tions of secondary school students. Of course it is not possible to attribute a “causal
This was the key finding from a link” between these improved attitudes and the move
“before and after” survey of learners to the new BSF building, but the numbers and levels of
in old and new school buildings, positive findings do suggest a strong association between
conducted in one of the first Building Schools for the move to new surroundings and improvements
the Future (BSF) schools, Bristol Brunel Academy,
by the National Foundation for Educational Research
(NFER).
The evaluation was funded by Partnerships for
Schools, the organisation charged with the delivery of Before
in students’ outlooks regarding their experience and
expectation of school.
It is also worth noting that subsequent evidence
suggests that the students’ improved aspirations were
well-founded: the proportion of students achieving five
BSF, and consisted of before and after surveys of two or more GCSEs at grades A* to C more than doubled
year groups of students in the school. from 30 per cent in 2007 to 62 per cent in 2008.
The before survey was carried out with year 7 and 8
students prior to the opening of the new building at the
end of the summer term 2007, and the after survey was
administered to the same year cohorts (by then years 8
and 9), towards the end of the autumn term.
and after
BSF is of course one of the largest initiatives
affecting secondary schools at this time but, despite
the study, there seems to be a scarcity of independent
evaluative evidence to support schools in making
decisions about BSF and planning their new building
The total number of students who responded to the developments.
first survey was 193, and 203 students responded to There are exceptions of course: some local authorities
the second survey (80 and 84 per cent response rates, are either conducting their own evidence-collecting
respectively). The same questionnaire was used in both Improved attitudes: The interior of Bristol Brunel Academy after its BSF transformation exercises prior to BSF, or considering making use
surveys in order to enable direct comparison. of consultants or researchers to do this for them. In
There was a good deal of evidence to indicate that One survey question that asked students to choose students about the design of the old buildings was to addition, a number of schools are involving stakeholders,
student attitudes had become more positive after the words that were deemed to be descriptive of their old say that there was “nothing” they liked about the old including parents and pupils, in these exercises by
move into the new school buildings. and new school buildings stimulated some particularly buildings. means of questionnaire surveys or discussion groups.
In particular the proportions of students: interesting responses. Likes relating to the new building centred on Whatever method is used, it does seem to be
• Who said that they felt safe at school most or all of As compared with the before survey, the after survey colour and specific physical features, such as the new important to collect the views of students, both before
the time increased from 57 to 87 per cent. showed large increases in the proportions of students sports hall and the provision of lockers. Students’ BSF refurbishment or rebuilding work is put into place,
• Who said that they felt proud of their school who felt that their school buildings were “inspirational”, overall image of the school had also improved. and subsequent to its completion, so that students can
increased from 43 to 77 per cent. “colourful”, “motivational”, “stimulating”, “relaxed”, By the time of the after survey, 31 per cent have an ongoing say about the kind of environment
• Who said that they enjoyed going to school and “comfortable”. of respondents said that they would “definitely” they wish to learn in. SecEd
increased from 50 to 61 per cent. At the same time, there was a reduction in the recommend the school to another student who was
• Who perceived that vandalism was at least “a bit of proportion of students who felt the buildings were thinking of enrolling, compared with only 17 per cent • Peter Rudd is a principal research officer with the
a problem” in their school decreased from 84 to 33 “boring” or “scary”. in the before survey. National Foundation for Educational Research.
per cent. Students were asked by means of an open question, David Carter, executive principal of Bristol Brunel
• Who perceived that bullying was a big problem to list up to three things they liked most and least about Academy, said: “The building is one of the most
Further information
decreased from 39 to 16 per cent. the old and the new school buildings. intelligent I have had the pleasure to work in, and the Visit NFER at www.nfer.ac.uk and access its journal
• Who expected to stay on in the 6th form or to go to The old buildings were deemed to be spacious feedback from the survey supports the evidence that we for teachers and heads, called Practical Research for
college increased from 64 to 77 per cent. and large, but the second most popular response from have on the ground – evidence that suggests students feel Education, at www.pre-online.co.uk
SCHOOL TRIPS
Maths focus: NCETM
Brighton Sea Life Centre, West Sussex
Housed in an underground Victorian building centrally on Brighton’s sea front, the world’s oldest operating
aquarium has 150 species and 57 displays, including a tropical reef that is home to two giant sea turtles, black-
Tracking down prime suspects
tipped sharks, and a shipwreck. It offers education talks on a range of marine subjects. The website offers free
downloads for teachers on food chains, movement, seahorses, seals, where fish live, and other topics.
Subject potential: Science, geography, history, art, environmental education
Mark McCourt
Now imagine trying to solve a similar question
where the prime numbers used are three, four, 10 or
Contact: 01273 604234 and www.sealifeeurope.com
offers some
1,000 digits long? The problem is deemed so difficult
that e-businesses around the world have used the above
principle to encode and secure their emails, finances
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Manchester and Cheshire
Jodrell Bank’s visitor centre is open all year round to the public and for education groups. Highlights include the
engaging ways of
and communications. The sender and receiver can
scramble or decipher information using codes created
famous Lovell telescope, an exhibition showing the effect of trees on the solar system, and a virtual trip to Mars in a
3D theatre. Outside are the Granada Arboretum and a “planet pathway”. The centre welcomes free planning visits
tackling prime numbers
by the multiplication of two large prime numbers.
for teachers and there are downloadable worksheets on the website. Part of Manchester University, Jodrell Bank
Some prime examples
offers A Level physics talks. Jodrell Bank operates from a number of sites in Manchester and south Cheshire. Think back to the last time you taught the objectives 31 is prime, 331 is prime, 3,331 is prime, 33,331
Subject potential: Science, maths, environmental education
below, as outlined in the Framework for Mathematics. is prime, 333,331 is prime, 3,333,331 is prime,
Contact: www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk
• Recognise and use multiples, factors, primes 33,333,331 is prime, so surely 333,333,331 is also
(less than 100), common factors, highest common prime? Well, apparently not. 333,333,331 is 17 x
factors, and lowest common multiples in simple 19,607,843! Who said maths was logical?
Horseshoe Falls to Llangollen, Wales (a walk)
cases; use simple tests of divisibility.
Ideal for spring, this flat, easy two-mile walk is on a canalside path, parallel with the River Dee and the restored
• Use multiples, factors, common factors, highest Take the prime number 73,939,133. Remove any of the
Llangollen Steam Railway. The “falls” are actually a semi-circular weir built by Thomas Telford to feed the Llangollen
common factors, lowest common multiples and digits from the end and the resulting number remains
branch of the Shropshire Union Canal. You can include a visit to Llantysilio Church if you extend your walk by half a
primes; find the prime factor decomposition of a prime. No other known prime can boast this fact.
mile. Check it out first to devise your own worksheet. There is plenty to see. Get your coach to drop you at one end number, (for example 8,000 = 26 × 53).
and pick you up at the other and make sure it takes you past the Pontycyllte Aqueduct en route.
• Use the prime factor decomposition of a number. A good example of the use of prime numbers in
Subject potential: Geography, science, engineering, art, English, environmental education, maths, leisure
How did it go? Did your students show the nature is the evolutionary strategy used by cicadas.
and tourism, PE, religious studies
enthusiasm, intrigue and fascination demonstrated by Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts from
Contact: 01978 860828 and www.deevalleywalks.com
countless number theorists over millennia, or were two to five years. Some species have much longer
the majority quite content at learning definitions, life cycles, such as the North American genus,

facts and a tidy mathematical procedure? It would magicicada, which has a number of distinct “broods”
Pendennis Castle, Cornwall
be unreasonable to expect all students to see what that go through either a 17-year or, in the American
Part of a chain of castles to defend England against the French and Spanish, Pendennis was built by Henry VIII in
has perplexed a large proportion of the great South, a 13-year life cycle.
the 1540s. It was adapted for use during the Civil War and saw active service through to the Second World War. mathematicians over the years, but there must be These long life cycles are an adaptation to
It stands, spectacularly, on the Fal estuary near Falmouth. Pendennis Castle has an education suite with two large, something about prime numbers. predators, such as the cicada killer wasp and praying
child-friendly classrooms, and it offers a range of expert-led hands-on discovery visits. These include The Home
Since Euclid (330 to 275 BC) discovered primes mantis, as a predator could not regularly fall into
Front: soldiers and sirens, in which key stage 3 students learn what life was like at Pendennis in the 1940s, and
and proved that an infinite number exist, the riddle of synchrony with the cicadas. Both 13 and 17 are prime
Cornwall King and Castle, which involves participants joining Lady Fanshawe to explore life during the Civil War.
predicting the pattern and finding a formula remains numbers, so while a cicada with a 15-year life cycle
unsolved. The fact that this accessible series of could be preyed upon by a predator with a three or
Subject potential: Geography, history, art, English, design and technology, engineering, citizenship
numbers has no recognisable order seems to have five-year life cycle, the 13 and 17-year cycles allow
Contact: 0117 975 0720 and www.english-heritage.org.uk/pendennis
driven the maths community to distraction. So is it them to stop the predators falling into step.
possible to engage secondary school students in a
Norwich Cathedral, Norfolk
similar way? Take two different yet related questions: • Mark McCourt is an assistant director at the
The building, which has dominated the Norwich skyline for 900 years, was founded by the Benedictines. An A. Calculate 29 x 31. National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of
architectural gem it is also full of art works. Historical figures associated with the cathedral down the centuries include
B. Which two prime numbers multiplied together Mathematics.
St Fursey, Julian of Norwich, and Edith Cavell. The education team offers many imaginative key stage 3 and 4 sessions,
give 437?
such as Stories in Stone, Cathedral Science Tour, Photography Workshop, Art and Belief, Vestments Talk, and Ways of
Question A is straightforward enough, especially
Further information
Worship. Use the interactive timeline on the website before your visit. The Hostry Visitor and Education Centre is due to
with a calculator. Question B, however, requires a little • The NCETM portal has useful ideas for teaching
more thought, mainly because trial and improvement mathematics: www.ncetm.org.uk
open this year and will enable the cathedral to develop its already impressive education work even more.
is the only way to reach the answer of 19 x 23. • The NCETM Secondary Magazine and its Up2d8
Subject potential: Religious studies, history, art, art history, English, science, maths, engineering
Can you think of another calculation where the Maths newsletter offers articles and resources:
Contact: 01603 218320 (schools officer) and www.cathedral.org.uk
reverse operation is so much harder to calculate? www.ncetm.org.uk/secondarymagazine
SecEd • February 12 2009 19
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