VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
leading numerous whole school initiatives and supporting other schools in the UK.** For some years, I have been passionate about
the need for a radical shift in the way we educate young people. Our education system has not fundamentally changed since the 1900s, yet we find ourselves in a vastly different world today. Technology and the workplaces that we prepare young people for have changed, but in education, our core practices have not. In 2016, under the auspices of the Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust and with support from The Mercers’ Company, I undertook a major research project, based in the USA. There I visited and examined a number of Expeditionary Learning (EL) schools to see for myself the impact of EL methods on the educational attainment of low-income families. The visit allowed me to reflect on my view of current education practice. It has given me an invaluable insight into curriculum design and a whole school approach to learning using project based curriculum design and real world projects. Briefly, the EL approach is based on ten design
principles that reflect the educational values and beliefs of Kurt Hahn, co-founder of The Outward Bound Trust. These principles also reflect the design's connection to other related thinking about teaching, learning, and the culture of schools. The ten principles emphasise self- discovery, taking responsibility for learning, empathy and caring and the need for both competition and collaboration. They focus on an appreciation of the natural world, and stress the crucial need for solitude and reflection. They are based on inclusivity which in practice means a diverse body of pupils and teachers, encompassing an ethos of compassion and the notion of service to others. EL methods are project-based and involve vertical teams (called ‘crews’) that form the core of all school activities. Having spent time studying how EL works in the USA, and seeing incredible success there, I came back with the belief that this approach could be adapted for use in the UK. A move towards a more rounded and skills based educational experience, relevant to current industrial practices, could I believe, be a huge step forward in closing the progress gap.
What are the issues facing boys in your school? Having identified that some boys in the school, in
April 2017
line with the national pattern, were under- achieving, we began a series of interventions in 2016, with a second scheme in 2017, aimed at bringing boys up to the same level as girls. We have been looking at a number of issues that affect boys more than girls. For instance, resilience appears to dip considerably and the boys struggle with things like extended writing, where they run out of steam. Peer pressure is also a factor, with boys maturing later than girls and being more likely to see learning and working hard as ‘uncool’. In fact, for boys it’s cool to appear that they are dumb, so it’s vital that a positive intervention is able to unlock their potential. Even bright boys at this point tend to do only the bare minimum and a group culture of not bothering and a feeling that ‘we can’t do that’ seems to prevail. So running out of energy, not completing tasks, being unable to rise to a challenge become the norm - and one that is unhelpful for their future prospects. But boys also like to be active and respond very well to positivity so our strategy has been to work from that starting point.
Tell us why you chose to work with The Outward Bound Trust I have long been an enthusiast of the work of The Outward Bound Trust, having taken courses in my youth and having attended 68 courses as an adult. I firmly believe that there are some pedagogies that only succeed outside of a classroom environment. The principles of outdoor education chime and overlap with the EL schools in my research study and I have been working on ways to test their principles out here in the UK. Our strategy since 2016 has involved two
phases so far. The first involved taking 24 boys on a 5-day Outward Bound®
course at The Trust’s
Ullswater centre in the Lake District and leaving a control group of boys with the same school profile at school. Both groups were achieving Level 5 or above Maths and English at Key stage 2 and our strategy has involved taking them on the course between Years 10 and 11. The course was a very high challenge week,
including tasks which had been used on Rolls Royce apprentice groups. We introduced competition between the two groups of 12 boys on the course, working with the idea that the boys feed well off this. We were rewarded with really positive results within the groups. The course worked to develop leadership skills,
and all were involved in evaluation, critique and more peer to peer evaluation. Crucially, we designed tasks which the boys were destined to fail, so that through reflective learning they were encouraged to actively learn from the failure of the group. Learning from failure is a challenge, admitting to errors and discussing these does not necessarily come naturally to these boys, but we wanted to show them failure can lead to trying harder next time and subsequent success. Back at school more work was done to embed
the course, working with Oriel College, Oxford, learning about apprenticeships, the value of further and higher education and their future vision and plans. The course has given them the vision to think mid to long term, where their sights are normally short-term. We have been tracking results of both sets of boys and so far the outcomes appear very positive. Our Phase Two intervention in 2017 has
involved the same boys in total immersion in EL techniques. We have continued to work with Oriel College and run ‘extended projects’ relating to the boys’ futures. These are for example community projects that help them prepare for employability. They have become used to critiquing each other’s work, learning craftsmanship, original ideas, creativity and they will be organising a student-led conference as well as running their own parents evening.
What outcomes have you seen from working with the Trust? Last year’s Outward Bound course had a massive impact on Maths and importantly on English, raising aspirations, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving through ‘group read’ sessions. We are convinced that the course is the pivotal point of this activity. Our vertical tutor groups are like ‘crews’, and we install the ethos that the weakest team member is as important as the strongest so it’s all about collaboration. This is an important element, encouraging an open mindset. Doing this programme with Outward Bound is really important to our school and it’s intrinsic to the success of the programme. It’s the match that starts the fire that provides the burning ambition for our boys and their future.
* Social Mobility Commission – Low income pupils’ progress at secondary school’, 27 February 2017
** Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship 2016 – The Impact of Expeditionary Learning Schools in Inner City areas in the USA by Jon Clarke
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