FEATURE FOCUS: THE SUMMER LEARNING GAP
The importance of continuing to learn through the summer months
Do you remember when you were a child?
There were usually three key dates in the year that you circled on your calendar in permanent marker because you couldn’t wait for those days to arrive. For most children these were always: your birthday, Christmas, and the start of the summer holidays! The majority of students cannot wait until mid
to late July of each year when they get six weeks of what they perceive to be stress-free time away from their studies… and teachers. For many students however, this exciting time
of the year may be about to end. This is because of the ever-increasing number of parents that are choosing to enrol their children into an educational establishment where they can continue to learn throughout the summer. What many parents may not be aware of is the
T
his month, in the first of three features looking at the summer learning gap,
Education Today hears from Stephen Spriggs, Managing Director of leading education advisory and consultancy service William Clarence Education, who offers advice on giving children the opportunity to continue learning during the summer holidays.
detrimental effect the summer break can have on the child’s ability to learn. Being over such a large period of time, many students forget the majority of things they have been taught over the past year. Enrolling in a summer school also allows this to be negated. Although most children will be readily against
the idea of continuing their education during their ‘holiday time,’ as a teacher it is worth trying to explain to them all of the doors that it could open up for them in later life.
The summer school option In trying to get children to come around to the idea of attending a summer school, it is probably
26
www.education-today.co.uk
wise to start right at the beginning, by explaining to them what a summer school actually is. A summer school cannot simply be pigeon-
holed as a continuation of what a child has been participating in throughout the traditional school year. A summer school is usually a residential course that only lasts a week (this can be extended if you desire), during which the attendees are offered intensive tuition in certain subjects, combined with extracurricular activities in a much more relaxed and fun environment. Though there are numerous reasons to why
students should continue at a summer school, the most obvious starting point is to achieve the best possible grades. If an individual child continues their education throughout the summer, this provides them with the best possible chance of realising their full potential. The continued education will not only cement what knowledge they already have, it will also let them build on it, resulting in a superior understanding of that subject come exam time. Plus, having a summer school appear on a future UCAS application helps push the candidate a little further up the list of acceptance when the time comes. It is rare that a person excels in every subject,
and summer schools are a great way for children to brush up on a subject that they may have trouble with, or have even fallen behind on. For example, if a child is not confident with English, but it is essential that they pass this subject to get into further education, summer schools will help bring the child up to the required level.
July/August 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
