Daily Archives: 23/11/2016

School News

Summer Schools 2017 – Booking Now Open

The Debate Chamber Summer Schools offer students age 11-18 the opportunity to find out more about some fascinating subjects, prepare for university applications, meet like-minded peers and get to grips with some tough intellectual challenges.

The material will be challenging (for the older age-group, about the level of difficulty one might expect in the first year at university), but the atmosphere will be relaxed, with plenty of discussion, debate, and opportunities for students to shape the direction of classes. It is an environment conducive to getting to grips with new ideas.

Working in small groups (usually around 14 students per group) over several days offers participants a real chance to get to know tutors and fellow students and to explore the topics or questions that particularly interest them.

Highlights of Summer 2017:

The Medicine Summer School for students aged 15-18 offers a series of two-day events with specialist sessions on cardiology, paediatrics, oncology, emergency medicine and many other topics – enabling students to attend a wide-ranging introduction or select the sessions most relevant to their interests.

The Summer Law School for 15-18s, in three distinct five-day Parts to allow time for more cases, more analysis and more debate on some of the most intriguing legal questions. Students can choose to focus on Criminal Law, Civil Law or International Law, or to attend all three Parts for a comprehensive introduction to legal study.

The History Summer School for students aged 15-18 looks at some of the most significant and subtle historiographical questions – the possibility of historical truth, the methodology of its pursuit and the political and ethical responsibilities of historians to both the past and the future. With a variety of debates, seminars and activities, this is a lively and engaging introduction to some very challenging material.

Our Physics Summer School is now in two separate five-day events, with Part One being relatively maths-light and open to all students from 15 upwards, and Part Two more mathematically focused, and reserved for students who will have completed AS Level (or equivalent) Maths by Summer 2017. For keen Mathematicians we also have the Maths Summer School, which is a five-day course open to students who will have completed Maths AS level or equivalent by Summer 2017.

For those interested in the Humanities, we have Summer Schools in Economics, International Relations, History, and Politics, while Arts enthusiasts should take a look at the English Literature, Classical Civilisations, Art History, Critical and Cultural Theory, or Philosophy Summer Schools (all for students aged 15-18).

Last but not least, we also have a smaller number of courses available for younger students (ages 11-14) in Law, Medicine, Creative Writing and Science subjects.

Practical Details:

All the Summer School events will be held at University of London venues in Bloomsbury, Central London, and will take place in July and August 2017. Please note that these courses are not residential, and accommodation must be arranged independently if required.

You can find full details of schedules, dates, costs, student reviews and tutors at http://www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/.

There is a limited amount of bursary funding available for students who would otherwise have financial difficulty in attending – please see our website for details.

To book a place please visit www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/, call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

 

Special Needs

SoundField trial in all UK schools

Imagine every student hearing clearly every word their teacher says

Do your students hear all the teaching and instructions in their classroom?

There is a simple and free way to find out – and that involves having a free SoundField demonstration in your school – a demonstration which leaves you or your colleagues with nothing to do other than try the equipment out for a few weeks.

Set up in the classroom takes just 15 minutes and after that you can use it straight away. You’ll find that all the children become engaged immediately, the teacher will never have to raise or strain their voice, everyone (even the children with poorer hearing and attention) will hear perfectly, and the tendency of some children to make noise in the classroom will diminish.

All you have to do is simply tell us when it is convenient to visit, and we will bring it to you and show the relevant teacher how to use it.

There is more information about our most popular SoundField system, the Swift Digital, on our website here: www.connevans.co.uk/product/3109896/

The Swift Digital SoundField system is designed by Connevans, the UK’s leading manufacturer of Classroom SoundField systems used all over the UK.

To arrange a free three-week trial simply call or email and leave the rest to us!

You only pay the invoice if you decide to keep the equipment, and as a special trial offer there is a 10% discount on the Swift Digital if you keep it after the trial.

In addition, if you would like us to have a look at your school hall or offer advice regarding simple equipment to help ensure the school is complying with the Equalities Act for visitors who are hard of hearing, we will be pleased to help.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Phil Boswell
Director

As of 2016 we are very proud to be … by Appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Manufacturer and Supplier of Audio Equipment  https://www.royalwarrant.org/directory?query=connevans

 

PSHE

What lies beneath?

What is the best way of ensuring that we are aware of the personal and social issues being faced by those we teach?

In the case of many young people their behaviour tells us much of what we need to know about their lives. Indeed it is their behaviour that makes us aware of any problems that they might be suffering.

But there is no doubt that observation alone won’t always alert us to the fact that some pupils and students are lacking in understanding of certain key issues.

Do they really understand the dangers of sexting? Do they actually know the damage that can be caused by tobacco and alcohol?  Is anyone engaging in self-abuse who has slipped beneath the radar?  Are there neighbourhood issues that we are not aware of?

A knowledge of these and related issues can make the work of the PSHE department and the school much more effective, not just in terms of each student’s life but also in terms of the class’ own dynamics.

We can, for example, begin to see if those attending the school are getting suitable breakfasts.  We can see if the pupils and students feel safe on their way to and from school.  We can discover if there is a sub-culture of extremism, racism or intolerance evolving.

However, the problem is that if we try to ask such questions in class, it is hard to get answers from the very people whose answers might be the ones we most want to hear.  Which is why many schools are turning to an alternative way to get this information.

This alternative approach involves using questionnaires covering the Well-being and Health of pupils and students. Such a questionnaire can identify the reasons for behaviours and provide a rich source of information that can be used to explore underlying influences.

In short, the professionally structured questionnaire allows us to learn far more about the behaviour and emotions of those we teach, than is possible in any other way.

You can say has worked with hundreds of schools across the UK in providing and analysing questionnaires which help Heads of PSHE and senior management in schools learn far more about those they teach, than can otherwise be achieved.

To see more information on our Well Being and Health Questionnaire which could be run in your school please click here

If you would like to talk about the questionnaires, their benefits and how they work please do call us on 0118 978 1078, you can also contact us by email service@youcansay.co.uk

ICT

Engaging animations in Doddle ICT and Computing

Use the animations in Doddle ICT and Computing to simplify complex computing processes such as heuristic algorithms, print spooling, and subroutines.

Our interactive animations are perfect to talk through with your whole class to reinforce key principles. They could equally be assigned to students to aid their individual study, and to make sure they feel entirely confident with the topic.

Book a visit
Find out more about Doddle’s interactive resources, self-marking homework quizzes and automatic online markbook by booking a free in-school visit with one of our Educational Consultants.

Philippa
Doddle