Exam season begins – an academic round-up
Our students have been working hard in preparation for their exams starting this week. As exam season starts, we’ve been speaking to some of our Academic staff about what the students get up to all year round.
The School is focused on helping our students reach their full potential, not only in their ballet training but in their academic studies as well. All our students are devoted to their education and recognise how important it is to balance their learning.
Academics at White Lodge
Our White Lodge students follow an academic programme alongside their training which includes English, maths, science, languages, humanities and the arts. They complete four hours of academic studies every school day plus an hour of supervised homework in the evening. GCSEs occur each summer for our Year 11 students, the same as all secondary schools. We spoke to our English Lead and House Mistress, Vanessa Klein, about what students have been doing over the past few weeks to revise for their English GCSE exams:
Year 11 students have been studying for their English Language and English Literature GCSEs. In preparation for their exams, they have been reading and annotating their set texts for this year: Macbeth, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, An Inspector Calls and Love and Relationships poetry anthology. They have also been watching revision videos online, answering past paper questions, and planning essay answers.
English as an Additional Language
Many international students at the School study English as an Additional Language. Following the Cambridge English Qualification, they can study EAL at three levels. EAL students are taking their examinations earlier this year because of their performance commitments later this summer. Our Lead Teacher of EAL, Nicola Townsend, told us a bit about how they have been preparing:
Students have been practising four components of the exam: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Most find they have difficulties with reading but are practising with previous test papers, newspapers created by EAL students and further general reading. Our students are also practising difficult grammar to show off a range of grammar, particularly for the written exam. They do this by playing grammar board games, writing stories, emails, essays, and reviews, and by completing worksheets for their weaker areas. All students have made great progress this academic year, and we are all very proud of all their effort.
Upper School Academics
At Upper School, all students take the BA Classical Ballet and Dance Performance Degree Programme. Students take modules in classical and contemporary dance technique and context, the healthy dancer, and repertoire and professional practice. As well as this, they take part in an Academic Enrichment Programme. Students work towards a full A-Level, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), Level 3 online learning course, or high school diploma. Upper School students have two hours of academic studies each day. Learning Manager Kristy Rogers shared the benefits of the Academic Enrichment Programme with us:
Our Academic Enrichment Programme allows students to explore passions outside of dance and invest in their other interests. It provides a therapeutic break from the studio and gives them a chance to engage in interesting discussions on topics they are excited about. They often choose subjects relevant to their training, such as sport physiology but can pick anything that they are interested in.
Good luck to all our students with their exams.
