Core Skills Programme

A variety of assessments take place with Yr 7 before transition and early in the Autumn term to provide the school with a baseline of skills. During KS3, three classes from Yr 7 and four from Yr 8 are timetabled to access a series of literacy and numeracy workshops. This is now called the Core Skills programme. This is a timetabled lesson and pupils either have three lessons or six – depending on need - over a two week timetable.

The aim of the programme is to hone pupils’ literacy skills and sharpen numeracy skills so that pupils are ready for the demands of the KS4 curriculum and subsequent GCSE examinations. To maximise impact, pupils are then subdivided into smaller groups ranging from 6 to 10 pupils depending on the type of workshop.