Myddelton College aims to provide a well-rounded education that goes beyond academics. It focuses on developing each student's talents and passions through a wide range of activities in sports, arts, culture and more. The school emphasizes finding one's individual talents and providing pastoral care to support students' emotional and intellectual growth. It prepares students for university and life after school by helping them develop confidence and leadership skills. The document outlines Myddelton College's pedagogical approach, which is based on frameworks for 21st century skills and lifelong learning. It focuses on skills like collaboration, problem-solving, self-regulation and technology use to prepare students for modern life and careers.

1. Myddelton College
Pedagogy
An outline of the underlying principles and practices that underpin
the Myddelton College Curriculum
More than just an education
“Being a great school requires more than just providing the best possible education, or at least it
requires a different view of what education is.” At Myddelton College, we take the broadest possible
view of education and our students, whether boarders or day students, are exposed to a wide range
of activities that encompass the whole experience of what it means to be human. Yes, there’s the
academic subjects there, with high standards and even higher expectations of success (because a
strong academic background is a necessity in today’s global community), but beyond that, a
Myddelton College student will be expected to develop interests in sporting, creative, aesthetic and
cultural areas. We believe that each and every individual holds within them a talent that shapes their
passion and their persona, and it is our passion to help each student find, shape and develop theirs.
But alongside that there is the need for breadth and balance, which is why the education provided at
Myddelton includes the extra activities and why every student is expected to be involved in all aspects
of college life.
Myddelton College is about providing a pastoral care structure that goes well beyond basic welfare;
at Myddelton, we focus on developing and maturing the individual, both emotionally and
intellectually. A Myddelton College student will have an international perspective as members of the
global village, and vitally, it is about preparing young people for life beyond college, helping them gain
access to their chosen university and then helping them be fully prepared for the life they will lead
beyond. Equipping them to become suitably qualified and confident to lead, to serve and to be a good
influence. Wherever life takes them.

2. Introduction
Education in the west is, fundamentally, broken. Some, if not most, of the basic educational practices
and assumptions in the UK are simply wrong and no longer fit for purpose in the 21st
Century. As a
result of this, successive legislation has focussed on eliminating the stresses by simplifying the
curriculum, narrowing the experience and introducing more and more high stakes testing, both for
the individual students and the institutions that provide the educational experiences.
Education, throughout the whole of the western world, if not beyond, has been through a slow process
of gentle evolution, but unlike natural evolution, has not produced the strongest system, due to a
continual pull back to the ‘good old days’ of ink wells and chalk dust. The past has become a drag on
our educational system and as such is damaging our future.
As an interesting aside, there is precedent here: the solid-fuel rocket boosters on the Space Shuttle
ended up being the major design flaw that led to the worst space disaster of all time when the shuttle
Challenger blew up shortly after take-off, killing all on board, including the first civilian, Sharon Christa
McAuliffe, a High School Teacher from New Hampshire. One of the reasons the rocket boosters failed
was because they were too narrow. Why were they so narrow?
The rocket boosters were manufactured in Utah and had to be transported to the launch site by
railroad. Therefore, they had to be narrow enough to pass through the tunnels on the way. The US
railroad has tracks that are exactly 4 feet, 8 ½ inches wide & the tunnels are only a little wider. Why
are the tracks this wide? Because that is the exact spacing of railroad tracks in England, where railroads
were first built. The shuttle rocket boosters were the size they were (& subsequently failed) because
of the industrial revolution in England. Only it’s worse than that.
Why are English railroad tracks exactly 4 feet, 8 ½ inches wide? Because that is the measurement
wagon makers used for wagons – any other size and the axles would break on the English roads, where
there were well worn tracks, exactly 4 feet, 8 ½ inches wide. So the solid rocket boosters on the shuttle
are the size they are because of pre-industrial English ruts in roads. But why are those ruts that size?
Because the first mass construction of roads in England was during the Roman occupation, where,
throughout the Roman Empire, Roman war chariots were built using an axle spacing of 4 feet, 8 ½
inches wide. And why? Simply because this was, roughly, the width of two horses’ backsides.
So the shuttle, one of the pinnacles of modern civilisation, failed due to the fact that the solid rocket
boosters had to be the size they were because of the backsides of Roman horses’ backsides.
________________________
Rather than just continuing the status quo, it is time to reconsider why and how we deliver education
the way we do. This is the Myddelton College Pedagogy.
In 1897, John Dewey, Philosopher, Psychologist & one of the first Educational Reformers, wrote an
article titled “My Pedagogical Creed” (1897). In it, he sets out his beliefs on what education is and
should be – most of these are still valid today. One, in particular, holds a strong resonance:
“The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome
work to undertake the alteration of old beliefs.”
(Dewey, 1897)

3. The Pedagogical Framework
The foundations and framework of the Myddelton Pedagogy come from three distinct sources;
Research from Microsoft on a new set of ‘soft’ skills for the 21st
Century (the 21st
Century Learning
Design {21CLD} framework), the work of educational researchers / psychologists such as Robert
Marzano and his ‘Dimensions of Learning’, and an in-house concept of Three Pillars of personal
development.
21st
Century Learning Design
A school committed to preparing young people for the future needs to rethink its very foundations on
which its very purpose is prepared. The old foundations of the 'Three R's' (Reading, Writing,
Arithmetic) are fine, and still valid, but go nowhere near far enough in providing the skills needed for
modern life. The three R's come from an era where it was only necessary to prepare the bulk of school
leavers to be sufficiently educated enough to follow instructions on the factory floor . . .
Our students deserve to hope for much more than that and so need a much greater set of skills to
enable them to succeed! Following global research, sponsored by Microsoft, we have placed a set of
6 skills as the foundations on which everything we believe in is built (Shear et. al., 2010; Cavanaugh
et. al., 2014). These 21CLD skills, then, form our foundations and everything we are building rests on
them.
These 6 skills from the heart of the 21st Century Learning Design programme are:
Collaboration
The need to collaborate in the modern world is much more essential than ever before. Tasks are more
complex than ever beforehand; jobs today require teamwork and collaboration to be at the heart of
our daily working pattern. The days of putting competition inside the classroom are long gone and a
school that still see academic achievement as a competition between students is one still basing its
practice in the 18th century! There is a healthy place for competition in schools (which is why we're
having traditional 'houses', with students competing to gain points for their house in various ways),
but not in the classroom - learning is best done together, learning off and with each other in a
collaborative environment.
Knowledge Construction
This is a whole article in its own right, but simply, there are three 'levels' to knowledge - factual
acquisition, where we learn new facts, is the simplest. Young children learn facts very quickly, as any
parent will testify when their 6-year-old can recite the names of every dinosaur that ever lived!! This
is the most basic level of knowledge, however (although it happens to be the most easily assessed and
so forms the heart of western exam systems).
Learning shouldn't stop here, however and according to Costa & Kallick (2000), knowledge is better
when it's integrated into a student's existing framework of understanding - when it's 'owned' by them.
This is, to a lesser extent still part of the examination system and so is sometimes focussed on by
schools.
However, the highest level of knowledge is the creation of new structures, where the student is using
the acquired knowledge to create new concepts in their mind; when they are extending and refining
their understanding of the world around them. This is knowledge construction and happens to be
almost impossible to examine in current systems (making it something that too many schools simply
ignore).

4. Self-Regulation
In order to collaborate effectively, a person needs to be in control of themselves first and foremost.
Self-regulation, the ability to understand and control one's own emotions and motivations, is a crucial
'modern' skill that our students need to learn. This is one of a broad umbrella of 'soft' skills that is
frequently ignored, with the assumption that students will learn it through the process of growing up.
This clearly isn't the case for a significant number of young people.
Real World Problem Solving
The best educators always try to ensure that new knowledge is framed within 'real life', but for
knowledge to be fully integrated into a person's mind, it must be applied to something in the physical,
real world. I can, for example, learn all about playing tennis from a book & watching it on the TV. I can
even learn how to play using, for example, a hand controller on a console. I can compare it to playing
other racquet sports I have played, but until I stand on a tennis court and play a real opponent, I have
not fully learnt how to play tennis.
Effective use of ICT
I have said it before, but will say it again; Technology alone cannot change anything, but without it,
we will not have lasting change.
Technology is an integral part of our world, our society, and we need to embrace it and use it in the
most effective way possible. This is through embedding its use into the daily practice of school life, so
that our young people learn how to use it to make their lives easier.
We fall into the trap far too easily of assuming that all young people are experts in technology - in fact
this is spread through concepts of 'digital natives' vs. 'digital immigrants' (Prensky, 2001). The truth is
much more complex and our young people need as much help and support in navigating the
technological world as they do navigating a new city. Whilst they may be the experts in using social
media streams, they are no more confident or capable of using technology to enhance their lives as
we are. We need to explicitly help and support them in this journey as much as any other.
Skilled Communication
With the world being so much more connected, the art of communication is another crucial 'soft' skill
that our young people need now more than ever before. Whether it's standing in front of an audience
delivering a speech (Secret ambition - my lifelong ambition is to deliver a TED talk at their annual
conference in Vancouver!), or 'selling yourself’ at a job interview, the art of delivering a powerful talk,
with passion and skill, is one that can enhance every young person and should be taught in school.
Dimensions of Learning
More than just an education
“Being a great school requires more than just providing the best possible education, or at least it
requires a different view of what education is.”
With the 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD) skills as the foundation for everything we are about,
we then need to ensure we fully re-think the how, what and why of what education is about. The
quote above comes from our college ethos statement and is, in summary, exactly what we are about;
providing 'great' education by looking differently at what education actually is.
There's a plethora of educational initiatives out there & each year one seems become the trendy 'go
to' theory that's going to revolutionise learning; they never do … Primarily because they have been
watered down in translation through government committees, or because they have been
mistranslated by enthusiastic trainers looking for a new angle to sell professional development

5. courses to schools. Whether it's 'VAK' or the more current 'grit', these fads do all have some basis in
academic research; it's just that they miss the point when they reach the classroom.
One way to avoid fads is to base the whole pedagogy on a single, thorough, lasting model. Alongside
the 21st Century Learning Skills foundation, we have taken on the work of Robert Marzano (1992),
where he describes 5 'Dimensions' of leaning, and embracing the effective 'Habits of Mind', described
by Costa & Kallick (2000).
The Dimensions of Learning provide an entire description of effective learning that can be used to
ensure that have, as our introduction to our ethos states, a different view of what education is.
The dimensions fit perfectly into short term planning, and provide further structure to embed the
21CLD skills. They also provide (if needed) a formal justification for putting student wellbeing at the
heart of the school.
There are 5 Dimensions, as described by Marzano which together provide an entire framework for a
21st Century school:
Dimension 1: Attitudes and Perceptions
Attitudes and perceptions affect students' ability to learn. For example, if students view the classroom
as an unsafe and disorderly place, they will likely learn little there. Similarly, if students have negative
attitudes about classroom tasks, they will probably put little effort into those tasks. A key element of
effective instruction, then, is helping students to establish positive attitudes and perceptions about
the classroom and about learning.
This, then, provides a modern justification, also, of Maslow's
hierarchy of needs (1948) - Without ensuring that a student feels
safe, secure and cared for (Maslow's three 'lower' needs), then they
will not be receptive to any effective learning.
Therefore classroom layout, pastoral structures, teacher-student
interaction, all of this is essential in getting the first part of being a
great establishment right.
Dimensions 2, 3 & 4: Knowledge
The core 4 dimensions, then, outline the different levels and types of learning,
with knowledge acquisition, extension and use being the focus of what the
classroom engagement is all about…
Dimension 2: Acquire and Integrate Knowledge
Helping students acquire and integrate new knowledge is another important aspect of learning. When
students are learning new information, they must be guided in relating the new knowledge to what
they already know, organising that information, and then making it part of their long-term memory.
When students are acquiring new skills and processes, they must learn a model (or set of steps), then
shape the skill or process to make it efficient and effective for them, and, finally, internalise or practise
the skill or process so they can perform it easily.

6. Dimension 3: Extend and Refine Knowledge
Learning does not stop with acquiring and integrating knowledge. Learners develop in-depth
understanding through the process of extending and refining their knowledge (e.g., by making new
distinctions, clearing up misconceptions, and reaching conclusions.) They rigorously analyse what they
have learned by applying reasoning processes that will help them extend and refine the information.
This is another of the key 21CLD skills.
Dimension 4: Use Knowledge Meaningfully
The most effective learning occurs when we use knowledge to perform meaningful tasks. For example,
we might initially learn about tennis racquets by talking to a friend or reading a magazine article about
them. We really learn about them, however, when we are trying to decide what kind of tennis racquet
to buy. Making sure that students have the opportunity to use knowledge meaningfully is one of the
most important parts of planning a unit of instruction. This is, in the 21CLD skills, the application of
knowledge to real-world problem solving.
Dimension 5: Productive Habits of Mind
The most effective learners have developed powerful habits of mind that enable them to think
critically, think creatively, and regulate their behaviour. Developing these habits of mind is, effectively,
the over-arching goal, as when a student has effective habits of mind, they are then in a state where
learning becomes second nature and they will learn throughout their lives.
Lots of schools have focussed on exam results as their
'measurable', boasting about how many students
gained some arbitrary measure of 'success'. Others
boast about preparing students for careers,
completely missing the point that students need to be
able to re-create themselves many times over in the
modern workplace.
For us, we want our students to leave with the skills
necessary for continued, sustainable and real life-long
learning. A huge part of this is the development of
deep learning tools, or as Art Costa described them,
effective 'Habits of Mind'.
The most effective learners have developed powerful
habits of mind that enable them to think critically, think creatively, and regulate their behaviour. These
mental habits are:
Critical thinking
• Be accurate and seek accuracy
• Be clear and seek clarity
• Maintain an open mind
• Restrain impulsivity
• Take a position when the situation warrants it
• Respond appropriately to others' feelings and level of knowledge
Creative thinking
• Persevere
• Push the limits of your knowledge and abilities

7. • Generate, trust, and maintain your own standards of evaluation
• Generate new ways of viewing a situation that are outside the boundaries of standard
conventions
Self-regulated thinking
• Monitor your own thinking
• Plan appropriately
• Identify and use necessary resources
• Respond appropriately to feedback
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your actions
There is huge overlap between the 21CLD framework and Dimensions of Learning, as outlined in this
table:
Three Pillars
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond
measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
Your playing small does not serve the world.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give
others permission to do the same.
(Marianne Williamson – US political activist)

8. After the foundations are set right, the education then needs to be built strong and firm, so that our
young people leave us with all the skills necessary to succeed in the future.
We succeed, as an educational establishment, if our young people leave us ready to succeed
themselves, wherever they find themselves.
To that end, therefore, we have created the concept of the three pillars. These three pillars represent
the three aspects of what it means to be human. They are:
• Our Mental / Academic side
• Our Physical side
• Our Emotional side
Some schools focus on the academic to the exclusion of all other; the
'hothouses' that prize exam success, producing young people ripe for burn-
out when they go to university, or completely unskilled at dealing with
'failure' because they have only experienced 'success'.
Others prize the 'Adonis', the football / hockey / basketball ace who helps the school team win prize
after prize. The sporting hero, who thinks the world should owe them a living.
And few schools today do more than pay lip service to the emotional and mental health side of the
modern young person. There is no doubt that the world is a much more complex place to grow up in
than it ever was, and yet so many schools take the 'school of hard knocks' approach to supporting
young people through these vital years in their growth, with the result that young people leave school
not just unprepared to cope with the pressures of modern life, but more often than not leave schools
with bruises and scars deep inside themselves, that hamper their development throughout their lives.
The Myddelton College Pedagogy challenges this and states that all three aspects of ourselves are
equally important and all three are vital to the genuine and long-term success and development of
our young people.
The Mental Pillar
It is a truism that, as a school, we need to ensure that all our students achieve the best the possibly
can, academically, in national / internationally recognised examinations. But there are more routes to
this end than the obvious one taken by most educational establishments.
First of all, academic achievement is a journey, not a goal; it is important to know where a young
person starts from, in order to ensure that they can succeed. This is so often ignored, in the race of
league tables and the all-important headline figures, where young people are treated more as a
statistic than an individual. Lev Vygotsky, the 20th Century Soviet Psychologist, coined the phrase
"Zone of Proximal Development" (Vygotsky, 1987); The ZPD defines the academic area which is just
beyond a person's understanding, but not so far beyond that they have no understanding of how to
assimilate the new knowledge into their mental framework. Vygotsky was the first to understand that
the starting point is just as important as the goal in terms of helping a young person grow and develop.
So a truly solid mental pillar takes account of each individual's starting point, then builds the journey
so that they can achieve success, growing in their understanding of the world, without ever being
made to feel stupid.

9. The Physical Pillar
This is so much more than sporting excellence. As already outlined in Dimension 1 (Marzano, 1992), if
a student's physical self is not secure, then they will not be in the best state to learn and grow.
According to Maslow (1948), the Physiological needs (Food, water, sleep, etc.) are the most basic.
So at Myddelton, the Physical Pillar includes care and attention to the details of everyday life; Helping
our young people have high quality sleep (by trying to persuade them to turn off devices at a healthy
hour…), drinking enough water throughout the day, etc.
Also, ensuring that our catering partners fully understand our commitment to the health of our young
people; food menus prepared in consultation with a nutritionist & planned, throughout the year, to
compliment the college calendar, with different foods highlighted at different times of the year & local
suppliers preferred, ensuring that the food entering the bodies of our young people is as healthy as it
can possibly be - another truism is that we are, quite literally, what we eat!
We mustn't forget the physical exercise aspects, however. Physical literacy, helping young people
understand themselves as physical beings and helping them extend themselves physically as well as
mentally, has to be a priority of any well-rounded education. The Myddelton Outdoor Learning
programme is designed to ensure that every student has the chance of success, building on the same
principles as the mental pillar & Vygotsky's ZPD. By adding in leadership opportunities and skills such
as First Aid, the Myddelton Outdoor Learning programme provides a strong thread to this pillar.
The Emotional Pillar
It has been calculated that a week's worth of any major newspaper contains more new information
than Shakespeare encountered in his entire life span. We are living in increasingly complex times, with
more and more pressures on us every day. For young people, this is even truer, with the internet,
social media and the cult of celebrity impacting on their psyche every day.
There are trendy terms, such as developing 'Grit', or resilience,
applied to school programmes that attempt to address this, but it is
far too often a bolt-on to existing structures, and as such tends to
only pay lip service to what is a vital component of a young person's
education. This is why it is the third pillar in our pedagogy; without
embedding an understanding of and sympathetic systems to
support the development of the individual as am emotional being,
the structure is unstable and can easily be toppled.
From Maslow's perspective, once the physical side has been addressed, the entire hierarchy builds on
the emotional strength of the individual.
From the basic safety aspect, with young people feeling safe from harm (physical or emotional) in
school, through the important sense of belonging, through to developing self-esteem, respect (for
others and self) & self-confidence, emotional strengths are integral aspects of a comprehensive
education and these aspects need embedding in every structure within the school.

10. Pedagogical Design
In order to fully integrate and assimilate these pedagogical drivers into the every-day practice of our
students and staff, there is a need to identify a number of key components that deliver the new
pedagogy.
Curriculum Design
From the top down, in order to truly integrate these new pedagogical imperatives, there is a need to
re-frame the curriculum priorities. Yes, there is still the need, clearly, to deliver the curriculum content
as prescribed by the National Curriculum, ESTYN & the Examination Boards, but the ways in which
these are organised and ‘packaged’ can be adjusted to provide a new focus:
Cross-Curricular Theming
This has been done to death in numerous ways, but frequently fails because it is most often merely
paying lip-service to the reality of themed working in an educational setting; a post-delivery mapping
exercise or tick-box to prove that this has been considered. As part of the Myddelton Pedagogy, this
is taken more deeply and forms the starting point of curriculum planning. Cross-curricular theming is
an essential part of 21CLD, impacting on the ‘real-world’ problem solving & Knowledge construction,
as well as Dimension 4.
At a simple level, departments will work to ensure that their schemes of work are aligned with each
other where at all possible, so, for example, when the English department are delivering a topic
around Victorian Gothic Horror & Frankenstein, the Science department will explore issues around
Genetic Engineering and organ transplantation.
Beyond that, there will also be close cooperative collaboration between departments, so that key
skills are developed consistently between subjects, so that, for example, when broader skills, such as
Healthy Eating, are addressed, all subject areas look for links within their delivery.
Finally, the development of Conceptual collaboration, where the 21CLD, Dimensions of Learning and
The Three Pillars are referenced and referred to throughout all subject documentation.
Global Perspectives
We are a truly global school, with students joining us from all around the world and also preparing
them to go out to be members of the global community. To this end, all subjects will ensure that
examples are used throughout their schemes of work to emphasise and evidence global impacts and
initiatives.
Blended Learning
Although this is, primarily, a curriculum design element, it is also a cornerstone to the Myddelton
Pedagogy.
Blended learning is learning that enables a student to access content and extend their understanding
at any time or place they choose. It is a delivery of curriculum content through a variety of media,
using a variety of mechanisms and a combination of online and face-to-face (classroom) instruction.
(Bonk & Graham, 2012). What it is not is e-learning to replace the subtle and complex interactions
between student and teacher.

11. ICT alone will not transform learning, but learning will not be transformed without it.
Technology will be used to deliver content to students through the college’s Office 365 environment,
with video tutorials, links to extra material and the opportunity to explore and learn new content in
readiness for teacher engagement. This way, Dimension 2 (acquire new knowledge) can be done at
the student’s own pace, with the expert guidance and support from the teacher reserved for the more
difficult extending and refining (Dimension 3). This will, therefore, rely heavily on the concept of
flipped learning:
Flipped instruction or a flipped classroom is a form of blended learning in which students learn new
content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and what used to be homework (assigned
problems) is now done in class with teachers offering more personalised guidance and interaction
with students, instead of lecturing. This is also known as backwards classroom, flipped classroom,
reverse teaching, and the Thayer Method. (Nwosisi et. al., 2016)
A student walks to school with a single device in their bag. A ‘digital’ pen in their pocket replacing the
pencil case. They get to school, turn on their device and it pings to tell them that there are emails from
their teachers with information, notes and deadlines for them. Their calendar pops up a reminder to
warn them that they have to submit an assignment later that day.
In the lesson, they open up the class shared notebook, where the teacher has a section, there’s a class
collaborative area and then there’s their own personal space. They see the teacher has put the lesson’s
objectives in the teacher section, so they grab these & copy them into their digital exercise book – all
with a tap and swipe motion. Then they get out their digital pen and make a few notes of their own
to expand on the lesson. The teacher then engages the class, with discussions, notes, dialogue, etc
(i.e. gets on with the job of inspiring and engaging them, helping them to construct the new knowledge
and embed it into their understanding). The teacher wants to show them a video clip – the link is
added to the digital exercise book, so the student can review the information. Then there’s an activity
that requires the students to work together – in the collaborative space, the groups work on planning
and developing the activity, with the teacher able to jump in and guide when things seem to be going
in the wrong direction.
At the end of the lesson, each student has their own, rich, personalised set of notes, with the teacher’s
contributions added to, supplemented and enhanced through the collaborative work and dialogue
that went on. There was no robotic copying of teacher’s words, written on a board or flashed up in
PowerPoint, slavishly re-written by the student because that’s what has always been done – instead,
there’s been movement, discussion, debate and dialogue. Real learning going on through collaborative
effort; the teacher guiding and supporting.
And the student closes their tablet and moves onto the next lesson, to repeat the experience in a
different digital exercise book. Or if the student is ill at home, they can log into the lessons as they are
going on, see the teacher’s notes and contribute as best they can, without even having to be there.
Homework is set by the teacher electronically, with the activity to be completed available for the
student in their digital exercise book and a reminder added automatically to the student’s electronic
diary. (Howard, 2015)
Students will still be expected to handwrite, and handwritten presentation can still be prized and
celebrated. However, it becomes a skill in its own right, as opposed to the only means of collecting
and sorting information. As such, the skills involved take on greater importance, as they are seen as
of worth I their own right. All work completed this way will be scanned (usually using the student’s
device & ‘Office Lens’), to allow for the teacher to mark and comment on. This has the added benefit

12. of allowing the student to preserve a well-crafted piece without it being potentially damaged in
transit, or being marked and written on by the teacher.
Classroom Design
With material being prepared in advance and delivered
electronically, there is no need for the traditional
whiteboard in classrooms. In fact, we need to re-think
the whole layout of the traditional classroom to be truly
effective. According to the ‘SAMR’ model of
transformation (Puentedura, 2006), there is a real need
to ensure that the concept of ‘classroom’ is, itself,
redefined to truly ensure pedagogical change.
Classrooms should be more collaborative, co-operative
environments, in line with the element of collaboration
as identified by the 21CLD framework & Dimension 4,
not to mention key elements of Dimension 5 (Habits of Mind).
So classrooms do not have whiteboards, nor even ‘Interactive’ whiteboards (which are hardly ever
used truly interactively anyhow). The old chalkboard of our Victorian forbears are not substituted by
whiteboards, or even augmented by forms of interaction. Instead, a pair of HD flat screen displays in
each teaching area allow for a more dynamic environment. With the screen of any device (teacher’s
or student’s) displayed on these screens at a flick of a finger, the scope for collaborating is vastly
increased.
It also has the added effect of encouraging a completely different dynamic in the classroom; with the
teacher no longer standing with their back to the class, there is a different atmosphere. Young people
are more in tune with their ‘reptilian’ brain {as opposed to their animal or human brain; the triune
model of brain psychology (MacLean & Kral, 1973)} and so are more attuned to subtleties of their
surroundings; one of the most insulting things that one animal can do to another is to turn its back on
the other, indicating that this other animal poses no threat to them in any way. Teachers do this every
day when they turn to write on a wall-mounted board.
It also means that material must be prepared in advance, again, showing respect to the students –
Dimension 1, making the classroom environment one that is safe and secure.
In our classrooms, we are installing 2 flat screen TVs, in place of the now endemic 'smart' board and
projector. The TVs have higher quality displays, higher contrast and are easier to see in bright light (so
there's no need to have students sitting in darkness as if they were vampires off the set of a Twilight
movie).
With teacher and student all having a touch-screen windows 10 device in front of them, and all
material delivered through collaborative OneNote notebooks, the classroom becomes a much more
dynamic environment. This, then, encourages effective and real use of ICT (one of the 21CLD skills)
And our classrooms are, therefore, bright, light and airy, with tables in 'clusters', to encourage
collaborative learning.
Staff are expected to treat all students with the same level of respect they would expect & the
environment encourages the attitude of collaborative learning (the first 21CLD skill) & self-regulation
(another 21CLD skill), as well as ensuring Dimension 1 is well considered in terms of the environment.

13. Lesson Design
For learning to be truly transformational and provide opportunities for students to develop ideas and
extend their knowledge meaningfully, there needs to be significant time and thought placed on the
lesson design. We have created a 4-phase lesson design, which provides opportunities to develop
Dimensions 2, 3 & 4. As such, each lesson is expected to contain the following 4 phases, clearly
identifiable:
i. Connection Phase – Students learning is placed into the wider context and links are made
to prior learning and to other curriculum areas. Students are also presented with new
information in this phase.
ii. Knowledge Construction Phase – During this phase of the lesson students develop their
deeper understanding of what is being taught.
iii. Demonstration Phase – Students now demonstrate what they have learned by applying
their knowledge to an unfamiliar situation or problem or by simply use their new
knowledge in a meaningful way.
iv. Consolidation Phase – During this stage of the lesson learning is reviewed and re-
enforced. The lesson can then also be linked to the upcoming lesson to help enable
students to organise and sequence their new knowledge and learning.
(Hattie, 2008; Knight, 2013)
Assessment Practices
It is also vital that the assessment strategies are in tune with the pedagogy as described here. Schools
are full of data, the vast majority of it poorly interpreted and hardly ever used to influence student
progress.
In simple terms, there is very little (basic) data needed; all that is needed are the following three
components:
Ø Where does the student start from?
Ø What should they aim for?
Ø How are they doing in terms of achieving their goal?
The ‘where are they starting from?’ is the rationale for baselining; rather than relying on any results
of national tests (that tend to test knowledge acquisition above anything else), we have chosen to use
Cognitive Baseline Tests, designed by the University of Durham (Forster & Metcalfe, 2010).
These Cognitive tests provide a benchmark from which we can then project a ‘Most Likely Grade’
(MLG). This is calculated by looking at the statistical outcomes from the University of Durham research
and then adding our own ‘aspirational’ component (we expect Myddelton students to achieve
significantly better than national average!).
This, then, gives us the starting point and goal for the academic journey of each student. Beyond this,
we then use formative assessments to track their progress towards their goal. This assessment cycle
will ensure that the assessments are much more than just a ‘marker’ to find out a student’s current
understanding and will involve dialogue with the student so that they can plan how to improve.
Formative assessment (assessment that informs future growth) as opposed to summative assessment
(assessment that measures the current level of understanding) forms the largest part of the

14. Myddelton assessment system; whilst there are times when it is important to merely check the current
level of a student’s understanding, to be aligned to the Myddelton Pedagogy, assessment must always
include the ability to grow, learn and develop from assessment processes. Formative assessment is,
according to Black & Wiliam (2009), the best, if not the only way to ensure that learning is enhanced
and made personal by the student. Within the pedagogical framework, formative assessment allows
for movement between Dimensions 3 to 4 and back to 3, in a cycle that helps embed the new
knowledge into the student’s mind more securely.
The following is an extract from our Assessment Policy:
The assessment cycle will follow the ‘Mastery Curriculum Model’ where students will spend
a period of time learning new information and developing new and existing skills. This will be
followed by a revision / consolidation week, the actual assessment week and then most
importantly a review week. The assessment week will always take place during the
penultimate week of term and the review week will take place during the last week of term.
The review week is the most important part of the assessment cycle as it informs students
how to improve their work thus guaranteeing an improved performance in the next
assessment cycle. Students will not receive any summative feedback on their assessment until
they have reviewed their formative feedback and acted upon it. Assessments are rendered
ineffective if a proper structured review of the piece of work does not take place. Without a
review an assessment simply signposts a student’s current attainment and does not inform
them and allow then to practice how to progress to the next level of attainment.
Researcher in Residence
One of the crucial aspects of all of this is to ensure that we do not fall prey to a common problem in
education; namely to follow the current, latest fad that comes around education. Far too often,
concepts have been translated into educational initiatives and then spread like wildfire throughout
the culture. Multiple Intelligences is a classic example of this; whilst there is merit (indeed an
imperative) to deliver content through many different ways to engage different personalities, the jury
is most definitely ‘out’ when it comes to a psychological basis for building a pedagogy around
Gardner’s 9 domains (Gardner, 2006).
Our Researcher in Residence is currently undertaking a Ph.D. at Cambridge University (having obtained
a Masters at Oxford) and he will be ensuring that all the teachers at Myddelton have access to the
very latest global research in terms of what works best in education, working alongside them to ensure
that the students get taught in the very best way possible.
Also, he will work alongside each sixth form student, on a one-to-one basis, to help each individual
find their perfect university course and college and then work with them to ensure they present the
best possible application to the college. With extensive experience of, and links with, a number of
Russell Group universities, he will provide advice and guidance for our students that is quite simply
second to none. Through individual tutorials, group sessions, visits and seminars, Myddelton College
will provide a comprehensive support package to help every student access their best university
course possible.

15. Leadership Through the Outdoors
As outlined in the Three Pillars above, the physical aspects of a young person’s development are often
overlooked in school, or separated from the rest of the curriculum and treated as a very separate
aspect of school life.
Counter to this, we are building physical literacy, the understanding of ourselves as physical beings
and the importance of developing ourselves as physical beings at the heart of the college. Students
will be made aware of all aspects of their physical side, from the food served through to the nature
and type of physical exercise encouraged.
Whilst bulk team sports, such as Football, Rugby, Netball and Hockey are, indeed, worthy sports, it
must be remembered that they are popular in schools simply because they serve to occupy a large
number of students at the same time, with minimal input. For every student who enjoys such sports,
there is one who wishes the position 'Right Back' meant right back in the warmth of the changing
room. It is also worth noting that school sports are failing to address a growing crisis of youth obesity
and inactivity; if these school sports encouraged young people to be healthier, there would be team
sports groups growing in abundance and more people would be outside participating than sit in
darkened rooms cheering on their particular colour tribe in that day's fixture.
Physical sport should encourage a young person to extend themselves and see themselves as a
physical being - by building a programme that includes climbing, caving, orienteering and triathlon
sports, young people have a wider exposure to what they are capable of. Alongside this, a broad,
general and inclusive fitness programme, supported by measurable, observable and repeatable
results, is a core part of our provision. This programme prepares the young people for any physical
contingency—not only for the unknown but for the unknowable, too.
Myddelton College is a proud supporter of British Triathlon and sponsors talented young triathletes
through various means.
Student Uniform
Even the uniform the students are asked to wear is designed to support the core pedagogical
imperatives. The uniform evolves as the students grow through the college, with a very different look
and feel to the uniform for 11 year olds compared to the 17 year olds’ uniforms.
For the younger years, the emphasis is on developing a sense of self pride and ‘belonging’, in keeping
with the different Maslow levels, whilst providing a practical set of clothing that wears well and copes
with the demands put on it by this age group.
Once the students move into the 6th
form, however, the uniform takes on the style and concept of a
corporate, ‘boardroom’ suit; Saville row designed suits, in a subtle pinstripe, provide a look that
encourages the young adult to see themselves as a successful person, with a bright future; they wear
the suit when they go to interviews, as opposed to so many young people who have never worn such
items, when the suit dominates the personality.
The PE kit, too, is designed to encourage involvement; based on modern outdoor pursuits materials
and styles, the PE clothing is designed to be comfortable, whilst providing the performance required
of elite athletes.
_________________________

16. “Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art
conceivable.”
(Dewey, 1897)
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to their graves with their song unsung”
(Thoreau, 2012)
With a pedagogy fit for the 21st
century, built on solid foundations and constructed firmly, every
student leaving Myddelton College will leave able to sing their own song.
A. J. Howard. 2016

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