5. SCHOOLS VISITED
St. Nicholas Primary
Marston, Oxford
Rowledge Primary
Rowledge, Farnham
The Priory School
Dorking, Surrey
St. John’s School
Leatherhead, Surrey
Pentland Primary
Billingham, Durham
Moorside Junior
Ripon, North Yorkshire
6. ST. NICHOLAS PRIMARY
Marston, Oxford - www.stnicholasprimaryschool.org.uk
Characteristics
Behavior scales with different colored smiley faces
• Students all start at yellow, move up or down to
green or red
• Works VERY well
Communications and Interactions
Resource Base
• Help kids with social skills
• Self-contained
• Any age at the school
• Autism Spectrum Disorder,
AD/HD, etc.
7. ROWLEDGE PRIMARY
Rowledge, Farnham - www.rowledgeschool.com/hants/primary/rowledge
Characteristics
“Young governors”
• School government (every year represented)
Computer skills in 1st Grade
• Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, making rollercoasters
Overnight trips to different locations each year
• 2nd Grade – 1 night in school
• 5th Grade – De-stress after standardized tests
Smile Makers
• Student volunteers who help fellow
students in need of a smile
8. THE PRIORY SCHOOL
Characteristics
Golden Tickets for students
• Good behaviour, participation, etc.
• One named pulled at end of week, receive prize
• Students give Silver tickets to favourite teachers
Christian/Family ethos
• Strong school community
• Great staff dynamic
• Church of England school
Dorking, Surrey - www.priorycofe.com
9. ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL
Characteristics
House System
• 9 houses, some boarding
• Each has a “housemaster” (well-being and
academics)
Combined Cadet Force (JROTC Equivalent)
• Students required to participate (pick a branch)
• Participate in outdoor leadership activities and
classroom lessons
Leatherhead, Surrey - www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk
Very large sports program
• Several teams per sport per age
• Mandatory for students
10. PENTLAND PRIMARY
Characteristics
Progress wheel for self-assessment
• Three sections (beginning, middle, end of
lesson)
• 1 = can teach someone, 5 = completely lost
Nurture bases
• For most troubled kids
• Small groups, life skills and lessons
Classes choose countries to learn about
and represent for the semester
Billingham, Durham - www.sbcschools.org.uk/pentland
11. MOORSIDE JUNIOR
Characteristics
SATs preparation
• Take prep tests, go over the answers in class
Red and yellow card system for behavior
• Soccer cutouts with personal goals and
jerseys
Ripon, North Yorkshire - www.moorside-jun.n-yorks.sch.uk
Daily schedule
• Literacy and numeracy
in the morning
• Science and history in
the afternoon
Students have jobs
12. UK KEY CHARACTERISTICS
Years vs.
Grades
School
Houses
Uniforms
Treatment
of Teachers
Terrible
Testing
“Swing
Students”
13. YEARS VS. GRADES
Age UK Year US Grade
5 1 K
6 2 1
7 3 2
8 4 3
9 5 4
10 6 5
11 7 6
12 8 7
13 9 8
14 10 9
15 11 10
16 12 11
17 13 12
Form
Lower 4th
Upper 4th
Lower 5th
Upper 5th
Lower 6th
Upper 6th
Key Stage
1
2
3
4
5
14. YEARS VS. GRADES
Serve no purpose other then to utterly confuse any Americans trying to
understand their system.
Used to be completely different, but has changed from the 1980s-present
Ages
• Five to
eighteen
(2015)
Schools
• Infant
• Primary
• Junior
• Senior
• Secondary
Forms
• First-fifth
• Can have
sixth
separate
Key Stages
• One
through
five
* *
* = Sometimes...
16. SCHOOL HOUSES
Point system (asking good questions, participation, etc.)
with field day or two during the year (compete for cup)
Mostly done using colors, can be famous alumni
Could be actual houses/dorms (boarding schools)
St. John’s School (Independent)
• Montgomery/”Monty” (Burgundy
and blue)
• WestB (Yellow and black)
• EastB (Green and black)
• North (Red and black)
• SouthB (Purple and black)
• Haslewood (Black and blue)
• Surrey (Red and white)
• Churchill (Blue and white)
• Gloucester (Blue and pink)
Moorside School (State)
• Ruby (Red)
• Emerald (Green)
• Diamond (Yellow)
• Sapphire (Blue)
Pentland School (State)
• Red
• Green
• Yellow
• Blue B = Boarding
18. SCHOOL HOUSES
Four Houses
• Red
• Yellow
• Blue
• Green
Named after founders/famous alumni....
• Godric Gryffindor
• Helga Hufflepuff
• Rowena Ravenclaw
• Salazar Slytherin
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100911003016/harrypotter/images/2/2e/House_Points.jpg
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/037/b/7/hogwarts_crest_wallpaper_by_vaultofdaedalus-d75c692.png
Point system
• Answering questions
correctly, outstanding acts
• Lose points for bad
behavior
19. UNIFORMS
Not robes (unless you’re at Oxbridge)
Could be a strict dress code
Most are physical uniforms students must buy
From Pentland Primary School website:
Reception to Year 4:
•Red sweatshirt
•White or red polo shirt
•Grey / black trousers
or skirt
Years 5 and 6:
•Blue sweatshirt
•White or red polo shirt
•Grey / black trousers or skirt
PE kit:
•White t-shirt
•Black shorts
•Plimsolls
Swimming kit:
•Boys: Swimming trunks or
shorts. Bermuda style shorts
are not allowed.
•Girls: One piece swimming
costume
http://www.shepherdandwoodward.co.uk/large-product-images/commoners-large.jpg
http://www.sbcschools.org.uk/pentland/index.php?id=4509&time=1357084800
20. UNIFORMS
Spoke to a sociology class of “high school seniors” (6th formers) who
were allowed to wear regular clothes to school as a privilege
Pros
• Easy
• Structure can be good
• Consistency
• “Evens the playing field”
Cons
• Students try to rebel in any way
(short ties, untucked shirts,
unbuttoned top button)
• Not treated as individuals
• Uncomfortable, cold
• Expensive
“It’s a constant battle to get them to wear it properly” - Headteacher
Girls liked the ease and structure,
not the cost or discomfort
Boys were concerned more about
the lack of individuality
21. UNIFORMS
I polled the class: school uniforms or normal clothes. What do you think
they said?
Normal
Clothes
Uniforms
24. TREATMENT OF TEACHERS
Positive:
Teachers are all called “Sir” or “Miss”
Negative:
A LOT of “teaching to the test”
“Tracking” and monitoring students
Neutral:
Two main unions
• National Union of Teachers (NUT)
• Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)
NUT was striking one day, many
Teachers just ignored it
• Did shut down some schools
25. TERRIBLE TESTING
AGE 7 – National Curriculum assessments
• Year 2/Grade 1 = End of Key Stage 1
AGE 11 – National Curriculum assessments
• Year 6/Grade 5 = End of Key Stage 2
• Scores determine “high school” you can attend
AGE 16 – General Certificate of Secondary
Education (GCSEs)
• End of Year 11/Grade 10 (year before 6th form)
• Determines what courses you take in 6th form
• Subject-specific tests
• Number of students with five A* to C grades determines funding
AGE 18 – Advanced Level (A-Levels)
• Determines college options (acceptance often conditional)
• Determines career options
SATsSATs------GCSE-------A-Level
26. TERRIBLE TESTING
GCSEs used to be called “Ordinary Levels” (O-levels)
Harry Potter takes “Ordinary Wizarding Level exams” (OWLS)
Subject
specific
Determines
next classes
Taken at
age 16
Basic level of
proficiency in subject
GCSEs Yes Yes Yes Yes
OWLs Yes Yes Yes Yes
A-Levels vs. NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests)
Subject
specific
Shows expert-level
proficiency
Taken at end of
school career
Nastily
Exhausting
A-Levels Yes Yes Yes Yes
NEWTs Yes Yes Yes Yes
27. Alice will most likely get
• B in Geography
• D in Maths
• F in English
• C in History
• D in Physics
SWING STUDENTS
Stems from the problem with funding schemes
• Based on number of students with 5 A* to C grades in GCSEs
Failing students are not treated equally. Who gets more focus?
Sam will most likely get
• A in Geography
• C in Maths
• B in English
• A in History
• D in Physics
4 grades from A* to C, 1 grade below a C
2 grades from A* to C, 3 Grades below a C
