The Hall Saturday Club
The Hall Saturday Club supports thirty girls and boys in Years 4 – 6 from our local partnership primary schools. Students attend once a month for 12 sessions across the academic year.
Sessions include Debate, Maths, Science and Arts. Lessons are taught by specialist Hall School teachers and visiting Artists and the students have access to resources and equipment in a dedicated environment.
Aims
The aims of the Hall Saturday Club are to give learning opportunities and new experiences to high achieving pupils. We aim to work with our partnership school Head Teachers to develop this intervention. Focus is also placed on bridging the skills gap between the key transition from Year 6 to Year 7.
Using the Skills Builder programme we aim to teach, build and embed essential skills that will develop students talents, potential and enrich their learning across the curriculum and beyond.
Using the Skills Builders framework and The Saturday Club values, we aim to teach pupils explicit strategies to be able to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning as well as giving them opportunities to use them with support and then independently.
We aim to involve parents in the process by collaborating effectively with them. Parents are offered practical advice, learning pointers, invited to talks and training sessions such as, “Understanding the issues surrounding social media and young people” and “How to help your child deal with school stress”.
Background
The Club started in 2018 as a pilot study for academic and skills building learning between the Hall and its partner schools and aims to provide and widen the educational and social experiences of high achieving pupils.
Resources
Sessions take place at The Hall School.
Hall school - Facilitated Science Labs, Art Room. Subject specific resources.
Pupils are taught by Hall School teachers and visiting artists. There is no cost for attending the programme.
Pupils start in Year 4 for one term in the summer and re-join in September in Year 5. They then go on to complete 20 sessions over one and half academic years completing the programme in the spring term of Year 6.
Impact
Assessment is qualitative and quantitative and carried out in different ways.
Feedback and evaluation comes from parents, students, and Head Teachers in different formats. Each group provides valuable assessments on the different strands of the programme. Impact evaluation is also sought from participating students and parents at the end of each term via evaluation and monitoring processes.
Outcomes are measured using the Skills Builder programme and reports are written by teachers based on this.
Our partnership schools, pupils’ and parents have noted improvements in academic work and attitude.
Parents have noted improvements in their child's confidence to meet other Year 6's from local schools. Attending has alleviated some of the anxiety about beginning Secondary school.
"He loved the learning, the breadth, the stretch and the opportunity to use and learn techniques, such as in chemistry, that he does not have at his school."
"I used to only want to get ‘Expected’ in my tests but now I aim for ‘Greater Depth’."
"I have DEFINITELY improved my presenting skills, because I used to be really scared of talking but now I am way better at it."
"He is able to present his work with more confidence depending on his audience. He is naturally shy and, in the past, has been nervous of public speaking however during his year 5 and 6 school presentations and those at The Hall he has grown in confidence."
Leavers are invited to become part of the Hall Saturday Club Alumni. Amongst other events, former pupils will be welcomed back to give talks to their peers about their experiences and continued development.
Pupil Involvement
Boys and girls in years 4 - 6 attend the club.
Frequency
Sessions take place once a month, 12 times over the academic year.
The Saturday Club is on-going.