On Friday, my colleague and I had the pleasure and privilege of visiting Britain’s most exciting school. To say it was one of the happiest school environments we have ever seen would not be an exaggeration. It is rare and incredibly special to set foot in a school where teachers are so proud of what […]

Read more "Educating Great Yarmouth"

  As is the case in every school, the Michaela Science department has made its fair share of mistakes. After a few years of experimentation, trial and error, we have learned many lessons about what to do – and what not to do – in the science laboratory. Like all teachers, we want to provide our […]

Read more "Our Mistakes in Science"

Like flares and fondue, the art of drilling has recently started to come back into fashion. Whilst jazzy games and iPads may seem like a fun alternative to traditional teaching, there’s nothing more effective for embedding understanding of complex concepts than a bunch of satisfyingly repetitive drill exercises. Although useful for all subjects, I find […]

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As a trainee, I was frequently told of the virtues of carrying out practicals in science lessons. These ‘investigations’ were touted as crucial tools for engaging pupils in science, allowing them to learn about new concepts through exploration, experimentation and enquiry. Rather than learning the underpinning knowledge first, I should create conditions for my pupils […]

Read more "No Guesswork. No Nonsense."

Astronomy is my hard sell of physical science. Think of astronomy as the confectionery placed at the point of purchase in a well-known chain of high street stationery shops. How did the checkout boy, Alex, know I wanted a super sized bag of sour sweets at 10 am on a Saturday morning? I want the […]

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Hey folks! I participated in a digimeet on STAFFRM tonight. The theme was ‘high-impact teaching’. I decided to write about my feedback journey. Read the comments from my post by clicking on this link. Read the post below: In education, the aim of feedback is two-strand: to identify pupil strengths and weaknesses and help them improve […]

Read more "Feedback: It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it."

The key to planning great school trips is organisation, organisation, organisation! How does one know what to organise? Look no further than this blog post. Michaela Community School might have only had its second school trip ever last Thursday, but we would like to share how Michaela does things, and the rationale behind some of […]

Read more "The Key to Great School Trips"

Last week, a science teacher who had heard about the knowledge-led, mastery-focused curriculum at Michaela asked me, “do your kids hate Science yet?” On the same day, I attended a ‘knowledge versus skills’ science debate. The skills troops were gathered and I was offered an insight into the ideological battlefield. There was a real sense […]

Read more "Do Your Kids Hate Science Yet?"

Two weeks ago, our illustrious Assistant Head Joe Kirby wrote a blog on the the most valuable content that subject leaders at Michaela want all pupils to remember for ten years and beyond. Although Mr Kirby and my more disciplined colleagues distil that knowledge onto a single page, I, the reprobate Head of Science, do not […]

Read more "Science Knowledge Organisers"

Having missed AM registration due to traffic on the M25, Lucy’s science teacher wades into SC6, briefcase in tow. Beads of sweat trickle down his face as he takes a seat in front of the class and places one foot over the other on the desk in front to give his feet a rest. Lucy […]

Read more "Textbooks: Liberating, not constraining"