BWA staff to present at SSAT National Conference
26/11/2018
Vice Principal Becks Waterson and Assistant Principal Matt Rodger have been selected from a very competitive field to present a workshop at this year’s SSAT National conference on ‘Pure Imagination’.
The annual conference, based this year at Birmingham’s ICC, is a prestigious event that receives a large number of applications each year from schools across the country wishing to lead workshops and present.
Up to 200 CEOs, head teachers and senior leaders are scheduled to attend their 45-minute talk, entitled ‘Creating Curious Learners with a Creative Curriculum Design’. They will be focusing on the enrichment and additional opportunities offered by our Year 7 curriculum, and how that develops during students' school careers.
Mainstage speakers at the conference include Amanda Spielman, BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz and singer and educational campaigner, Charlotte Church. The programme information says: ‘Brooke Weston Academy want their Year 7s to be curious, courageous, imaginative and fierce risk-takers! This workshop explores the academy’s bold decision to move away from their academic KS3 curriculum and redesign the Year 7 programme of study, to allow their students to build the skills and qualities our future generation need, not just to survive in the world of work but to strive.
‘The new curriculum includes a lesson a week that allows their students to use their imagination, explore more cultural foci and develop key competencies. The students this year have built an allotment, created exhibitions for charities, developed their own political party, completed STEM learning and sports leadership activities and learnt to speak some Russian!’
Mrs Waterson said: ‘Speaking at the conference is an incredible opportunity and I am thrilled that our bid was selected. I will be immensely proud to share the story of Brooke Weston and the bold leadership decisions we have made. We have been imaginative, creative and brave with our curriculum design to ensure that we send out into the world curious, courageous and imaginative learners.'
Matt Rodger is co-presenting. He said: ‘Brooke Weston Academy is well known in terms of results, but it is about dispelling some of the myths that an academic institution that gets phenomenal results has to be an “exam factory.” We can still nurture curiosity, creativity and culture, and this allows us to showcase the teaching and learning team of the school and is part of our “open door” policy that we genuinely want to nurture where, if you like what you hear you can come and see how we do it.’
