2009, Jan 20: Bristol Brunel Academy, Bristol



Sharing by Armando Di-Finizio, Principal of the Academy: (Ah! It's the first one we came across known as the Principal instead of "Head teacher"!)
  • The school works towards developing good habits in all students that are sustainable. So, its the belief that good habits and character comes before academic performance.
  • The school beliefs includes (i) accepting the fact that students are children who are still developing and therefore mistakes do happen (ii) As educators, it is our duty to educate the whole child (iii) Teachers no longer has a monopoly on information in the 21st century.
  • Rubrics used to assess pupils' learning focused on 5 Hows, which includes (i) How you manage to stick to your learning (ii) How resourceful you are in your learning (iii) How you think about and reflect in your learning...
  • When it comes to grading, instead of using the usual 'bands' (eg. "Under/ Within/ Above/ Exceed Expectations), students are graded as Asteroid, Moon, Planet, Star in the various components of the task. First look, it looks refreshing... nevertheless, such novelty terms do not really last...

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Some observations:

  • The first thing that caught our attention before stepping into the building are the 'blocks of words' lined up on the 2 sides of the wall... I would say, those are the 'dreams' and 'wishlists' of the students? Ah! Very real & truthful - "I wish we didn't have to take exams", "I wish I know what to wish for", "I wish I was cool", etc... A wishlist that's awaiting to come true? ...
  • What struck me is the philosophy of the school- the emphasis on pupils character/value development (er... ) over academic performance... hm... that reminds me of another school of thought - Discipline comes before anything else could happen (ie. referring to academic excellence), so that's the pre-requisite... and the belief that once the fundamental block is correctly placed, the rest will automatically fall in the right places.
  • Useful Terms: "Learning Facilitators", "Learning Families" (ie. Tutor groups).
  • FAQ for students - which we rarely see in Singapore school's students' handbook - which we normally put it across as "School Rules & Regulations".

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Click HERE to see school's prospectus.

Others:

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