High Achievers

At The King Edmund School we work together to ensure that our high attainers and achievers are engaged and challenged in a stimulating environment to ensure they reach their full potential.

We firmly believe that all students have the potential to achieve highly and to be successful in their endeavours. Students who are identified as either being High Attaining and/or High Achieving may need specific support and guidance in maximising this potential; we ensure that we are providing the students with a challenging and inspirational environment that will enable these students to develop their independence, resilience and love for learning.

Definitions

  • High Attaining students who demonstrate the potential to achieve at the highest level are identified from data and comprise of the top 10% in each year group.
  • High Achievers are students whose attainment is above expectation; these students will vary from subject to subject and are identified via a list of subject-specific criteria.

Identification

Identifications are based on the KS2 test results attained by pupils on completion of the primary school phase:

  • Low attaining = those below Level 4 in the KS2 tests
  • Middle attaining = those at Level 4 in the KS2 tests
  • High attaining = those above Level 4 in the KS2 tests

All students on entry complete CATS tests and base line tests in all subjects.

FFT banding

  • Teacher nomination (based on classroom observation, work scrutiny, discussions with students and key assessments
  • Predicted test and examination results
  • Performance in one or more extra-curricular activities

NB: Due to the pandemic students who did not sit KS2 tests completed CATs tests.  These scaled scores where then converted to bands using the government guidelines and FFT banding.

Meeting the needs of high attainers and or achievers

It is the responsibility of all teachers to assist students in developing their wide range of talents and abilities. Class teachers should ensure that learning experiences develop, enhance and extend the identified abilities of students within their teaching groups. This involves:

  • Having high expectations of students
  • Effective differentiation of classwork and home learning
  • Preparing lessons which stimulate, interest, challenge, inform, inspire and encourage
  • Providing opportunities for gifted and talented students to work with students of similar ability
  • The provision of enrichment/extension activities and tasks including home learning
  • Development of independent learning by allowing students to organise, evaluate and critique their own work
  • Offering appropriate courses
  • Ensuring that opportunities for extension and enrichment are built into all schemes of work
  • Monitoring the performance of high attainers and or achievers
  • Recognising and rewarding achievement
  • Providing a wide range of extra-curricular activities and clubs

STEM

At KES we actively participate with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), a nationwide organisation who believe that every young person has the right to a broad and balanced education. STEM subjects are valuable not only because they can lead to exciting and rewarding career options, but also because they enable individuals to be active citizens in an increasingly technological society. They open doors, provide options and are vital to our world today.

At KES we are excited about the opportunities STEM offers our staff and students and we will be providing more extracurricular opportunities throughout the year. At present there are projects in Science, Technology and Computing.

STEM Competition

Each July the Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society run a series of Technology competitions for schools in Essex. This is aimed at students in Years 7 to 13 and takes place at Anglia Ruskin University, where students showcase their work to a team of judges from businesses such as Ford UK and E2V.

One of the categories open to our students is the STEM Award. As part of the Design and Technology club at KES, we have in previous years entered KS5 students, but last year saw the first entry of some KS3 and KS4 students. We were able to win several top awards for innovation and design execution. Entries included examination coursework and personal projects from technology based subjects and club interests. Entries are co-ordinated and students chosen by Design and Technology staff and currently, a team of nine KS3 students meets each week to work on a toy or game of their own design.

Other opportunities include: Subject recognition in becoming an ambassador, sports captain, house captain, prefects and senior prefects, enrichment trips, guest speakers, Oxbridge taster, Jack Petchey speak out challenge, university tours. 

For full details of our enrichments opportunities please see our extra-curricular booklet.