Endeavour Policy

Rationale

At Farlingaye High School provision for all students is to be as inclusive as possible and seek to provide for the needs of students through appropriate differentiation, and extension opportunities developed and delivered through the mainstream curriculum. It is important to recognise that all children, not just the most able, will benefit from good practice in teaching and learning, from effective differentiation, from assessment for learning and appropriate study support. It will be the responsibility of each faculty to provide appropriate challenge for high-attaining pupils within their areas.

Ofsted make it very clear that pupils will be judged on their progress from their starting points, and it is our role to ensure that able pupils who make faster progress than others have planned meaningful opportunities to deepen and expand their knowledge. Part of our responsibility is to provide opportunities for students to experience their next steps in learning including aspiring University applicants, apprenticeship opportunities and access to real word work sector challenges.

As part of our vision at Farlingaye High School, our aim is to enable students a pathway to merit their way onto the Endeavour programme as set out below. Students should learn appropriate skills and attitudes to aid their development and not just rely on academic ability.

Definition

As of 2016 students identified will be entered onto one list called the Farlingaye Endeavour Programme:

1. Endeavour students are those who have the ability and attitudes to excel across a range of academic subjects, with abilities developed to a level significantly ahead of their year group. They display characteristics of explorative thinking, perseverance and motivation.

Identification

In order to identify the Endeavour students as they arrive at Farlingaye,in Year 7 the following criteria will be used from KS2:

• Attitude to learning level in year 7 report 1
• English Reading Score (100+)
• Mathematic Score (100+)
• GPV (100+)
• English Writing (GDS – Working at a greater depth)

This is used to compile a list of approximately 10% of students across each year group.

From this point students can be added to the Endeavour programme via their efforts and successes at Farlingaye. Each faculty can nominate 10 outstanding students from within their subject area to join the programme. Faculty links will be required to construct criteria to aid this selection. Additionally as each student progresses each year at Farlingaye, a review of students’ progress will be used to determine if they should be added to the Endeavour list. Criteria for this will come from report data using the transition matrix feature on 4Matrix to assess those who have made Above Expected Progress in the core subjects of Maths, English and Science.

This list is shared with all staff and entered onto SIMS, and will be used to monitor and track progress of these students across all subjects after each report cycle at whole school level.

 STEM Club

Years 7 and 8 Endeavour Group students have come together to form a STEM club running for 6 sessions this half term. Mr Hawtin, Miss Chapman, Miss Baldwin and Dr Harrison have guided the group through a series of challenges designed to stretch and challenge our most able learners. So far students have designed and made Titan Lander Probes, simulated Avalanches and attempted to make the largest bubble possible. We also took the group on a fantastic day to Duxford Imperial War museum for the STEM EAST fair which catered for 500 students from the East of England. They experienced sessions ranging from programming computer games and Raspberry Pi’s, to Medical careers and Aeronautical design. STEM EAST provided experts and universities to lead the sessions and all involved enjoyed the experience. “An interesting insight into careers I would have never thought of, while also taking in the glorious historic planes” – Jake Gray 8F. For those disappointed not to make the club this half term, opportunities will be there from September next term! 

This monitoring is conducted by the Endeavour Group Coordinator and the Endeavour Group Subject Link Teachers who are:

* Endeavour Group Coordinator - Mr B Hawtin (Technology)

* Assistant Endeavour Group Co-ordinator - Miss C Baldwin (Creative   Arts).

* Endeavour Group Subject Link Teachers:

English - Mr I Haigh

Maths - Miss M Chapman

Science - Mr M Barrie

Humanities - Vacancy

Modern Foreign Languages - Mr A Craig

Creative Arts - Miss C Baldwin

Technology - Mrs L Cornell

Physical Education - Mr A Steed

Throughout the academic year, a variety of activities are put together for the Endeavour Group students.  The 2017/2018 booklet, which lists all activities that these students have access to, is available here. The Leading Edge team has also put together a students' website, particularly aimed at Endeavour Group students.  The link to the website can be found here.  A variety of information can be found on the website, including competitions, year activities, a blog and  twitter feed.  The website will continue to expand during the next academic year.

The Endeavour Group students at Farlingaye meet regularly at lunchtimes to participate in activities which are tailored for their needs. 

If you require any more information about Endeavour Group at Farlingaye High School, please contact Mr B Hawtin.

CISCO - Little BIG Awards - National Final - Champions

On Thursday 16th March the East of England finalists visited CISCO headquarters in Feltham, London to present their idea to an esteemed panel including Doctors, Professors and company execs. Barney Barnes, Harry Lansley, Tritan Whittle and Harry Lansley spoke confidently and proudly of their mousetrap which Tweets users once a trap has been made.

In the judges announcements, they commented on how well our students had presented their product, produced a detailed business plan and the level of technical skill they had shown in their prototype. 

It is testament to the boys' tremendous effort, enthusiasm and team work that they won the overall title of Little BIG Award winners 2017. As well as bringing home another trophy they also received £100 amazon vouchers each and the school has the opportunity to link with CISCO for a year of activities. 

My final thanks go to the whole Year 7 Endeavour group who worked on this project and to the organisers who made it all happen (CISCO & Connect-Education & Business) and to Malcolm van den bergh who supported us as a STEM rep.

Year 7 Endeavour visit BT Sports Studios

Thanks to a parental link, we had the pleasure of a trip to see the inner sanctum of the BT Sports studios within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 

 We started our journey by taking a walking tour of the Olympic Park with a series of worksheet activities to keep us thinking about the sustainability of the site and the processes involved in the construction of the eye catching stadiums & facilities.

In the afternoon we visited the Studios hosted by Annette Taylor. She took us through the dressing rooms and green rooms used by such ex-players as Gary Lineker, Glen Hoddle, Jermaine Jenas and Ian Wright. We then had a talk with the people who make it all happen in the directors room with a mind boggling array of buttons and screens. The most impressive part of the tour was being in the main studio. The cutting edge technology in this studio includes augmented reality, LED lighting and the largest studio in Europe. It was truly stunning and a real pleasure to see as rarely do students get to see first hand this facility.

I would like to personally thank Mr Easton for helping arrange this opportunity and to Annette Taylor & the BT team for their kindness on the day.