Stretch and Challenge
We continue our inclusive approach to education with our Stretch and Challenge programme. We believe all should be challenged, not just the more able. We also believe that education is so much more than just passing exams. We run a programme of events throughout the school to allow pupils to develop or improve on a wide range of “soft skills” which are so important to both their future careers and lives generally.
There is a multi-stranded approach featuring:
- A House point system whereby all pupils can see how many House points they have been awarded and where they stand in the ranking. House points are awarded both in lessons and for achievements in the other strands of the Stretch and Challenge programme.
- The List, an online list of suggestions for activities that pupils might like to complete independently, is an excellent way to achieve extra House points.
- Skills such as resilience, creativity, problem solving, teamwork and communication are practised during Challenge Days, such as Pantomime in a day or Create a book day.
- There are also regular Stretch and Challenge assemblies where a task has to be completed within a very short period of time, working with pupils from different year groups.
- A biennial Challenge Fair is an opportunity for pupils to produce a display, model or film based on any subject that interests them.
All of the above give the more able an opportunity to excel as well as providing moments for those who may struggle academically to demonstrate what others skills they may have. The website www.housepoints.info has some short films of Challenge Days as well as an opportunity to view The List.
Westfield S and C summary of 2023
