By Mrs Day (Co-Curricular and Community Outreach Manager)
This year 80% or our Lower Sixth students have demonstrated their continued commitment to volunteering at either Shackleton Primary School or Marston Vale Middle School.
At Marston Vale, the students have spent the year working with selected Year 6 students, supporting them with their reading and comprehension skills in preparation for their recent SATS Exams. The Lower Sixth students have worked one-to-one with the same student each week, enabling them to build a positive, friendly, and supportive relationship with the Marston Vale students. Throughout the year it has been a delight to watch the confidence of both the Year 6 students and our Lower Sixth students grow as they worked together on past SATs papers.
More recently, as the Year 6 students have now sat their SATs exams, the Lower Sixth have met and worked with Year 5 students. We look forward to supporting them next year with our new Lower Sixth cohort as our Outreach programme continues.
Amelia Bayly (Lower Sixth) commented ‘During our outreach at Marston Vale, we had the privilege of supporting Year 6 students as they prepared for their SATs. Each session, we worked through exam style questions together, whilst focusing on spelling and reading skills. At first, we were met with a general groan across the classroom which comes along with the thought of revision. However, over time, the students began to call over their partner, eager to begin, showing us that a little support goes a long way.’
Simon Wathen (Deputy Head of Marston Vale Middle School) commented: “Every other week Lower Sixth students have visited Marston Vale Middle School to work with KS2 pupils enhancing their reading and comprehension skills. Using previous SATS papers, this collaboration has seen pupils develop their skills in advance of May exams. These constructive partnerships and hushed tones of reading have been a delight to see and hear.”
On behalf of the Lower Sixth, I would like to thank the staff at Marston Vale for their hard work in organising the past papers and their students to enable the Outreach Programme to run so successfully. We look forward to hearing the impact of our support once they receive their SATs results in July.
