Sometimes it is good to step back and to reflect on what you engage in on a daily basis, week in, week out. The Southwark Schools Learning Partnership encourages just that: 8 local independent and state schools in partnership, in pursuit of best practice, have been exploring the nature of what makes a good lesson.

Year 8 pupils from each school have discussed this in form time. At JAGS pupils are encouraged to express opinions and share their views through our Opinions Box, through School Council and through discussion in form groups. Last term, Year 8 Form Captains were involved in an activity session with 3 other schools and they brainstormed the question: What makes a good lesson? The Form Captains for 8G last year, Matilda and Sarah, explained how the year group had come up with 10 points. 59 lessons were then analysed retrospectively against the criteria. 71% said yes, 19% said no and 10% were unsure in answer to the following questions:

Did you arrive with all your books and equipment?

Was there a clear, positive start to the lesson?

Were you enthusiastic and did you take part in the lesson?

Were you clear about the homework and did you use your homework diaries to record it?

Did the lesson end on time and did you leave quickly and quietly?

Were there varied activities and teaching styles within the lesson?

Did the teacher make time to set the homework?

Evaluating the results, the Form Captains from all 8 schools have been able to recognise 3 targets: to get everyone to arrive on time, to get pupils to put up their hands and not to call out, and to work more quietly.

In an assembly for Years 8 and 9, Section Head Mrs Emma Mayo encouraged the pupils to follow Martin Luther King’s motto: Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. She gave out special certificates recognising the girls who had achieved more than 10 credits this term and urged everyone to celebrate what they had achieved in doing their best. In the season of Lent when we can be side-tracked into thinking only about what to give up, she encouraged us to focus more on what we take on in terms of courtesy, care and consideration of others.