Super-Curricular Special

Over the last few weeks, a selection of our ‘super-curricular’ group of Y7-9 students   - formerly known as G.O.T. group, or ‘Gifted, Outstanding and Talented’ group  -  have taken part in a number of enjoyable and rewarding London museum workshops. And in the process of learning new and exciting things, their understanding around their subject matter has been thoroughly stretched!

Our super-curricular groups  -one for each subject - are selected and encouraged to take part in a robust programme of masterclasses across all disciplines (whichever are appropriate), which sit alongside our already challenging curriculum programme. Underpinning these masterclasses are a number of strategies designed to broaden horizons, open up the wider world, encourage passion for the subject, embrace creative questioning, and encourage self-directed learning. This approach gives our students the chance to engage in a wide range of activities, trips, clubs, and competitions.

And so it was that our ‘super-curricular’ Y7-9 class for Art visited the British Museum to take part in a special Making Artists’ Books workshop. They took inspiration from both historical and modern books on display and used a multitude of different resources to experiment and create. Afterwards, the students were taken to the Leake Street Tunnel to enjoy a spot of street art appreciation – a great opportunity to compare more ‘modern’ interpretations of the artistic impulse found in the capital!

The following week, it was the turn of our Literacy super-curricular group to visit the British Library in order to take part in a fabulous Creative Writing workshop. Like our Art group before it, they also enjoyed a tour around the British Library’s Treasure Gallery, created as a collection of some of the most significant illustrated books and manuscripts from English, European and world history. The room is a trove of literary and linguistic historic treasures, including: Shakespeare’s First Folio and original copies of his plays; original copies of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales; anatomical illustrations by Michelangelo; hand-written lyrics by The Beatles; and original illustrated books by Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. There was just one slight disappointment for our boys - the library’s copy of the Magna Carta had been removed following an attempt to access it from behind glass by protesters some weeks earlier!!!

Still, there were plenty more treasures on show to appreciate and from which to get literary inspiration! And on the way back to London Waterloo, the boys enjoyed an impromptu close-up show of illusions, which was a lovely bonus for all.

Last but not least, our Super-curricular History group enjoyed a trip to the Imperial War Museum. After a tour around the museum, including naval guns, First World War Gallery, tanks and aircraft, the boys took part in an exciting workshop where they were asked to film their own war documentary using resources found amongst the many displays and galleries.

There will be many more trips, visits and clubs for our students in the coming weeks - so watch this space to hear more!