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23/03/23

Retweeted From Georgia Mitrousia

Thank you for hosting Research! Great to reach out to so many enthusiastic students - the future of science is in great hands! https://t.co/Uy2sAo6poE https://t.co/ODG3QkNdX6

23/03/23

An eventful day is brought to a close by an inter generational conversation cafe with a focus on how all generations can help combat climate change. https://t.co/1R1UKiKvU1

23/03/23

Thanks to the staff from CAMHS for delivering a specific workshop to yr11 and yr13 parents on how to cope with the stresses of the exam season. https://t.co/1SHmEzp6si

23/03/23

Retweeted From SRA_SixthForm

Thank you to for hosting a fab careers event today. Our Year 12s had a great time talking to the different representatives and found the whole experience really helpful! A big 📢 shout out to our students who managed to organise their work experience placements too! https://t.co/0OuGgCBSVh

23/03/23

Retweeted From Rothamsted Research

Was a pleasure to take part and meet such enthusiastic students 👏👏 https://t.co/YoL2l3BJeU

23/03/23

Diary reminder - the Year 11 and Year 13 Exam Stress and Anxiety Workshop takes place this evening at 5.30pm in the Drama Theatre. https://t.co/2pPCuPmNrH

23/03/23

SJL Cultural Enrichment Day - Year 10 preparing for their model General Assembly of the United Nations debate. https://t.co/wAO4kFkhp7

23/03/23

SJL Careers Day 2023 - Amazing to see the Careers Fair in action, students engaging with companies about careers options and the routes into employment https://t.co/wlHF2bOkOv

23/03/23

SJL Cultural Enrichment Day - Year 9 enjoying various activities focusing on international trade, consumption and sustainability. https://t.co/JrKVrEdLwp

23/03/23

SJL Cultural Enrichment Day - Year 10 preparing for their model General Assembly of the United Nations debate. https://t.co/m5OMO2niLC

23/03/23

SJL Cultural Enrichment Day - Year 7 building connections using creativity. https://t.co/W3JIp7w1S1

23/03/23

SJL Cultural Enrichment Day - Year 8 learning about different cultures through dance. Practising for their performance. https://t.co/1HPh5uFeJv

23/03/23

SJL Cultural Enrichment Day - Year 7 begin with an assembly on “Children Around the World” https://t.co/qhG9cKgbZX

22/03/23

Retweeted From SJL Ecoschools

Sweet peas, red dwarf beans, lettuce and coriander, all sown today. It’s great to get out in the sunshine and enjoy the spring air! Our flowering bulbs are beautiful this year. https://t.co/7AXbJzQUnY

22/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

DOUBLE DISTRICT CUP WINNERS 🏆🏆 Congratulations to both the: Year 8s 2-0 vs Roundwood Park Year 10s 3-1 vs St Albans School For producing a historic afternoon for SJL Football. Read more on our Instagram! Hugely proud of all the players involved. Enjoy every minute. https://t.co/ZV6l01MMit

22/03/23

Our award-winning Careers Day takes place tomorrow - a fantastic opportunity for Sixth Form students to connect with employers representing a diverse range of companies and to discover more about the vast range of career options available to them. Year 12 - smart business attire https://t.co/TsQOQ6eALP

22/03/23

Thursday is Cultural Enrichment Day - students across the school will take time off timetable for the opportunity to engage in a range of enrichment activities. Students in Years 7-11 can attend in non uniform. Year 12 must be in smart business attire for the Careers Day. https://t.co/b8GM56gGYP

22/03/23

Retweeted From Scholars' Education Trust

We are hiring! Looking for the next opportunity? We are an expanding multi academy trust based in Hertfordshire, seeking to appoint an experienced Payroll Manager. Apply now: https://t.co/c0R8vPaUXK https://t.co/PgcGyjE9fv

22/03/23

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Intergenerational Conversation Café event tomorrow night, being organised by our Climate Action Group – a chance to discuss climate action across generations. If you’d like to come along please contact us. https://t.co/yVvrElCsv0

22/03/23

Year 9 students receiving Headteacher Commendations, so lovely to see them embody the values of ACE. https://t.co/MymizKsSgR

21/03/23

Retweeted From SJLdrama

Great year 9 Drama performances at The Grove Junior school this afternoon raising awareness of friendship and online issues in such an entertaining way#theatrematters#nationaldramaseizetheday https://t.co/RS9je0WsIN

21/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

The final game of netball for this amazing team. The year 11 girls won 20-19 to Marlborough today. Huge congratulations to Ria A who was nominated as players player. Well done girls very proud of you all. https://t.co/E53V1T8Tfo

21/03/23

Every week students discuss our 'word of the week' and 'thought of the week' within their form groups, these discussions help to build upon their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. https://t.co/eOCBd3Gk00

21/03/23

Lots of students enjoying our lunchtime Chess Club today, it's great fun for all skill levels. All of our co-curricular activities can be found on the school website - https://t.co/Qa10Hfd2iu https://t.co/DEnOfUSi63

20/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

Year 10 District Cup Semi Final ⚽️ SJL 2 - 1 Verulam White ⚽️ (pen) Platt ⚽️ The boys reaching their 1st DISTRICT CUP FINAL! Goalkeeping heroics from T.Lloyd see us clinch a deserved victory! Final Details: 🗓️ Wednesday 22nd ⏰ 4.30pm KO 🏟️ Woollams Vs St Albans School https://t.co/Lz0sBVmkFF

20/03/23

Yr8 Headteacher Commendations awarded for a range of academic and co-curricular achievements. A great start to the week. https://t.co/sLRnb41UkC

19/03/23

Retweeted From Herts High Sheriff

N&E Herts Bench magistrates guided and judged, emphasising how hard it had been to decide. Delighted to present certificates to all the students and a trophy to the winners. 2/2

19/03/23

Retweeted From Herts High Sheriff

Congratulations to the students of Sir John Lawes School in Harpenden for winning their round of the national mock trial competition in Stevenage Magistrates’ Court. Four schools competed, playing every role from magistrates and lawyers to defendants and witnesses. 1/2 https://t.co/LpNor7c9aY

18/03/23

A Level English Battlefields tour continues with the group visiting Thiepval, Memorial to the missing of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. https://t.co/M1j1Dg2w67

18/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

Yr 8 and 9 Saturday Morning Results Vs Nicholas Breakspear Yr8 won 8-0 A. Davies scores 4 ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ Yr9 won 4-0 ⚽️ https://t.co/4BTX6rSoLH

18/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

Yr7 Football - Saturday Morning Vs. Nicholas Breakspear 7A won 4-0 7B won 4-3 2 brilliant games of football this morning. The boys in both teams were outstanding coming out victorious. Ethan and Henry Hatrick Hero’s ⚽️⚽️⚽️ https://t.co/AjP1sgID8Y https://t.co/cJ4Tubi0iB

17/03/23

A thought provoking and insightful day for the A level English students as they spend a day touring the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium. https://t.co/Jahrel0Bfd

17/03/23

Huge congratulations to SJL alumni David Ijiti. https://t.co/4OtoXY7tpY

17/03/23

This week's newsletter is out... https://t.co/1ELzXhgeBe https://t.co/R8f2LB6K4y

17/03/23

Happy St Patrick’s Day! To help celebrate we’ve got a fabulous display of brilliant books with green covers in our library. https://t.co/ceKQ96DPoQ

17/03/23

What a wonderful morning handing out Head Teacher Commendations to some very deserving year 7 students. https://t.co/7nWmLzdkxz

17/03/23

Harrison, one of our Heads of School doing a reading at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, the second largest Commonwealth Cemetery in Belgium. https://t.co/UglQsu2ZOu

16/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

Senior 1st XI Highlights from our District Cup QF 3-1 win against Sandringham this week. Clark ⚽️ F.Sweeting ⚽️ ⚽️ https://t.co/BryZ2gBmpP https://t.co/6H3ojzZMw5

16/03/23

Retweeted From SJL PE Faculty

U16 Girls suffer penalty shootout heartbreak in County Cup semi final after leading twice. Superb performance from all but sadly not to be! https://t.co/U0qPwm5Snf

More Able and Gifted & Talented Students

At Sir John Lawes School we believe that all children are entitled to an education that will enable them to develop their full potential, be that intellectual, physical, aesthetic, creative, emotional, spiritual or social, finding appropriate challenge in our learning environment.

All students have individual needs, making personalised learning a priority in our teaching and learning.

Sir John Lawes School is committed to providing a sufficiently challenging curriculum for all its students. In addition, we will provide opportunities to identify those who are more able and nurture their individual abilities.

All students have an entitlement to the following:

  • Staff commitment and training to develop students’ full potential at all times.
  • Lessons that stimulate, engage, challenge, inform, excite and encourage through partnership and dialogue with teachers and other students and active participation in the lesson.
  • Courses that lead to examinations and accreditation.
  • Skilled, well-prepared and informed teachers who have a perspective and understanding of whole school needs, problems and policies, especially those concerning issues related to those students identified as more able.
  • An entitlement beyond subject teaching, including preparation for adult life and preparation for the world of work. This should include extra-curricular activity, personal and social education, careers guidance and counselling, extramural experiences including visits to local industry, work experience and community service.

Contact with parents

There are a number of formal and informal ways that we maintain contact with parents.  These include:

  • An initial letter is sent home following the inclusion of a student as MASt and/or Gifted and/or Talented in the MASt and Gifted and Talented Register
  • An Open Evening is held during each Summer term showcasing the work done during the year.  Parents have the opportunity to discuss MASt and Gifted and Talented provision with representatives of each Faculty, discuss student concerns with Head of MASt and Gifted & Talented, Mrs. Brining, and have any questions answered
  • Mailings are sent home to inform parents of any new events, master classes or courses being offered
  • These dedicated pages of the school website hold information on the different aspects of the MASt and Gifted and Talented programme
  • Items in the SJL Newsletters celebrate the achievements of our MASt and Gifted and Talented cohort and keeps parents informed of forthcoming events
  • Parents are periodically asked for feedback.
Faculty Name
Art Alina Pullinger
Business and Computing Ailish Dunne
Computing Sophie Scott
Design and Technology Nosheen Yunis
Drama Rachel Woolrych
English Emma Brining
Geography Claire Pellet
History Jessica Bigden
Library Chloe James
Life Skills Manny Fernandez
LINK Maria Santos Richmond
Maths Audrey Aspland
Media Emma Smythe
MFL Caroline Michel Sam King
Music Lizzie Hastings-Clarke
PE Andy Battersby
Psychology and Sociology Amy Speechley
RS Maria Santos Richmond
Science Greg Brennan

 

Identification and monitoring

What do we look for?

  • Intellectual ability or talent
  • Specific academic aptitude
  • Creative and productive thinking
  • Leadership ability
  • Talent for visual and performing arts
  • Psychomotor ability.

More Able Students Register

Year 7 students sit Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs) in their first term. Those achieving an average CATS stanine of 8 or more are identified as More Able Students.

They are added to the More Able Students (MASt) and Gifted and Talented Register and parents are informed by letter. These students will always be identified as MASt until the end of Year 11. In Sixth Form, More Able Students are identified as the top 10% in their year group using their GCSE Average Points Score.

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) is the most widely used test of reasoning ability in the UK and has been fully standardized on 25,000 UK pupils. The suite of tests has been developed to support schools in understanding pupils’ developed abilities and likely academic potential. Results from CAT4 can help in intervention, monitoring progress and setting targets for future attainment.

Aimed at pupils between 6 to 17+ years, CAT4 assesses a pupil’s ability to reason with and manipulate different types of material through a series of Verbal, Non-Verbal, Quantitative and Spatial Ability tasks. Together, these four tests provide teachers with a comprehensive profile of a pupil’s reasoning abilities, and as such the core abilities related to learning.

The resulting data can then be used to identify a pupil’s strengths, weaknesses and learning preferences, providing accurate and reliable information that is essential for personalized learning. The more we know about a pupil, the better position we should be in to offer a learning environment and ways of teaching and learning that allow pupils to maximize their potential. Information about a pupil’s reasoning ability will be key to many teaching decisions and is considered alongside attainment data and other factors known to impact on learning, such as attendance and attitude.

Why does SJL use CAT4?

  • Helps pinpoint gifted and talented pupils and underachievers
  • Supports schools in monitoring progress and setting targets for future attainment
  • Identifies spatial thinkers who are likely to excel in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
  • Provides indicators of outcomes at KS3, KS4, and KS5
  • Reports support communication with parents, pupils, teachers and senior leaders. 

Gifted and Talented Students

Gifted Subjects

Business Studies, Computing, Economics, English, Financial Studies, History, Geography, Latin, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Psychology, Religious Studies, Science and Sociology. 

Talented Subjects

Art, Critical Thinking, Dance, Design and Technology, Drama, Food Technology, Leadership, Graphics, Life Skills, Media, Music, Photography, Physical Education, Product Design and Textiles.

There is a formal yearly review and update of the Gifted and Talented Register in the Autumn term for Years 8 – 13 and in the Spring term for Year 7. Students are continually monitored by teaching staff, who nominate students for inclusion in the MASt and Gifted and Talented Register  for outstanding performance in their subject area, or in any other activity staff are aware of. This includes nominations by the Pastoral team (Form Tutors and Heads of Year) following outstanding achievements in extra-curricular and/or super-curricular activities.

Parents of these students are written to in the Autumn term notifying them of their child’s Gifted and/or Talented subject nomination(s) for that academic year. These students would receive differentiated work in their nominated subjects stretching and challenging them further. If a student underachieves subsequently over the course of the academic year, their teacher can decide not to nominate them for inclusion in the following academic year’s Register.

It would be expected that MASt students should have a larger number of Gifted and Talented nominations than other students.

Parental nominations for inclusion in the MASt and Gifted and Talented Register, supported by relevant evidence, can also be submitted at any time.

Provision within the curriculum

Teaching and learning

Within the curriculum, we have been working to extend the expertise of our staff in providing a rich and varied range of activities specifically designed to extend our more able students. Teaching strategies have been developed to include different intelligences and learning styles, extending the provision in response to what the students themselves have told us helps them to learn.

Setting

  • Mathematics - setting in years, starts by October in Year 7; sets are continually monitored and adjusted as appropriate.
  • Science - all year groups are set, starting in the first half term of Year 7; sets are reviewed twice a year.
  • English - there is setting from Year 8 to Year 11.

Options

Mathematics:

  • Curriculum acceleration starts in Year 7, more able students start GCSE course in Year 9.
  • Fast track - GCSE Mathematics in Year 10, GCSE Additional Mathematics in Year 11.
  • Occasionally individual programmes are designed for particularly outstanding students
  • Further Maths at A level.

Science:

  • Able students are offered separate GCSE courses in Biology, Physics and Chemistry.

MFL:

  • Year 10 - Able linguists study two languages.
  • Students who speak a second language are supported in taking the GCSE through the school.

Resources:

  • Advanced texts and equipment have been provided for all faculties.
  • Curriculum-related extension courses and master classes are regularly offered.

In addition to the above, all faculties include MASt and Gifted & Talented provision within their schemes of work.

Chess Club

Chess Club meets every lunchtime Monday to Friday in M5 from 12.50pm – 1.30pm for Year 7 & 8 and in Z1 for Years 9 to 11.

Chess millie boy Chess stage 1
Chess use 1

Chess:

  • brings people together. Players can have big age differences and still enjoy a game together
  • helps you improve your problem solving skills
  • develops your spatial skills. You are constantly thinking of the opponent’s moves, thinking 2, 3 or moves ahead – a transferable skill to other sports
  • improves memory
  • involves both sides of the brain. A study demonstrated that both the left (the more logical) and right (more creative) sides of the brain are exercised during a game of chess

 

Tom Year 11 has created this beautiful chess board in Design and Technology!

Tom Redway chessSet 2 2022 Tom Redway chessSet 3 2022
Tom Redway chessSet 4 2022

Chess         Everyone welcome!

Go Club

Go Club meets every lunchtime Monday to Friday in M5 from 12.50pm – 1.30pm for Years 7 & * and in Z1 for Years 9 to 11. The ancient Chinese game of Go is one of the oldest board games in the world and flourishes in Japan and Korea also. More than 60 countries now compete in the annual World Amateur Go Championships.

More information can be found at the British Go Association which supports and runs an on-line league and UK tournaments, and they are offering a free one hour online teaching session to those joining for the first time.

Go head12

British Go Associations tutor Mr Cockburn is occasionally available to teach and advise students how to play and improve their game. We became UK School Champions in 2019!

Sir John Lawes and its Go Club feature in the Spring edition of the British Go Journal which records the second Harpenden Go Tournament held earlier this year. Twenty six players from across the South East enjoyed the Go with congratulations to Oliver Bardsley winning two of his games. Subsequently, the Maidenhead Tournament saw Oliver winning three games and several prizes! Congratulations to the Sir John Lawes Go Club who were the best school team at this tournament!

Go herts ad
Go oliver b 1 Go ollie r
Go edie t Go trophy

 

Try these strategic Go puzzles: https://britgo.org/covers/psmith

Everybody welcome!

Latin Club

Latin Club (SOCIETAS LINGUAE LATINAE) meets in M9 every Tuesday from 3.30pm – 4.45pm.

 Latin Club Poster

* Change of room, you can find Latin Club M9 every Tuesday

We follow the Cambridge Latin Course and Memrise which students can also access from home. This is supported by e-learning and text books. There are 12 levels in Cambridge Latin Course Book 1 and 19 levels in Memrise. There is a Cambridge Latin Course assessment every four levels. Students have a vocabulary book each and Mrs Brining, Mr Garcia and Governor Mrs Montgomery support learning. Ms Robins can offer GCSE Latin at Sixth Form by arrangement.

Caecilius Cambridge1

Latin Year 9

Year 9 Latin students with their Cambridge Latin Course certificates

having passed Levels 4 and 8

 

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