Summer School

Before the pandemic, Year 6 students always got the opportunity to spend two days in July at George Pindar School in order to help them familiarise themselves with the school, its staff and routines. This is to enable them to feel more confident when they begin Year 7 in September. Unfortunately, due to Covid, we were unable to host the all important Transition Days in July 2021. We were, however, able to offer them an exciting opportunity during the summer holiday.

We opened up from 16 – 20 August and invited 151 of our prospective Year 7 students. We were delighted by the uptake and one hundred and nineteen of our ‘nearly Year 7s’ came in for Summer School.

During the week, students took part in a range of activities across the school with every department involved.

These included:

• Literacy in English
• Numeracy in Maths
• 3D sculpting in Art
• Using tools to make windchimes and keyrings in Design & Technology
• Programming in Computing
• Baking bread in Food Technology
• Team building games in PE

On the last day, a Sports Afternoon was held before a presentation assembly to mark their achievements throughout the Summer School week. Certificates were awarded for attendance and to students who demonstrated our Pindar values – Proud, Independent, Neighbourly, Determined, Aspirational and Respectful. All students who attended also received a George Pindar School bag, a pen, pencil and ruler, as well as a lovely blue PINDAR T-shirt.

Head of Year 7, Miss Petts, said that she was incredibly impressed with the students’ level of enthusiasm and their ability to work together as a team with students from other primary schools. It was an amazing week that meant that students already felt comfortable in their surroundings when they started for real in September.

Year 7 student, Lily, said that she was confident when she started in September because she already knew her way around and knew some of the teachers. She also said that, because of the lessons she had done, she had already developed a good habit in terms of her school work.

Costs

This year, our Summer School was funded by the Department for Education and totalled £23,472 of which a breakdown of costs are as follows:

Staffing Costs: £18,327
Catering: £2159
Resources: £1807
Utilities and Cleaning: £1180