Hillingdon Summer school for Gifted Linguists

The summer school, which has been held at Haydon for a number of years, takes place in the first two weeks of the summer holidays. The participants are pupils in years 6 and 7 who have been identified as having an aptitude for languages, and are often from the school’s gifted and talented cohort. Pupils are nominated by class teachers, and once their parents have accepted a place on the summer school, they sign a contract agreeing that their child will attend every day of the two week summer school. The summer school staff are all teachers at Haydon School, who have written and developed resources for a scheme of work based on the topic of my town, which is differentiated for Years 6 and 7.

We have pupils attending from schools from all over Hillingdon- Haydon, John Penrose, Uxbridge High School, Douay Martyrs, Frithwood, Coteford, Warrender and West Lodge. Most of the pupils who attended the Spanish Year 6 class had already been taught by Haydon teachers in their primary schools, and will attend master classes in Spanish after school, with the aim of taking their GCSE two years early at the end of Year 9. Year 6 French pupils are also invited to join master classes at Haydon.

Pupils undertake a range of activities relating to the topic of my town. The classes focus on personal introductions, places in a town, shops and items that might be found in them, and travel. They use a wide range of resources, including computers, interactive whiteboards, soft toys, music, digital cameras, the audio lab and mini whiteboards. They learn through a range of activities including songs, role plays, online language websites, games, and also have the opportunity to prepare units to teach each other. The emphasis is on grammatical and linguistic progress, and pupils are encouraged to gain confidence in their spoken language in particular. They work in small groups and within students from other year groups. Year 6 students are able to progress to NC levels 4 and 5, and Year 7 students to levels 5 and 6 – which are typical expected levels for the end of Year 9.

The groups produce a wide range of work, much of which is on display at the final show, to which family and friends are invited. These include role plays, funny sketches., quiz shows, power point presentations, photo stories, radio adverts, newspapers, and model Spanish and French towns which they design and build over the two weeks. Pupils also learn Spanish and French dances that they perform on the final day.

Throughout the summer school, daily certificates are awarded for student of the day, and special commendations and prizes are handed out at the end of the summer school to pupils who have made a particular effort, or made a great deal of progress.

The summer school is a very valuable and rewarding experience for the pupils who attend, and challenges the most able students to stretch themselves and acquire new skills – both linguistic and otherwise. It also gives teachers the opportunity to focus on language provision for the most able pupils that they teach.