Enrichment News

Enrichment in Junior School - Passion Projects

It is an exciting prospect to work with students across all stages of the Junior School and one that I am thoroughly enjoying. Seeing the boys grow, watching them discover and broaden their skills and knowledge, is such a privilege after working in one specific stage of their Junior School journey.

In class, the wonderful differentiation that has always operated will be enhanced through additional support and supplementary sessions. Links between home and school will be fostered through the creation of Passion Projects, where children can immerse themselves in their chosen subject area, utilising inquiry skills and showcasing their talents and creativity, to produce an open-ended assessment piece that they can work on both at home and in class.

The concept of 'Passion Projects' or 'Genius Hour', is one commonly associated with innovative companies like Google. Engineers spend one day of their working week immersed in projects that they are interested in and passionate about. This allows people to explore concepts or areas that spark their interest. Thus, the motivation becomes intrinsic rather than extrinsic, and this has had a huge impact and benefit to companies as production rates increase. An example would be Gmail, an idea that started as one Google employee's interest, and has now become hugely beneficial to millions of people, not to mention profitable for the company.

During the coming weeks, identified students will be interviewed and mentored in order to select such a Passion Project, something that they can work on both in and out of school and an additional area of enrichment that will foster their natural curiosity and creativity. I look forward to sharing their ideas and assisting the boys to develop their natural talents, empowering the students to transform themselves into active and critical citizens in their education and future lives.

Mrs Alison Webster
Enrichment Co-ordinator