Most Able
At Wyvern St Edmund’s, we provide a range of opportunities to help Most Able students realise their potential but also drive them on to succeed beyond the results they will achieve at school.
Who are our Most Able students?
Most Able students are those whose progress and attainment significantly exceeds age-related expectations (or those with the potential to achieve this). Most Able students comprise around 5-10% of the academy population.
Most Able students will be identified on entry by:
- Having a CATS test score in the top 10% nationally or
- Having a KS2 scaled score in Maths and English of 115 or above.
Most Able students will be identified over time by:
- Showing exceptional progress and attainment in a range of subjects or
- Teacher consultation – we will consider teacher nomination and welcome any evidence that suggests a student has abilities developed to a level significantly ahead of their year group or
- Parent consultation – we will consider parental nominations and welcome any background, knowledge or evidence of a pupil’s work done at home if appropriate. This information will be cross-referenced to performance data and the academy decision is final.
The Most Able Register
Once identified, Most Able students will be placed on the WSE Most Able register. The Most Able register is reviewed and updated throughout the year. Most Able students are not removed from the list if underperforming; instead, additional intervention is agreed for these students
In-Lesson
We want all of our students to be in the ‘stretch zone’ in lessons; this is equally true for our Most Able students. Teachers at Wyvern St Edmund’s know who our Most Able students are, have high expectations of them and will provide sufficient challenge for them in lessons.
Subject teams will continue to develop the targeted provision they can offer our Most Able students e.g. through homework, projects and visits.
WSE Academic Seminar Programme
Working collaboratively to ‘learn for its own sake’: a celebration of discussion and curiosity as ends in themselves.
We have established an Academic Seminar programme for our Most Able students. This involves a weekly seminar, in year groups, with a member of the Senior Leadership Team facilitating. Seminars are held during tutor time and are an opportunity for students to discuss and debate wide-ranging topics.
The WSE Academic Seminar programme is designed to build up our Most Able students’ body of knowledge about the world and promote confidence with, and enjoyment of, academic discussion as well as encouraging them to pursue a life-long love of learning for its own sake. Over the course of the programme, students will engage with a wide range of topics – many of which they might not otherwise have encountered through their school curriculum; some of which will support and enhance their knowledge of content covered in lesson time.
Most Able Enrichment
WSE Most Able students will be invited to targeted after-school enrichment opportunities; this offer will build over time. So far, Most Able students have enjoyed opportunities to take part in the Poetry by Heart competition as well as the Young Enterprise 10x challenge.
We run University visits and actively seek out opportunities to provide our Most Able students with enriching experiences e.g. by inviting in guest speakers.
Reading Challenge
We challenge students to read a selection of 100 books before they leave Wyvern St Edmund’s at the end of year 11. Why? Well, there are many reasons why we think reading is important for our young people; many claims have been made about the power of reading - from an increase in volunteering and charitable giving to an increased tendency to vote. However, there's two key reasons why reading is especially important to us here at Wyvern St Edmund's: our GRACE values of aspiration and empathy.
Aspiration. People who read widely, and develop the habit of reading, increase their vocabulary and knowledge of the world which helps to open doors to them - we want as many doors as possible to be open to our students in the future so that they can achieve their aspirations and become the best version of themselves.
Empathy. Reading is one of the ways we can become more empathetic - something we think is really important. Aristotle said that when we watch a tragedy two emotions predominate: pity (for the character) and fear (for yourself). Without noticing, we imagine what it's like to be the characters that we are reading about and compare their reactions to situations with how we responded in the past, or imagine we might in the future.
Students can read the books in any order but it is important that they record the date that they finish each book and ask a parent or carer to sign to confirm that they have read it. For every three books read, their booklets will be stamped and reading reward points awarded on Class Charts. When students complete each booklet, they will be invited to a celebration breakfast with Mrs Henderson. There’s a very special reward for students who read all 100 books.
We are launching our WSE Reading Challenge in Term 6 so that students can get a head start over the Summer.
