Added Value
‘Added value’ refers to the difference between the GCSE or A Level grades a pupil would get at an ‘average’ school and the grades that they actually achieve. Added value is tracked as part of a long-term project run by Durham University that processes over 40,000 Year 7 pupils per year. In Year 7, pupils sit a MidYIS test and the results are submitted to the project. Over the last 25 years, thousands of pupils’ test scores have been compared with their GCSE results which allows Durham University to provide statistical predictions for each pupil, benchmarked against other pupils. After GCSE results are sent to Durham University, a ‘value added’ score is calculated which analyses the difference between the predicted and actual results. An ‘average’ score would gain an overall value added score of zero, while a good school might expect an average uplift of a significant proportion of a grade per pupil. Pupils at The Royal School benefit from a consistent uplift in their grades.
Broad Offering
Our wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities at both the Prep and Senior School provide our pupils with opportunities to develop new skills and interests. We have a full programme of activities run by both Royal School staff and external organisations in order to enhance a pupil's time at The Royal School. The clubs alter each term to reflect the sporting calendar or seasons and many of our clubs are free of charge.
Future Ready
Part of The Royal School' commitment and vision is to ensure our pupils are future ready and that those skills are developed from Nursery right through to Sixth Form.
In the last quarter of a century, the world has changed significantly, whilst the curriculum at GCSE and A Level has not altered very much. In a world where AI is significantly prominent, it is more important than ever to make sure we nurture those skills that make us uniquely human. Skills and behaviours that we will develop inside and outside the classroom to set our children up to thrive in the world beyond school. The school development plans include improved facilities that can nurture and harness skills such as creativity, collaboration and digital literacy in our children. We are after all preparing them for a different world from the one we ourselves experienced at their age.
As part of our digital strategy, every child in the Prep School will be provided with their own mobile device in 2021/22. Reception to Prep 2 children will have iPads and Prep 3 – Prep 6 will have a Surface Go. Pre-Prep children will use Apps on the touch-screen iPads to enhance their learning across the curriculum. These include letter formation, phonics games, interactive exploration of the world, digital artwork and creating drama and story scenes. Microsoft Surface Go will be rolled out across the rest of the Prep School. Pupils will develop the ability to work creatively, independently and collaboratively. At the Senior School, pupils in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 will have a Surface Go from September 2021. Teachers already have a Surface Go and new interactive screens will be installed across the school. This will allow for an interactive workflow and a modern approach to learning, ensuring our pupils are future ready; digitally literate and savvy.
Other exciting developments include: incorporating robotics into the Prep School curriculum, which exposes pupils to problem solving and coding, plus the completion of a Creativity & Innovation Hub at the Senior School. This will incorporate an editing suite, a green screen room and a recording studio and allow pupils to create podcasts, short films and YouTube channels in different areas of interest.