What are the independent study expectations?

As part of their independent study, pupils may be asked to show they’ve used your Knowledge Organiser in various ways. For some subjects, such as Science, Geography and History, pupils may be asked to review their KO and then complete an online quiz. In other subjects, such as Art and Drama, pupils may be asked to complete Cover-Write-Check or Cornell notes. No matter how they are asked to use it, the aim is the same – to build strong long term memories that pupils then recall and use in class. When completing any written work from their KO, pupils should complete it in your green Knowledge Organiser workbook. Pupils must:

• Check the appropriate year group schedule below to see which subject should be worked on each day.
• Write the date and subject heading for each piece of work.
• Complete one full page for each subject on the schedule in your workbook as directed by their subject teacher.
• Make sure they always their knowledge organiser when finished to mark, evaluate and correct their own work in your purple pen.

Find out more about Knowledge Organisers here.

For online quizzing tasks, such as Educake in Science, Geography and History, there is an expectation that you achieve 80% or above to show a good understanding of the topic. You are always able to retake a quiz if you don’t achieve this first time.

Independent study schedule

The schedule below shows what independent study pupils should be completing each day. This includes online work such as Sparx Maths and Reader and Bedrock; subjects where the KO should be used followed by online quizzing (such as science and geography) and subjects where pupils should use some of the techniques detailed above in their green Knowledge Organiser workbook. The schedule also shows how long pupils should spend on each task, the day they are allocated time to complete the task and also the day the task needs to be handed in. Work in the KO workbook will be checked during tutor time each morning by tutors and other tasks will be checked by subject teachers. If pupils have not completed any of their independent study tasks, they will be required to attend a 1 hour same day detention to catch up.

In years 10 and 11, there will be an increased focus on preparing you for your GCSE exams. This means teachers will start to use exam materials and other independent study tasks in addition to your KO and online platforms. All additional tasks will be set on classcharts by your teacher.

Who can help with independent study?

There are lots of people who can help pupils with independent study. Independent Study club runs every day in the library from 3:00 – 4:00. There is a quiet space to work, computers to use for online tasks and members of staff available to help. It’s a great place for pupils complete all their tasks for the day, leaving evenings free to enjoy their other interests. If pupils need help with a particular task, subject teachers are available at break and lunchtime to help with any issues – pupils just need to make sure they see them before the hand-in day and they will be happy to help. By using the schedule above, we hope pupils can plan to complete their independent study as well as still enjoying all their other interests, family and friends each day. If they do have any issues, pupils should tell their tutor or head of year straight away.