Paul Shone saw how positively his Year 11 students reacted to the “Drive for Results” programme. It was enough to persuade him to ask Study Skills Zone to run similar programmes for every year group from Year 7 to Year 13.
Paul is the Headteacher at Holly Lodge Specialist Science College in Smethwick, near Birmingham. He was concerned that this particular Year 11 cohort was not very aspirational. Holly Lodge is a larger than average secondary school. Around three quarters of their students come from minority ethnic backgrounds and over half of them speak English as an additional language.
“I needed Study Skills Zone to give them some study and revision skills, but I also wanted them to inspire them and really make them feel good about themselves and their chances. They did this brilliantly – as you can see from the feedback the staff and students gave at the end of the sessions.”
Paul had asked Study Skills Zone to run two 2-hour workshops for his Year 11, with 120 students in each session.
Holly Lodge were so pleased with the ‘Drive for Results’ programme that they booked Study Skills Zone to work with every year group in the school.
Mr Paul Shone, Headteacher, commented: “This seems to have been just the fillip our students needed. Exam techniques are necessary but, more than anything else, students need to believe in themselves – that they can achieve. This seems to have been a key message today.”
Study Skills Zone has also provided follow-up materials for tutors to use. For Year 7, this consists of five 20-minute lessons on topics such as “having a ‘to do’ list”, “devising a weekly planner”, and “multiple intelligences”. For Year 10, the focus of these lessons is on “time stealers”, “the advantages of study groups”, and “the use of mnemonics and story boards to improve memory”.
Paul wants to really embed these and other study skills into school life. So he has also brought Study Skills Zone in to work with staff. All teachers and classroom support staff have experienced the Study Skills Zone methods and tutors have been given time to prepare these follow-up lessons.