Overwhelming response to summer COVID catch up

​It was back to school for James Wild as he visited St Clement’s High School where he found classrooms full of students even though it’s the summer holiday.

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As part of the Government’s £200m summer school plan, Year 6 students were invited to give up part of their summer holiday in exchange for extra lessons and 120 students jumped at the chance at the Terrington St Clement secondary school.

“We were overwhelmed by the fantastic response from our new students,” said Nigel Willingham, Headteacher at St Clement’s, part of the West Norfolk Academy Trust. “When we started planning this we thought we’d be happy if half the year group attended but almost all the whole year group attended at some point during the week.”

The students explained to their MP that while they had attended extra lessons in subjects such as English, Maths and history, there had also been time for other activities. All students undertook CPR training, they learnt about looking after bees and even had a visit from Emma’s Hedgehog Hotel.

Mrs Towle, St Clement’s Assistant Headteacher who organised the week-long programme, continued: “During lockdown students missed out on social interaction so we included a series of fun activities as part of the programme. One day the whole group visited InflataNation and had a brilliant time. We hope it has given them a real boost of confidence ready for the new school year.”

During Friday's visit to the school, the soon-to-be St Clement's student’s explained their work to James and had the opportunity to ask questions about being an MP.

On seeing the impact of programme, James Wild said: “I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit St Clement’s High School and to meet children starting Year 7 in September.

“It was impressive to hear about the creative approach taken in the summer school lessons and other activities to help boost catch up and build confidence. The enthusiasm of the pupils and teachers with lots of smiling faces was great to see.”

Summers schools took place at other West Norfolk Academy Trust schools with 144 involved at Marshland High, in West Walton, and Smithdon High, in Hunstanton.

At Marshland, students enjoyed engaging activities in Maths and English to help them prepare them for September.

Enrichment activities saw students take in Olympic-inspired dance workshops as well as STEM Lego challenges and Virtual Reality workshops.

Students also took part in afternoons of music, learning about different instruments, and played sport team games such as basketball and rounders.

To end the week, the soon-to-be Marshland students enjoyed a day out at Banham Zoo.