The Tools for Learning initiative is designed to reduce the amount of time lost in lessons looking for equipment and supporting students who do not have the right equipment.  As you can imagine this can be very frustrating and leads to a lot of lost learning time which over the course of weeks, months and years can reduce the amount of teaching time quite considerably. Being prepared for a day’s work, be it a hairdresser with their scissors, a bricklayer wearing protective boots or a chef with their knives, is a valuable life skill and I hope this initiative will impress upon the students just how important and positive this habit can be for their progress and futures.

 

Students who do not have the items on the list will be required to go to Student Services before school to avoid a sanction and obtain the missing items. Student Services sell complete pencil cases for £3.30 without the calculator and £13.30 including the calculator. The items in the school shop are sold at cost price and are bought in bulk and are therefore cheaper than can be obtained in local supermarkets and High Street stores. 

 

We insist on a clear pencil case as this is absolutely outstanding practice as they are required in the examination rooms as part of the examination regulations.  For the younger years this keeps things transparent and it allows us to support the students more easily and to keep them safe.

 

The calculator is the Casio FX-83GTX.  We recommend that everyone where possible has the same model as this will enable staff to teach students how to use the correct methodology on the same machines when confronted by some of the more complex problems that Mathematics can throw at students.