Tuesday – A.R.MacNeill Secondary School Richmond

Context

The school opened in 2003 when unusually it admitted Grade 7 as well as 8 and a district incentive programme. However the school will not be admitting Grade 7 from next September because of falling rolls in the elementary schools (the normal range of entry to secondary education is Grade 8-12).

There are 930 students on roll, with 300 with IEPs and 30% EFL.

There are 45 teachers and 79 staff in total.

Richmond appears to be an affluent community but MacNeill has the lowest socio-economic profile. The school has a significant proportion of students of Chinese origin and an increasing variety of ethnic background.

Unlike many other schools, students are permitted to use their mother tongue during recreational time and in dialogue with each other in classroom tasks.

Incentive Programme

The incentive programme was initially a district programme accommodated in the school but is now MacNeill-specific. The programme admits a maximum of 30 students in each of Grades 8-10 and is staffed by 4 teachers.

The programme consists of intensive academic courses and an extensive programme of outdoor education including skiing, sailing, golf and other outdoor education. There are several field trips each term. The parents pay a fee for this programme to help cover the costs of the outdoor education. All students have to produce a significant piece of work based on independent study and research. In Grade 11 students usually move to another high school to study for the IB.

During the course of the visit students were rehearsing for a production of The Sound of Music. No teacher was present and rehearsals were proceeding successfully under the direction of the students. There were a variety of roles – singing, acting, stage construction, lighting.

Academies within the school

When the school opened it was organised into two academies, Science and Fine Arts. The effect was to create academies that were imbalanced in terms of gender with students making subject choices for the wrong reasons. From the start of the next academic year the school will be allocating students randomly to the academies in order to redress balances of gender and ability, with Grades 11 and 12 forming a separate Senior academy. In the senior academy all courses contribute to graduation.

Online courses

The availability of online courses has caused some issues for the school. Students cannot be dual registered so if they opt for an online course they have to drop out of the school course and the school has made a conscious decision that these students cannot access any support or guidance from teachers in the school within that course, because funding follows the student. A student could in theory follow all their courses online and teachers could choose to put their course online and never meet the students face to face. The Principal feels that the district is engaged in a cost-saving exercise though acknowledges that online courses are particularly valuable for pupils living in isolated communities and attending small schools which do not have the capacity to offer a wide range of course.

Two students were interviewed who had chosen online courses. One had chosen a course which was not offered at the school; the other had chosen a course that was provided by the school because he felt the online course was easier, would take less time and had less content. He had already completed 80% of the course, with half a year to go.

Student Voice

This is largely unstructured. There is a student council whose activities appear to be limited to social events planning and school environment. Some older pupils were seen supporting the learning in lower grades, for example in Science and Technology. Student voice activities are actually present but without them being aware. For example they can choose to do an online course instead of the timetabled one. Because the curriculum is not as prescribed as in England, there is a wide choice available in some subjects, for example in Art where pupils have a completely free choice of what to create.

The school buildings are light and spacious and designed on a hub and spokes model. There is wireless technology in all rooms and one trolley of PC laptops, though the district preference/suites are Apple/Mac. IT support is at district level.

Inclusive education

Pupils with special educational needs are integrated into school and attend most mainstream lessons. In addition they have a classroom base where they can meet in small groups and in recreational periods if they wish. The school has Resources teachers and support assistants (similar to SLAs) who work alongside pupils in class. There is also a course called Learning Strategies which the pupils attend in place of one of their electives. This is focused on literacy, numeracy and basic skills. Students have very detailed IEPs which last for a year.