Teaching & learning

Our Goals for
Teaching & Learning

Everyone in the school, regardless of background or starting point, achieving the highest academic standards.

Equipping students with the values, attitudes and attributes that will serve them well in university, the workplace and all aspects of their life.

Delivering this outcome consistently, year on year, regardless of changes to context or circumstances.

BSM Students: A voice that matters

Our
Curriculum

We follow the National Curriculum for England.

This defines targets in each area of the curriculum for children to achieve in terms of knowledge, understanding and action. The development of learning skills, independent thought, creativity and a love of learning are wider aims of the curriculum and are embedded in all that we do.

All pupils are expected to work hard to achieve their academic potential. Ultimately, academic success in GCSEs, A Levels and University admissions is an aim of the curriculum and an aspiration of students, staff and parents. We believe that such success is best achieved through a broad curriculum with a wide variety of opportunities for pupils to develop and practise their own academic interests.

Our Learning Ethos

Our Learning Ethos underpins learning and teaching throughout the school.

The aim of our Learning Ethos is to nurture and support our pupils to grow into:

Hard Working and Secure Individuals

  • Practice
    Train and prepare through repetition of the same processes.
  • Responsible
    Choose right from wrong.
    Be honest about mistakes.
    Come ready and prepared for school.
  • Persevere and be Resilient
    Persist in effort, face obstacles but never give up.
    Work diligently and systematically.
    Not be satisfied until high quality, precision and the desired outcome are achieved.
    Change what I need to.
    Not be put off by mistakes.

Agile and Resourceful Learners

  • Motivated
    Work hard because it matters.
    Plan independently.
    Think and do things for myself.
  • Curious and Enquiring
    Ask questions about what I have learnt.
    Explore new ideas in my learning.
    Question what I see, hear and read.
  • Reflective
    Think and talk about what I have learnt.
    Improve what I have learnt.
    Use what I have learnt to make choices.
  • Creative and Enterprising
    Be willing to innovate and invent multiple solutions.
    Adapt my approach according to need.
    Show originality in work.
    Use initiative to find solutions.
  • Risk Takers
    Think, then have a go.
    Find new ways to solve a problem.
    Do things differently to do them better.
  • Open Minded
    Change my ideas because of what I’ve seen, heard or read.
    Think about things from another’s point of view.
    Accept others have different ideas.

Empathetic and Respectful Contributors

  • Confident
    Talk about ideas clearly.
    Enjoy new challenges.
    Be confident in saying and doing.
  • Collaborative
    Find out what other people think.
    Find answers with other people.
    Include other people.
  • Community-minded
    Help others.
    Make a difference at BSM and in the community.
    Take care of the world around me.

BSM Perseverance

Advice for
Parents

Neurological and psychological research shows most children are capable of reaching very high levels of performance. IQ and potential isn't fixed - evidence shows it can be grown, and the key is developing the right learning attitudes and attributes.

Parents can play a huge role in helping their children to fulfil their academic potential by supporting their child to develop key habits. Advanced learning expert, Professor Deborah Eyre, and education journalist, Wendy Berliner, have compiled these tips to help you:

1. Encourage resilience

Children who do well at school aren’t put off by failing – they keep trying until they get better. Your job when a child says they’re rubbish or can’t do something is to make them believe in themselves and keep going.

  • Don’t say: Let me do it for you.
  • Do say: I know it’s hard now, but you can do this if you keep trying.

2. Encourage planning and monitoring

Knowing how they’re doing – that they’re on track with their homework, for example – and knowing they need to put more effort into improving certain things, is very important to high performers.

  • Don’t say: Just start somewhere and muddle along.
  • Do say: How are you going to tackle this? Do you know you’re on track? How can you tell you’re doing it right?

3. Encourage open-mindedness

Being open to new ideas is the hallmark of an advanced learner. Start with being open-minded yourself, and model what it’s like to be receptive to ideas that differ from your own.

  • Don’t say: What a stupid idea.
  • Do say: Isn’t that interesting? I never thought of that, but that’s such a good approach.

4. Encourage practice

It’s the only way to get better. Make sure it’s regular, deliberate and planned practice, working towards achievable incremental goals, and that your child practises what he/she can’t do until they can do it well.

  • Don’t say: You’ve been practising long enough now, do something else.
  • Do say: You’re really good at that now, what’s the next step up?

5. Encourage curiosity

Curiosity is at the heart of all learning and the link with high performance is compelling, so encourage questions and model curiosity yourself. Your job is to answer your children’s questions initially and then later encourage them to find out the answers themselves.

  • Don’t say: Stop asking so many questions.
  • Do say: I wonder why …?

6. Encourage critical or logical thinking

The characteristic most associated with academic success is the ability to deduct, hypothesise, reason and seek evidence – Sherlock Holmes is your model for this.

  • Don’t say: Why are you interested in that? Who cares?
  • Do say: Why do you think that happened? How could you work it out?

Our students learn from the best: Our Staff

Learn more about
our Schools

Primary School

Senior School