The 2018 assessment centre took place at Riverbank Academy in Coventry, a special school and member of the Sidney Stringer Academy Trust.
72 students from 16 secondary schools, 7 primary schools and 1 special school (Riverbank Academy) were tasked with undertaking a live project to develop the Riverbank Academy school grounds to promote accessibility, independence and a love of learning for the Riverbank Academy students.
The ambassadors from 16 secondary schools, 7 primary schools and 1 special school at the assessment centre
The projects for assessment were to create a truly stimulating, inspirational and attractive learning environment for the school’s students. Students being assessed worked in eight teams with the following projects
- Outside reading / social area – 16+ Hub
- Display boards for outside reading / social area – 16+ Hub
- Furniture for outside reading / social area – 16+ Hub
- Outdoor learning games – 16+ Hub
- Front entrance – 16+ Hub
- Indoor space for students to read, socialise and relax – 16+ Hub
- Willow tree decoration – Riverbank Academy main reception entrance
- Sensory resource and mosaic – Riverbank Academy’s sensory garden.
Each team was allocated a challenge and an assessor from WCSQM, with whom each team had to liaise prior to the event to ensure that they were on track with their plans and preparations. Teams were also responsible for liaising with and gaining approval from key stakeholders, including David Lisowski, Headteacher at Riverbank Academy, Matthew Taylor, Forest Schools Manager at Riverbank Academy and Alex Green, Schools Programme Manager from LESS CO2 (environment and sustainability).
Throughout the day, the team of assessors from WCSQM monitored each project team for the capabilities and behaviours that define a 21st century world-class student. The output from this process was fed into the overall assessment to determine the world-class status of each participating school. Students were assessed for, among other things:
- Leadership qualities
- Collaborative and cooperative behaviour
- Social awareness
- Enthusiasm for learning
- Empathy, understanding and compassion
- Critical thinking skills and problem solving
It was tremendous to see how positively students from Year 6 right through to Year 13 worked together to achieve their goal. We were incredibly impressed with the high standard of work produced by the students on the day – you can absolutely see why they were nominated by their school as being World Class.
Seeing students who’ve never met each other before produce such phenomenal projects is the true meaning of World Class
Days like that give me hope for the world.I thought the special school / mainstream school mix was an absolute triumph and all the students had a steep, rewarding and powerful learning curve which they all embraced with charm and enthusiasm.
