Leading Edge Specialist Status

Callington Community College became a Leading Edge school in 2003.

We are a partnership of six secondary schools that include:Saltash.net, Tamarside, Liskeard, Torpoint and Looe.

The aims of the Leading Edge Partnership are wide ranging - the overarching aim is to raise achievement in our partnership through a range of initiatives. The Leading Edge funding has enabled us to creatively explore a new ways of developing our teaching and learning. We have been able to innovate and share excellent practice across the partnership as a result of the Leading Edge work.

The Objectives:

• To raise student aspirations
• To raise student achievement through the acceleration of the curriculum
• To raise student achievement through the focus on behavioural strategies
• To develop an experimental school
• To raise student achievement through the tool of ITT
• To improve the quality of life and help raise achievement through the development of a school climate that focuses on health and well being

Each school over the past 5 years has taken some responsibility in leading edge work to address the above objectives. The projects developed by the partnership have been wide ranging, both small and large scale impacting students and staff.

Some of the projects have been:

• Staff have conducted a small scale research project on an area of their teaching
• Boys Dance Projects with Tamarside and Callington
• Year 8 students have been involved in a yearly off site experimental schools project linked with Plymouth University.
• Creative Partnership project exploring diversity and difference linking science, theatre, English and Art
• Staff trained through the Investors in Excellence Programme
• Students trained in Go For It training and Breakthrough for sixth form - a version of Investors in Excellence

• Joint revision sessions with Tamarside and Callington
• Shared observations across schools and sharing of expertise
• Acceleration of the curriculum
• Opening Minds Project with students at Liskeard
• Student Voice Questionnaires across the partnership

In addition to this work all schools have hosted a conference for all our partners to share good practice in teaching and learning to raise achievement.

Our Leading Edge work has supported a good deal of excellent work to raise achievement across the partnership and within Callington Community College itself.

Currently we have refined our objectives as the Leading Edge work has grown and developed. Our key focus areas for 2008-2009 are:

• International Baccalaureate
• New Technologies
• Student Voice
• Aspirations

In addition to the above we are also aligning the Leading Edge work with the National Programme for Gifted and Talented.

Leading Edge Coordinator: Debs Kemp