Teaching and Learning at FGS

"Learning is driven by what goes on in the classroom" Dylan Wiliam (Inside the Black Box)

At FGS we believe that each girl deserves the very best education and has limitless potential. We consider it our duty to help her to discover and fulfil that potential." The success of a lesson at FGS is not defined by what the teacher does, but by what students learn and the outcomes they achieve.

The academic life of FGS is vibrant, demanding and progressive. We are proud of our teachers and ambitious for our pupils. Our record is strong, and our endeavours are guided by the core belief that acquiring a love of learning is vital to leading a personally fulfilled, socially engaged and professionally successful life.

With that in mind, our principal objectives are:

• to instil high aspiration, curiosity, creativity and compassion in our pupils,
• to empower our pupils with the knowledge, skills and independence of mind that will make them effective and responsible leaders of the world they will inherit, and
• to encourage excellence so all students can achieve high standards regardless of their individual circumstances

Everything that we do is directed towards these aims and tested against them. We have high expectations of ourselves and of our pupils; and we insist that working hard and working intelligently must always be the basis of our success. We also know that learning is most rewarding in a community that is lively, co-operative, critical and, fundamentally.

We believe that Scholarship:

• is an attitude of mind not a description of intelligence
• is about intellectual curiosity and independent study
• is about working hard but also about doing hard work
• is about thinking, reading and discussing intelligently and with humility
• should be respected by the whole community
• is about developing a lifelong love of learning

Homework at FGS

Homework is a key aspect of education, as is used for extending student's knowledge, completing work begun in subject lessons during the school day, preparing for future lessons and supporting exam preparation and coursework.

Homework can take a variety of forms including:

• Reading
• Research
• Revising
• Learning vocabulary and spelling
• Completing or continuing coursework
• Doing corrections following feedback from the teacher
• Written work
• An extended piece of work to be completed over several weeks

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP

• Encourage your child to reads as much and as often as possible
• If possible, provide a quiet place for your child to complete their homework
• Have spare pens, pencils available
• Look at your child's planner to find out what tasks have been set and when the teacher is expecting the work to be done. Encourage them to complete the work on the night that the task has been set, rather than leaving it until the day it is due in. A little and often approach to homework helps manage the workload so your child does not get behind.