Year 7 at the Academy

• The Year 7 School provides a supportive learning environment, closely tailored to individual needs, which ensures that every student’s progression from primary to secondary education is a positive experience.
• Our programme of transitional activities is designed to give every student an opportunity to feel settled and safe in their new school. Tutors, new students and parents work closely together to ensure that the move to The Oxford Academy is seamless: individuals who are happy and ready to learn.

  Tutors, new students and parents work closely together to ensure that the move to the Academy is seamless

• Students are taught in small groups by one key Tutor. Extended teaching time with one teacher allows us to quickly develop an in depth understanding of each child: how to support and how to stretch.
• We deliver a unique curriculum based on skill based learning. We understand the need to provide students with an opportunity to develop their personal understanding of themselves as learners, as well as enhancing their teamwork skills. As a result our students become independent learners, preparing them for their journey through the Academy and confident in their ability to succeed in life.
• The safety and wellbeing of all our students remains at the forefront of everything that we do. The structure of the Year 7 school, the team of Tutors, Teaching Assistants and a Learning Mentor ensure that each child has a clear network of support with a group of adults that they know well.
• High expectations are pursued rigorously and achieved successfully by the consistent approach of a strong Tutor team. As such our students are well-behaved, polite and smartly dressed. They strive to be the very best that they can be.
• We believe that the key to success is a close relationship between school and home, working together to meet your child’s needs.  Parents Evenings, progress reports, regular phone calls home and the opportunity to arrange informal meetings will enable us to work with you to support your child.

• Students in Year 7 make significant progress in their reading levels

  Homework is considered to be a vital part of our learning. We expect our students to complete a range of tasks across any one week to further enhance classroom learning and to develop skills as self- managers by organising and prioritising.
• We take great pride in the enormous amount of learning support that we are able to give to each individual student through careful tracking of their learning journey. Every student will take part in an intensive reading programme to improve fluency and confidence. Numerous small group and one to one interventions run to boost reading writing and mathematical skills at all levels.
• Significant improvements in reading ages boosted our least confident readers.  100% of our targeted students progressed in their reading age.    46% progressed by 3 years or more.
• Year 7 students make good progress in core subjects. In 2010-2011 80% made two sub- levels progress or more in English and 89% in Maths.

  Year 7 students make good progress in core subjects

• We encourage our confident students to take risks and extend their learning. In 2010-11 a Maths Enterprise group developed a small business plan working with students from Oxford Brookes University. Our talented creative writers wrote and performed a script in a joint project with the Pegasus Theatre and our avid readers represented Year 7 at the Oxford Book Awards.
• Consistently our attendance rates reflect our students’ desire to be in school.