9
If you love
learning,
you will be
learned
ACADEMIC
Every boy’s parents will be invited once in the course
of a year to meet the boy’s teachers. These “parents’
evenings” are organised on a year group basis, and
interviews are arranged by appointment.
Senior
staff address parents on these occasions, on matters
relevant to the year group.
Assessment – internal examinations:
Alongside the on-going monitoring and assessment
that naturally takes place during lessons as well as in
the report sessions outlined above, all pupils have one
formal internal examinations session during the year
quite apart from any public examinations for which
they may be entered. For the fifth year, this takes
place at the beginning of the Lent Term (their ‘mock’
GCSE exams), for the fourth year in the first half of the
Summer term and for years 1-3, just after the Summer
half term. The L6th have a set of ‘tests’ in November
that take place during lesson times and the U6th have
a similar set of ‘mocks’ that take place after the Lent
half term. On each examination occasion the results
are analysed and reported home (often via the next
reporting session) and if performance in the exams
raises a concern then contact will usually be made
aside from the normal report, for example via a letter
from the Academic Deputy Head.
Monitoring – the Lists system:
For boys in the 3rd year and above whose academic
progress causes concern during the year, Abingdon
has a ‘Lists’ system to look more closely at them for a
period of time to help them to put things right. The first
level (the Tutor’s List) highlights a boy to his Tutor and
his teachers, who will keep a closer eye on him and
encourage him to address the specific issues that
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have arisen. Tutors will usually contact parents via email
or a telephone call to let them know this is happening.
More serious cases are elevated to the Housemaster’s
(years 3-5) or Upper Master’s (Sixth Form) List, which
involves a more formal reporting back from teachers to
the Tutor on a regular basis and a letter home. The most
serious level of monitoring is the Deputy Head
Academic’s List, which will usually involve a letter home
and a regular meeting between the pupil and the Deputy
Head to encourage specific improvement in agreed
areas. In Lower School, a modified version of the above
system is operated, with just two levels of monitoring.
At each stage of this process a pupil’s background and
specific needs are considered alongside the potential
involvement of the Learning Support department. Often
boys will appear on the Tutor’s List only for a brief
period before putting right whatever has led to the
concern. It should be emphasised that the system is
designed primarily to be supportive, to give boys the
chance to recognise, articulate and address their
problems.
Extra Tuition
Extra tuition is normally necessary only in special cases
(e.g. where a boy starts a subject late). N.B.
arrangements for extra tuition require written permission
from the Head. Special arrangements apply if a boy
needs help with English as a second language, payment
for which is made separately.
