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Date Posted: 9th December
Categories: Prep SchoolThe Wycliffe Times
Today, more than ever, we live in a global community. To thrive in this ever-changing interconnected world, pupils must have the confidence to step outside of their comfort zone, try new things, embracing their pioneering spirit and unfamiliar ideas.
Indeed, it is often when we are being exposed to challenges and new experiences that we learn most about ourselves, flourish as individuals and our place in the world.
During the Prep years in particular, pupils are primed to learn and adapt, and they respond particularly well to first-hand experiences.
Therefore, after a period of careful review, our Saturday School programme has been re-launched as the Wycliffe Discovery Programme. This newly created programme has been designed to build skills of communication, problem solving, collaboration and leadership, through a series of carefully structured units across the year.
So far this term, Year 8 pupils have completed a three-week Kintsugi Art and Philosophy unit. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with a gold-dusted lacquer, centred around a philosophy that celebrates imperfections. They have also learnt about the principles of flight, with Mrs Cleere arranging for a fully operational glider to be brought onto campus, and have worked alongside MOD engineers who shared their experiences in the field of aviation.
Meanwhile, Mrs Patten led our Year 7 pupils in a simulation of the UN General Assembly – the Model United Nations – where young people work as representatives of a country, debating and solving global problems while learning about diplomacy and international relations.
Year 6 were set an entrepreneurship challenge to ‘make £5 grow’. Each ‘start-up’ was tasked with the goal of making £5 grow to benefit our School charity, learning skills of marketing and budgeting along the way. This five-week series teaches pupils the value of a growth-mindset, where they must learn from failure and develop grit and resilience to achieve their goal.
The pupil body at Wycliffe has a thirst for adventure and an intellectual curiosity and, as you can see, the Discovery Programme aims to build on this, stretching and challenging pupils, allowing them to engage with new concepts and develop the skills they will need to be fully rounded global citizens of the future. We always welcome contributions from our parent community, so please do reach out if you would like to learn more about how you can be involved with the Wycliffe Discovery Programme.
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