If you have had the opportunity to read our Four-Year Strategy (2021-2024) ‘Believe you can – Our mindset for Success’, you will have noticed that strand 3, Our Curiosity, focuses on innovative, reliable and beneficial use of technology to support learning. 

Rapid developments in technology have encouraged us to think creatively and adapt to how we use technology to enhance and transform learning. We have been on a three-year journey and the lessons learned have been invaluable in providing the College with a platform upon which to build and develop an innovative and dynamic use of technology. 

In September 2021, the start of our journey, we witnessed all Year 7 students successfully use a personal digital device in the majority of lessons to boost their learning experience. 

From September 2023, all students in all year groups use a personal digital device regularly in lessons and for home learning, thus enabling the process of teaching and learning to be more efficient, personalised and targeted.

Teachers and students predominantly use Class Notebook (an adapted Microsoft OneNote) for lesson content and for the completion of learning tasks, such as essays, worksheets and past exam paper questions. Student work is either be typed or handwritten on screen. 

In addition, we provide digital textbooks to all year groups where possible to improve the integration of a digital exercise book with annotated textbook pages.  

As currently all GCSE and A level examinations are paper-based, we are cognisant that handwriting on paper is an essential skill to practice. Therefore, our Assessment policy requires that all end of topic tests and assessments, end of year exams and mock exams are paper based. 

Through our imaginative and discerning use of technology we have been able to achieve greater success, accuracy and consistency in the following areas:  

• Through artificial intelligence diagnostic tools (Century Tech) identify gaps in learning and misconceptions 
• Through the use of  ‘low stakes tests’, quizzes to students, to preview and review learning teachers are able to plan the next steps in learning with greater personalisation. 
• Bridging gaps in learning by providing personalised learning pathways 
• Supporting students who miss learning due to other commitments or illness  
• Supporting students who struggle with the pace of learning in lessons  
• Providing students with the opportunity to review the lesson content at a later date  
• Capturing an individual’s process of learning and hence seeing the impact of response to feedback in action  
• Encouraging curiosity through readily available quick access to the internet in College  
• Providing a safe space for collaboration and presentation of ideas  
• Future proofing education for students who are not physically in the classroom  

Our drive to use technology in a more innovative and creative way has additional environmental and wellbeing benefits.  

Reducing our impact upon our environment:   

• Being able to annotate notes digitally and complete worksheets on screen has led to a significant reduction in photocopying and the use of paper. 

Student wellbeing:  

• The use of Class Notebook improves student organisation and gives access to prior learning material.  Our students won’t be anxious that they have missed learning should they be absent 
• Cloud storage reduces risk of losing work  
• Fewer books to carry around will reduce the weight of the rucksack  
• Improves communication between students and teachers, allowing students to be more proactive learners.  
• Allows students to access more readily our wealth of online resources, including wellbeing resources.

See our impact report below for more information about the project and its ongoing benefits.