Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

   As we all know, there is more to a school than rankings! They don't show the rich cultural or sporting lives of a school or indeed differentiate between schools with selective and unselective intakes.   Every year, the Sunday Times produces a ranking of all the schools in the UK based on GCSE and A level performance. This year, the 2024 Sunday Times Parent Power rankings have used A level, IB and GCSE results from 2023. Top schools remain constant with a few new arrivals in the top 20 which have made for interesting results for the normal incumbents!  1: St Paul's Girls 2: Guildford High School 3: St Paul's School  4: North London Collegiate (ranked 1st for GCSE) 5: City of London School for Girls (ranked 10th for GCSE) 6: Tonbridge School (ranked 14th for GCSE) =7: King's College School, Wimbledon =7: Magdalen College School 9: Westminster School  10: King Edward VI High School for Girls    Close but no cigar.. 11: Brighton College Surprise of the year - Wycom

Vygotsky developed his Zone of Proximal Development theories based on observing how groups of children learn. Children may have the raw ability to learn how to do something but they may not be able to achieve their potential without assistance from a knowledgeable person'who breaks down the task into steps which the child can master. We can call this 'scaffolding'.  Anyone who has ever studied painting or music will understand exactly what this process involves. Remember the Suzuki method? Think about the Zone of Proximal Development as having three steps:    1: Tasks which a learner CANNOT accomplish with assistance Sometimes, the task is too great for a learner. You as a parent need to step back and break the task down into small bites. Think about this; you wouldn't put a child on a racing bike for the first time and expect them to be a competant rider! Apply this to every area your child struggles with.    2: Tasks which a learner CAN accomplish with assistance.   W