Student Feedback

Safeguarding & Wellbeing

I am pleased we investigated cancer awareness and how to look after your own mental health. It is just as important to learn these things as it is to be good at English and Maths! (Year 9 student)

I feel much more informed about toxic relationships, drug abuse, and mental health after our drop-down days. They were really useful!  (Year 9 student)

What we have learned will be useful when we are older, SRE helps you prepare for the future and it is the right age to learn these things to stop us from making mistakes when older.  (Year 9 student)

“I found myself feeling down during isolation, it can be very easy to slip into the feeling I was alone, but after contacting the wellbeing team they reassured me this wasn’t the case”. (Year 10 student)

“After using some of the strategies given from the school I felt a lot more positive about life”. (Year 9 student)

“I felt overwhelmed with the amount of work I was getting, and found myself getting deeper behind, and didn’t know how to approach my teacher. I emailed the wellbeing team and they spoke to my head of year for me to discuss my issues. They have since been in touch and we have put a plan in place.” (Year 10 student)

“The wellbeing team arranged for me to come into school as I was feeling isolated and lonely”. (Year 8 student)

"Everyone is willing to help no matter who you are or what your age is." (Year 8 student)

"I like it how everyone comforts you in a time of need and supports you when you are upset." (Year 7 student)

Teaching and Learning

I believe the teachers push me and always give me extra work to push me whilst also helping other students. (Year 7 student)

Teachers are really welcoming and understanding. (Year 8 student)

"Engagement in lessons is really good, teachers plan them well and there is assessment in each lesson to help us make progress". (Year 12 student, 2020)

The sport here is good and there are lots of different clubs to go to at lunchtime and after school. (Year 8 student)

Teachers are aware of outstanding students but always encourage everyone. (Year 8 student)

We are working well towards our GCSEs and there is lots of help to prepare including more exam weeks and improvement time. (Year 10 student)

Academically the school is doing much better every year. (Year 10 student)

"We did baseline assessments in at the start of Year 13 which helped the teachers seen any gaps in our learning, and we got lots of feedback and teachers are going over topics where needed". (Year 13 student, 2020)

Teachers really understand when you need help. (Year 10 student)

Having a day to work on each of my option subjects was great – I developed my art skills greatly and found out more about the Weimar Republic. This will help me boost my GCSE grade. (Year 10 student)

"If we are isolating our students put the learning on TEAMs and will do live lessons to help us stay in touch and keep making progress". (Year 13 student, 2020)

Learning about career pathways were good and as we are an inclusive school we cater for all pathways after GCSEs. My friends say other schools don't promote apprenticeships – we know far more than our friends at other schools. (Year 10 student)

The drop-down day at end of term was good – found out more on apprenticeships, university and transferable skills. The study skills sessions were excellent with Made for Education. (Year 11 student)

"After assessments and exams we complete purple reflective learning sheets and this has helped us to evaluate what we did well and what we need to improve on." (Year 13 student, 2020)

'Learning about the Holocaust was really moving and the chance to meet and talk to the actors and characters from the play helped me understand more about the suffering at this time.' (Year 7 student)

Thank you for continuing to teach and support myself and all your other students. (Year 10 student)

'I really enjoyed learning about Chinese culture - our visitors knew so much and we picked up some great skills that we can use in our art lessons.' (Year 7 student)

"Our teachers use assessments in different ways such as knowledge recall at the start of every lesson, mini assessments, using mark schemes to see the exam board expectations. Its all really helpful." (Year 13 student 2020)

SEN

Year 9 student…support in my lessons is good, much better than before. I know who is coming and when. I get on very well with my LSA.

Year 8 Student …I have places I know I can go to and people who listen to me.

Year 7 student …The green room feels really nice. I like going there at break and lunch.

Year 7 student…The teachers are really nice and having a football space just for Year 7s is really good.

Year 10 student ….I love English, my teacher makes the lessons fun. My Science teacher is really good, he makes sure I understand and the lessons are so interesting. Last year I found it hard.

Student panel…..most of the teachers really want to help and for you to do well. You have to help yourself too. Even the strict teachers are okay. The LSAs in my lesson are good and help students, even the students who don’t have SEN when they need it.

Year 10 student….the LSA in my lesson explains what I need to do and helps me with my work. She doesn’t do it for me, just shows me how.

Support in my lessons is good, much better than before. I know who is coming and when. I get on very well with my LSA. (Year 9 student)

I have places I know I can go to and people who listen to me. (Year 8 student)

The green room feels really nice. I like going there at break and lunch. (Year 7 student)

The teachers are really nice and having a football space just for Year 7s is really good. (Year 7 student)

I love English, my teacher makes the lessons fun. My Science teacher is really good, he makes sure I understand and the lessons are so interesting. Last year I found it hard. (Year 10 student)

Most of the teachers really want to help and for you to do well. You have to help yourself too. Even the strict teachers are okay. The LSAs in my lesson are good and help students, even the students who don’t have SEN when they need it. (Student Panel)

The LSA in my lesson explains what I need to do and helps me with my work. She doesn’t do it for me, just shows me how. (Year 10 student)

More Able

“Teachers are very calm and don't mind having a conversation with you during lessons, so you can just talk to them, they are very helpful in lessons, and can help you during break and lunch, different teachers have different but fun ways of teaching, so every lesson is taught differently, which makes them more exciting, you can have really good relationships with teachers and they don't mind listening to what you have to say, and they are just very calm and aren't always serious all the time, so you can have a laugh with teachers too.” (Year 10 student)

“Lessons at BCHS work to help each and every student, focusing on both those who need a little more help as well as giving a further push to those who can benefit from it. Lessons are engaging using interactive means to engage with students.” (Year 10 student)

“Teachers give us challenging work that pushes us to further develop our education.” (Year 10 student)

“They make lessons exciting by instead of using bland and monotonous work that you repeat endlessly, they use interesting work that intrigues and interests you this therefore makes you want to work harder and learn more, which also helps you understand and process information. This is because you will remember the information if the lesson is more exciting because you would of enjoyed it and understood and focused on what was going on.” (Year 8 student)

“I am a more able pupil at BCHS and I enjoy my lessons because you get to express your creativity in each of your lessons in different ways. The teachers at school set challenging tasks and I like that as I feel like they are preparing us for the future and it is a way to see what you are good at and what you are less good at.” (Year 7 student)

“At BCHS, I find that my lessons push me to have to think about the answer but not so much that I don’t understand it. They are fun and the teachers all help me and the other students if we need help.” (Year 7 student)

“The more able program helps students to be able to learn even more, through opportunities to meet professionals in different careers we get to learn about different key skills we will use in the future through fun workshops.” (Year 10 student)

“The More Able workshops helped me to realise that I definitely want to be a lawyer”. (Year 10 student)

“Our more able coordinator arranged workshops which was really fun as we were able to engage and get a feel of the professions we saw.”  (Year 7 student)

“I was taught new and interesting things”. (Year 9 student)

“The More Able workshops taught me the creative thinking process”. (Year 10 student)

“It wasn’t someone just talking at us- we got involved- we learned the job hands-on”. (Year 8 student)

“The More Able workshops are innovative and creative”. (Year 10 student)

“I learned that life can have lots of ups and downs but you can still pull through and have an amazing career- you have to work hard to be really successful”. (Year 8 student)

“The workshops are interactive and enjoyable- all the activities were engaging”. (Year 9 student)

“I really understood what it was like to be a criminal lawyer”. (Year 10 student)

"The teachers have been amazing at arranging trips and visits for children who are more able to extend their knowledge and skills. I have been to a theatre, visited other schools to play cultural music and hosted teachers from Hong Kong. I feel that the teachers at BCHS support me to be the best I can be." (Year 7 student)

"Personally I think teachers have been trying their hardest to make the best out of a bad situation. They've done this by making presentable Powerpoints and relevant lessons. Overall it's sort of taken our minds away from the fact that we're in lockdown." (Year 9 student)

Pastoral 

"I really like the House competitions and there is a huge field for break and lunch."  (Year 7 student)

"I feel that the best new thing this year is the rewards system, with students becoming star of the week and more achievement points being handed out." (Year 9 student)

"There are lots of sports clubs and opportunities for girls which is great!"  (Year 9 student)

"I have learnt a lot from the work we did on disability and how to help people who may have hearing or visibility impairments." (Year 7 student)

Student Parliament and PSHEE

We have learnt a lot in PHSEE and Form Time such as Discrimination, diversity, racism, sexism, prejudice, tolerance, puberty/emotional changes, sex and relationships. This will all be useful in later life. (Year 7 student)

The school listens to our opinions and views. (Year 8 student)

We have learnt a lot this year in PHSEE and Form Time – mental health, sexual orientation, values in relationships, consent – being safe and both agreeing to do something, views about when to stop if feeling uncomfortable. (Year 9 student)

We have good debates in form time. We discuss the modern-day world and equality – it's so important to discuss these things to be better prepared.  (Year 10 student)

PHSEE is so much better as things are explained in more depth and detail. Things you might learn from friends, parents or primary school are built upon fully. (Year 8 student)

I have learnt a lot from the work we did on disability and how to help people who may have hearing or visibility impairments. (Year 8 student)

'I hope you and your family are keeping safe and well during this worrying time, thank you for continuing to teach and support myself and all your other students.' (Year 9 student)

'We have learnt a lot in PHSEE and Form Time such as Discrimination, diversity, racism, sexism, prejudice, tolerance, puberty/emotional changes, sex and relationships. This will all be useful in later life. I missed some SRE lessons in Y5 and 6 so good to have this again now. It is useful to know changes of the opposite sex so can them empathise and understand. This will be useful when in Y9/10/11 when starting relationships.' (Year 7 student)

'We have learnt a lot this year in PHSEE and Form Time – mental health, sexual orientation, values in relationships, consent – being safe and both agreeing to do something, views about when to stop if feeling uncomfortable. PHSEE is so much better than earlier years as things explained in more depth and detail. Things you might learn from friends, parents or primary school built upon fully.' (Year 8 student)

'What we have learnt will be useful when we are older, SRE helps you prepare for the future and it is the right age to learn these things to stop us making mistakes when older.' (Year 9 student)

"Form time and PHSEE is very relevant! Could do it even more often as so valuable. The SRE day at the end of Y9 was good – along with Prevent and Online Safety day (boy who met someone online). We have good debates in form time. We discuss the modern-day world and equality – it’s so important to discuss these things to be better prepared.'  (Year 10 student)

'Learning about career pathways were good and as we are an inclusive school we have to cater for all pathways after GCSEs. My friends say other schools don't promote apprenticeships – they know far more than their friends at other schools. The drop down day at end of term was good – found out more on apprenticeships, university and transferable skills. The study skills sessions were excellent with Made for Education.'  (Year 11 student)

'The introduction of intervention forms was important to my year, I felt as if the introduction of the extra learning alongside the dedicated teaching staff were the push that we needed to get into the mindset for our GCSE's and was pushing us in the right direction to better our self and get the grades we wanted for our future. Every teacher took it upon themselves to help us and I feel that this was a key step into being prepared for the exams, although it may have been challenging it was the thing that most people in my year needed in preparation for the exams and for the next step in our journey in education.' (House captain)

'In English, I received a huge amount of support and care from my English teacher. Within a few short months, she accelerated my understanding and therefore ability in English. She dedicated long periods of her own time for regular group as well as individual interventions, without this I wouldn't have felt as confident as I do now in my English capability. She invoked passion in us all whilst supporting us in all aspects of life. (House captain)

I already had a large passion for science, but my science teacher really increased that by pushing me to the next level. he was always happy to chat with me about my future career hopefully as a doctor and discuss aspects of medical science. He always provided me with extension tasks not only furthering my passion but also pushing my academic capability.' (House captain)

"The SIMs APP is really good - I can track my homework easily and know what I have to do and by when." (Year 9 Prefect)

"I have learned a lot about career pathways, and I am now much clearer on what I want to do and how I can get there." (Year 10 House Captain)

"We asked last year if we could learn more about politics and current affairs, and we have definitely done this in form time and assemblies.' (Year 11 Prefect)

‘I have learned to listen to others opinions as well as being confident enough to voice my own opinion’. (Year 10 student)

"I enjoyed working in a business environment and showing my creativity." (Year 10 student)

"I have learnt how to present myself and how to work effectively, under pressure, and with people that I don’t know very well. It has helped me to become more confident."(Year 10 student) 

"I understand that we all have different skills and that we need to pull together to work as a team. I really enjoyed the day." (Year 10 student)