SHINE at Wimbledon High School - Serious Fun on Saturdays

Wimbledon High have offered and delivered four ten week courses over a four year period so far with another planned from January 2020. The Saturday morning school is aimed at 25 Year 4 children who may be at risk of underachieving due to their unique family circumstances. They will benefit from a tailored and unique experience in a different setting to their primary school. Each week two different subject areas are delivered by Wimbledon teachers and each of the 25 students has a student mentor from Wimbledon High School.

Aims

We aim to give the students the opportunity to participate in a wide range of both creative and academic subjects that will ultimately stimulate further curiosity, boost their self-esteem and improve their attainment. Furthermore, the project will offer the children the chance to mix with students of a similar ability from other schools. Finally, we expect to establish a good relationship with our partner schools which will be of mutual benefit to both school communities. We believe that our students will benefit from appreciating how privileged they are and we hope they will remain in contact with the students in the future.

Background

The Head of Year 8, Monique Nullens, believes passionately in helping those less priviledged and has spent the last 4 years working hard to get this initiative up and running. It was established in September 2015 and will now run annually.

Resources

Teaching staff time planning and delivering on a Saturday morning at Wimbledon High School.

Weekly commitment from dedicated and caring 6th form students for 10 weeks over the Autumn and Spring terms.

Impact

The students and the 6th formers complete an ongoing weekly log of their experiences which pays tribute to the progress they re making. In addition on the final session of the programme, the 6th form students speak about the children they mentored.

Pupil Involvement

WHS students aged between 16-18 years old.

Primary students are mixed gender aged between 8 & 9 years old.

Frequency

10 week course.

Annually in the Spring term.