On Wednesday 8 February 2024, we held a Year 8 Learning Conference in the morning for pupils, followed by the Year 8 Learning and Curriculum Evening for parents and carers. These two events built on the themes of memory, revision, and effective learning techniques of the Year 7 conference.

Year 8 pupils and their parents/carers were given a brief recap by Mr Clutterbuck, Headteacher, on the importance of revising 'little and often' over a sustained period; an acknowledgment that revision, to be effective, is often hard and the payoff is not immediate; pupils should trust the process. They were also reminded that they were in the second year of being like the 'Chinese Bamboo Tree' and that they should keep nourishing their minds, again, little and often. Mr Clutterbuck also revisited Mind Maps, Flashcards and the Leitner Method, three highly effective techniques to improve learning. 

After the recap Mr Clutterbuck introduced a further four practical techniques that pupils and their families should use to compliment those covered in the Year 7 conference.

• The first is a technique called 'Delete, Substitute, Keep' which helps pupils take notes that they can turn into flashcards or use to complete mind maps.
• The pupils were shown how to use past papers in a structured and considered way to maximise short bursts of focused revision.
• A third practical technique - and a nod back to primary school, when the technique of 'Look, Cover, Write' is used for learning spellings and definitions of words - is encouraging Year 8 to consider the origin of the key words, so that something of the unusual history of a word may help it stick in the memory. For example, shampoo and chapati.
• The final technique is to start 5-a-day. If ever there was a curriculum subject which lends itself to the notion of 'little and often', then it is Maths and the CorbettMaths website has a daily set of Maths questions designed for the Secondary Maths curriculum. Pupils and families were shown the website and where to access the 5-a-day worksheets, and were also given a few minutes to try the questions to test their numeracy knowledge and skills. Anyone who uses Duolingo to learn a language will recognise how effective the 'little and often' learning technique can be.

The resources used in the conference have been shared by Mr Clutterbuck on SatchelOne Show My Homework (SMHW) and a narrated version of the presentation can be watched below: