welcome [] · celebrating success special awards pixl edge special awards as well as celebrating...

You are invited...We are thrilled to announce our upcoming Student Celebration

events, which will be taking place across the country in July. We believe passionately that celebrating students’ success can be

a powerful tool in boosting confidence and motivation, as well as sustaining engagement.

These events are the first of their kind for the Edge and we would love for as many of our schools to be involved as possible. Please find the dates below:

7th July – Hope Academy, Merseyside10th July – Sir John Colfox Academy, Dorset11th July – Manor High School, Leicester12th July – Charters School, Berkshire

Students will be presented with an extra-special limited edition certificate on stage, and will be treated to an inspirational speaker as well as performances from the host school. If your students have completed either the Apprentice or Graduate levels, please do consider joining us at these events.

But what if none of your students have completed the Apprentice or Graduate level yet? – we hear you cry!

We have a series of special awards for students who have excelled (or are excelling) in specific areas of the Edge. For more information on how to nominate your students for the special awards, please turn to page 3.

They promise to be a great opportunity to come together as a network of schools, and applaud the hard work that staff and students have put in to the scheme. The Edge has come a long way since its conception three years ago, and we would love the opportunity to thank you for the integral part that you have played in our journey.

Reserve your places now by emailing [email protected]

THE

Competition time:One of your students could win the opportunity to meet and interview Ore Oduba! Ore is a sports broadcaster and 2016 champion of Strictly Come Dancing (not to mention star of the Edge’s LORIC videos!)

One lucky student will be selected to travel to London on 15th June and interview Ore at the O2 Academy, where he will be the guest speaker at the PiXL Primary Competition.

Find out more on the next page!

WELCOME

May 2017

Celebrating SuccessCompetition time

About the prize: Just one lucky student will be chosen to travel to London on 15th June (along with a member of staff and a friend) to interview Ore at the O2 academy, where he is speaking at the PiXL Primary Celebration

event. (PiXL will pay for the travel to and from the venue).

The winning student will have sole responsibility for planning the interview questions, and ensuring that the conversation flows – a real test of all their LORIC attributes, especially communication and initiative!

The interview will be professionally filmed and edited, with the resulting video being made available to all Edge schools as an additional teaching resource.

How students apply: This competition is open to all secondary Edge students, from Years 7 to 13.

When students log in to their Edge account, they will see a box at the top of their profile explaining the competition and a link to the online application form.

The application form gives students the opportunity to tell us about why they want to interview Ore, as well as giving us examples of the sorts of questions they want to ask.

Applications must be received by Sunday 21st May and the winning student will be announced on 26th May.

Do you have any budding broadcasters, presenters or journalists?We have just the competition for them: winning the opportunity to interview broadcaster, presenter and journalist, Ore Oduba!

Top Tips: Students should remember that the recorded interview will be used as an Edge resource, and therefore their questions should encompass LORIC in some way.

Students should re-watch the LORIC videos that Ore has made for us in the past, for any clues and ideas for questions!

Students may want to find videos of Ore interviewing other people, to get a feel for his preferred interview style as this may come in helpful!

We can’t wait to read their applications – best of luck to all who apply!

Calling all budding journalists...

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Celebrating SuccessSpecial Awards

PiXL Edge Special AwardsAs well as celebrating the achievement of all our new Apprentice and Graduate students, we want the Edge Celebrations to be an opportunity to applaud those students who have really taken aspects of the Edge to heart – whether they have completed a full level yet or not.

Please see below for an outline of the available Special Awards. At each Celebration, a Regional Winner will be announced. From these regional winners, an overall National Winner will be invited to the PiXL Student Celebration in October!

Staff can nominate a maximum of two students per award. The deadline for nominations is 26th May.

To nominate your students, please email [email protected] to request the guidance documents and nomination forms.

LORIC Awards

Wellbeing Award

Them and Us Award

Apprentice of the Year and Graduate of the Year

Individual prizes for Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication. These five awards will be presented to the students who have gone above and beyond expectations, and who have made a concerted effort to develop one or more of the LORIC skills.

For the student who has championed the importance of health and wellbeing in their school or community through their Edge activities.

For the student who has embraced the principles at the heart of the Them and Us resources – Acts of Kindness, Living Without Harm and Respect – in their Edge activities.

For the students who have excelled across all five attributes, at either Apprentice or Graduate level.

Them Us&

Wellbeing

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PiXL EdgeNew resources

LORICNew graduate resources are now available for Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication. These follow the same style as the Apprentice level tutor time activities, but have been written to be more appropriate for KS4 students. The topics covered in the new resources are outlined below.

New Edge resources now live

Organisation (3 x sessions)• The qualities of an organised person.• Self-reflection and why managing time is

crucial.• Skills for future success, adopting the right

mindset and reflecting on how you spend your time.

Initiative (3 x sessions)• What is initiative and what is the impact of

showing it?• The fact that effort is more important than the

result.

Leadership (3 x sessions)• Effective leadership – what is it, how does it

affect an outcome and why do we need it.• Leaders we know – what makes them good or

bad leaders and does this affect their success.• Leaders in my life – setting a good example and

how being a good leader can help my future.

Resilience (3 x sessions)• How resilient are you in your life and how does

resilience impact your success.• What makes us give up when the going gets

tough?• Resilience for employability and further

education – is it something I can change now?

Communication (3 x sessions)• Different types of communication and its

impact.• What can go wrong and first impressions;

interview skills and creating your CV.• The change in technology, the impact of

social media and how you can create the right balance in your life.

Them and Us Following the success of the Year 7 and Year 8 programmes the Graduate resources (KS4 and KS5) are now live. These resources explore in greater depth, Acts of Kindness, Respect and Living without Harm and inspire students to see where and how they can contribute to create kinder, more respectful communities (and a society at large). As with all Edge resources, students are able to enact and learn experientially how to grow in this regard through completing graduate-level activities suggested in the resources.

Them Us&

Leadership Organisation

Initiative Communication

Resilience

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Wellbeing – ‘My Mind’ resources for KS3/4 and KS5, in addition to the existing resources on ‘My Health’. The KS3/4 My Mind resources were released back in January. For colleagues who have not yet had a chance to look at them in detail, please find an overview of the 21 sessions below.

Mindset• Healthy mind and body• Mind training• Mental toughness• Determination

Self-management• Preparation• Coping strategies• Self-control• Support network

Healthy body/Healthy mind• Link between a healthy body

and healthy mind• How to maintain good physical

and mental health• Importance of physical activity

for the brain, mental health and dealing with stress

Emotionally fit• Positivity and self-awareness• Building self-esteem• Strategies to deal with feelings

such as anxiety, sadness and mood swings

• Being emotionally fit

Mental health• Addressing stigma• Understanding mental health

conditions• Signs and symptoms of mental

health• Supporting family, friends and

yourself with mental wellbeing• Strategies to overcome mood

changes and depression

Self Management• Coping skills and strategies to

deal with exam and life stress• Overcoming life and wellbeing

challenges• Managing life pressures

Building resilience• Mental toughness• Self-determination and

motivation• Positive psychology and

personal strategies to bounce back

• Overcoming setbacks and coping when things get tough

Mind training• Growth and Fixed Mindset• Coping with failure and

developing confidence• Mindset strategies

Feelings• Emotions• Mental health• Positivity• Self-awareness

Focus• Goal setting• Strategy• Belief• Motivation

Don’t forget about your staff!Places are filling up fast for our Staff Wellbeing Conference on 23rd June 2017, from 10.00 to 15.00, at the Kia Oval Cricket Ground in London. Cost is £140+VAT.The conference will: • Highlight the importance of staff wellbeing• Give you a comprehensive framework to develop workplace wellbeing• Help you to build and implement an effective strategy and culture of wellbeing• Include staff wellbeing services and signposting• Explore example case studies of wellbeing in other organisations• Tools and tips to launch staff wellbeing in your schoolBook your places now via the PiXL website: www.pixl.org.uk.

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PiXL EdgeNew resources

No Wasted WeeksNo Wasted Weeks resources are now available on the Edge platform.

We believe these resources as part of an Edge programme will enable better transition from KS2 to KS3 and a specific set of resources have been developed for that purpose. They will support partnership with your local feeder primary schools to support the progression in English, mathematics and character development from KS2 to KS3. They are available free of charge to PiXL Secondary schools who can then make them available to all their feeder schools (NB: The feeder schools do not need to be members of PiXL Primary to make use of these resources.)

There are 15 sessions, available on the Edge platform, that have been designed to introduce Year 6 pupils to different aspects of the Edge programme. These sessions are split into groups of 5: Organisation, Them & Us and Wellbeing.

Introducing students to Olly Organisation. Students are encouraged to reflect on key questions regarding their own organisation, such as:

- What are the skills of organisation?- How organised am I?- How will being organised help me with my homework?- How do I use my planner?

Introducing students to Them and UsStudents are introduced to the central ideas behind the Them & Us resources including:

– What groups do I belong to?– How can we live together as Them and Us?– How can I try to live without harm?– How do my choices impact on others?

Introducing students to WellbeingStudents will be introduced to strategies and mechanisms for improving their mental health. Topics include:

– Top tips to keep your body and mind in check– Strategies to cope and bounce back when things get difficult– How to recognise and manage different emotions– Understanding the meaning of a positive mental attitude.

Additionally, the No Wasted Weeks resources for English and Maths are available to all PiXL members via Huddle: PiXL Resources > No Opportunity Wasted (NOW) > No Wasted Weeks

Careers – new apprenticeship sessions added.Schools should have a strategy for careers guidance to enable them to develop high aspirations, improving understanding of the labour market and their options. Research conducted by the Education and Employers Taskforce identified that, where young people experience 4 meaningful contact points with an employer, they are less likely to become NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and experience higher earnings in later life than those young people who do not experience employer engagement activity. We believe that schools can use the Edge and Careers Resources as a means to providing good information to all students, and to helping them move towards gaining these meaningful contacts, making pragmatic steps towards more considered pathway choices by completing activities from the database. Apprenticeship Resources have now been added to the Careers suite. These are specifically designed to enable schools to inform and inspire students in relation to apprenticeship opportunities. They comprise of 3 sessions in KS3 and 3 for KS4 with a KS5 tutorial and Pathways masterclass. In this way the resources will lead students to a point of better clarity about the varied routes into professions and industries (including those formerly only available to graduates via the usual university route). What is particularly exciting about the careers resources is that they will enable students, as part of their LORIC development, to take practical and effective steps towards employability by apprenticeship providers.

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Be inspiredOpen day calendar

A core value at PiXL is the power of collaboration and sharing good practice, and we take that to heart here at Edge HQ too.

Feedback from our schools indicates that visiting another Edge school is incredibly insightful, whether you are in the early planning stages or looking for ways to extend your current model of delivery. Please find below a list of Edge Open Sessions coming up this term across our Edge network. We will be adding many more dates to the calendar for the second half of the summer term too!

Please be aware that there is a small charge for attending Open Sessions (£15+VAT per delegate) – this money goes to the host school to cover their costs.

Would you like to host an Open Session?Please contact the Edge team ([email protected]) if you are interested in finding out more about working with us and driving the Edge forward nationally.

DATES SCHOOL18th May Hinchingbrooke School, Cambridgeshire9th June Carshalton High School for Girls, South London20th June Boston Spa School, Leeds26th June Benfield School, Newcastle30th June Moseley School, Birmingham

Want to see the Edge in action?

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PiXL WellbeingSt Crispin’s School

We have all been there haven’t we? On a course or at a conference, away from school for the day. As the morning gets started your mind wanders to what is going on back at base. You can visualise the little number next to your inbox increasing and that little butterfly in your stomach when you think of how much work you will have to do when you return. As much as you don’t want to, your fingers make their way to your mobile device and you find you have connected to the wifi using the little card with the password on your table. ‘I will just check all is okay and there aren’t too many emails’, you think to yourself. Five minutes later, you reflect on this decision as your inbox displays a figure similar to the height of Donald’s wall.

Every now and again, however, we find ourselves somewhere where we are able to ignore these distractions and for me it wasn’t whilst reading Geoff Barton’s latest food diary, it was listening to Caroline Sidell at the Kia Oval. I was captivated, enthralled and engaged from the outset. This really was something different.

How many times have you left a conference with so many ideas swimming round your mind only to get back to school and, 48 hours later, fall back into the day to day run of the mill, your ideas a distant memory? So, on my journey back up the M3, a coffee at Winchester services and ten post-it notes later (my colleagues are aware that a post-it note on my monitor means ‘important’ and ‘it shall be done’), the journey began.

First stop was to hold meetings with individual members of staff such as the Heads of PE and Technology, the Enrichment Coordinator, Heads of Year and the SENCO to draw on their expertise and look at how Wellbeing could be embedded through their areas.

On the 25th January, we held our first Wellbeing Workshop which was open to all staff along with the promise of chocolate (or chocolate alternative for those that were still keeping to their new year’s resolutions).

Our focus was on completing an audit of current provision which was then further discussed at Heads of Year and Department meetings. Just as important, we looked at giving our concept an identity. This led to quite lengthy (exciting) discussions and, taking on the position of António Guterres, we managed as a group to settle on ‘Wellbeing for All’ - this encapsulating our school vision statement of ‘Excellence for All’. It was decided that to prevent further tensions and to ensure peace was restored, the graphics teacher alone would design our new logo!

Whilst the Wellbeing Working Party has been in progress to look at what we are can achieve across the whole school, there have been other various developments.

• The PE department have been given an extra hour at Key Stage 4 for the next academic year. They are rebranding the subject under the ‘Wellbeing for All’ umbrella and will be looking at different aspects of sport, nutrition, fitness and healthy mindsets.

• I will be taking seven of our weakest students in Year 9 as one of their option subjects in the next academic year on a tailor made course we have called ‘sucSEED’.

Leadership

PiXL Wellbeing – creating a coherent and cohesive whole school approachLeading Edge Co-ordinator, Railton Blyth, explains how St Crispin’s School have tackled the hot-button issue of student wellbeing.

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– Railton Blyth, Leading Edge Co-ordinator at St Crispin’s School

• I promise there is logic here as we are a Wokingham school, formally known as Oakingham, and we are planting seeds for these students’ future. As part of this, I have agreed with our local gym that for one hour a week, they will be able to have full access to the gym equipment. They will each have a meeting with one of the Personal Trainers who will put together a one-hour training plan for each, linking with the Edge. Other activities throughout the course include a weekly mindspa session, participation in the first two units of the VCERT Food and Nutrition course and taking part in an anxiety workshop. The PiXL Wellbeing resources will also be delivered to this class.

• I have negotiated, with a locally trained practitioner, a mindfulness workshop/package which she will deliver to all Year 8 form groups in 2 hour sessions. The tutors will also be ‘trained’ in a 90 minute session and she will provide a toolkit and further resources to be delivered over the course of the year in their PSHCE lessons.

• We have created a sixth form welfare committee that are meeting half termly to share the views of the students and what they feel would be beneficial to them.

This is a very exciting time for St Crispin’s and we are extremely grateful to Caroline and PiXL for the resources and opportunities that have been provided through the new wellbeing programme.

The journey has begun…..

For more great ideas from Railton and his team, we recommend following @EdgeAtCrispins on Twitter.

How many times have you left a conference with so many ideas

swimming round your mind only to get back to school and, 48 hours later, fall back into the day to day run of the mill, your ideas a distant memory? So, on my journey back up the M3, a coffee at Winchester services and ten post-it notes later (my colleagues are aware that a post-it note on my monitor

means ‘important’ and ‘it shall be done’), the journey began.

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Alternative EdgeThe Green Room

The Edge is becoming deeply ingrained in the culture of our school. So far, nearly every student on roll has accessed it, with each student finding great joy in at least one of the activities presented to them. It has become an excellent teaching tool and, as staff understanding grows, so does their implementation of Edge activities - so much so that in staff meetings, with every suggestion for something new comes the question: “Could this be something for The Edge?” This attitude has brought some genuinely exciting ideas that keep us invigorated as educators and our students engaged as learners. On days when students are completing Edge activities, there is a real buzz around the school, with children excited about what they are learning and achieving.

Using the Edge as an integration tool has been very effective: it can inspire students to achieve tasks that they didn’t think were possible, bringing them back into the belief that they are capable learners and that they enjoy learning. If anything, sometimes these tasks are too inspirational – I had one student email me a completed video they were creating for an Edge activity at 4.30am! On a school night!

Who knew that being 16 meant that you couldn’t skydive without an adult chaperone? Certainly not our first batch of students looking to complete the Graduate level (this being our second year running the Edge at the Green Room School).

Our graduates have reacted well to the more challenging nature of the Graduate level, and I’ve been hugely impressed with their effort – less impressed with the fact that I’ll be jumping out of the plane with them! They could still use some help getting to their target amount and would greatly appreciate any donations you can afford: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thegreenroomskydive

Turning our school into a ‘Brain Gym’ for the opening day of summer term provided our students with an opportunity to complete an Apprentice activity before the day was out; instantly welcoming them into success and serving as an effective way to re-start their brains. It was so successful that we have

decided this is how we will begin every term from now on, doing away with the slow start of term once and for all!

“This is successful and I like it”, to quote one of our students at our second site which opened this year – Chimney Farm. We operate nearly entirely through project-based learning; what better vessel to use for this than The Edge? Our students here are completely lost within the national curriculum; the Edge has given them something to work towards, a purpose to their work. Teaching at a farm allows us

Integrating the Edge in an Alternative ProvisionI asked a student who had recently joined us, “what do you like doing?” He replied “nothing … blowing stuff up” in an attempt to squash my enthusiasm. Little did he know that the Edge is the qualification in exploring what you like about learning; two weeks later he was setting his hand on fire (in the name of science).

Engaging students in the ‘Brain Gym’.

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– Ashley Sheehan, Leading Edge Co-ordinator at The Green Room School

Let us celebrate with you!If you have students who have recently completed either the Apprentice or Graduate levels, we would like to invite them to come and receive their certificates on stage at the next PiXL Main Meeting.

We ask that schools bring a maximum of three students, and that they email [email protected] to enquire about spaces.

to explore science, maths and English in an original and engaging way, and we have used what we learnt about reintegration from The Green Room to inspire a new approach to education with school refusers.

As we begin our planning for next year, we aim to integrate the Edge further. We are aiming for our Sixth Form to be entirely comprised of graduates working towards the Masters level on a one-year course with the aim to inspire them to move on to study subjects wherever they deem most appropriate.

The Edge has become, ‘the currency within our culture that builds character’. We look forward to the challenge of next year, where running all three levels of the Edge will provide opportunities for our students to inspire young learners who will, in turn, be inspired to succeed.

Our second site, Chimney farm, opened this year. The school operates on project-based learning – perfect for The Edge.

The Edge is becoming deeply ingrained in the culture of our school.

So far, nearly every student on roll has accessed it, with each student

finding great joy in at least one of the activities presented to them. It has become an excellent teaching tool and, as staff understanding grows,

so does their implementation of Edge activities – so much so that in

staff meetings, with every suggestion for something new comes the

question: “Could this be something for The Edge?” This attitude has brought some genuinely exciting ideas that keep us invigorated as educators and our students engaged as learners. On days

when students are completing Edge activities, there is a real buzz around

the school, with children excited about what they are learning.

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Alternative EdgeAce School’s MAT

It was clear to me that the Alternative Edge addressed a huge gap within teaching and learning and I started to consider how this could fit in within our multi academy trust.

My thoughts were that we could roll out the Alternative Edge across the trust and integrate leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative and communication (LORIC) within the curriculum. The LORIC attributes therefore are not merely a bolt on, but similarly to literacy numeracy and SMSC, become key in our everyday teaching and learning. As an alternative provider, the aim for many of our students is to transition back to a mainstream setting. In many cases, the students who come to us are often under developed in the attributes of LORIC. By making LORIC a central part of teaching and learning, I believe that we will be more effective in giving our students the education they require to help them progress and, where appropriate, return to mainstream.

The Alternative Edge is currently running across our multi academy trust. We focus on one of the LORIC attributes each term with each subject delivering one Edge activity. Our students record their progress online within tutor time lessons. Many of our students won’t complete the full Alternative Edge programme therefore I have created postcard rewards for each of the five attributes. Once the students have completed the required number of activities for each attribute a postcard is sent home. This has been a huge success!

In terms of establishing a LORIC curriculum, I am currently

writing descriptors for each individual attribute which will play a key role in teaching, learning and assessment. The descriptors provide expectations for Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5. So far I’ve written the leadership and organisation descriptors and have nearly finished resilience. Only two and half to go! These descriptors will underpin our practice at ACE and provide the foundation for our LORIC curriculum.

Finally, following the completion of my Masters in Education, I am now working alongside the University of St Mark and St John to conduct research which will explore the Alternative Edge and the LORIC curriculum at ACE Schools Multi Academy Trust. It is our aim to have the research published so that we can share our findings. I’m sure you’ll agree that we have taken big steps towards our eventual vision of a LORIC curriculum at ACE, however there is still much work to be done in order to have everything ready for September 1st 2017!

Alternative Edge and LORIC at ACE School’s multi academy trust

– Sam Morahan, Teacher at ACE School’s Multi Academy Trust.

In June 2016 I was made aware of the PiXL Alternative Edge programme by our Deputy Head but, as with many initiatives in education, my initial thoughts were somewhat sceptical. However, my initial exploration of the programme was thought provoking.

Demonstrating Organisation (l) and Resilience (r).

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School SuccessStudent leadership

The City of Leicester College: LORIC Leaders are up for the challenge!

As part of our PiXL Edge launch, we gave all 272 of our Year 7s the opportunity to put themselves forward to become a LORIC Leader. Students in every form put themselves forward, and gave speeches to their class about why they wanted to represent them as a LORIC Leader. Each form then voted in their very first LORIC Leader!

These students will help lead the way through the programme infancy, support with aspects of the PiXL Edge and they will help decide all topics for PiXL Edge competitions. They will also be involved in strategic decisions regarding the direction we take the Edge in at TCOLC.

LORIC Leaders had their first role to play having to decide which form won the first inter-form competition challenge title “What does LORIC mean to you?” They announced the winner by performing their own assembly to the Year 7s.

Year 7 students are currently focusing on their Leadership skills and are in the process of arranging activities that they can lead to develop their skills, confidence and ability to perform in a pressured environment. A range of activities, from leading horse riding lessons to running sessions in primary schools, have already been completed by our students!

The team at The City of Leicester College (TCOLC) has been working hard over the last term to launch PiXL Edge with their Year 7s, and they have been putting student leadership at the very heart of the programme. Head of Year 7, Pete Davey, explains more…

– Pete Davey, Head of Year 7 at The City of Leicester College.

All things within PiXL Edge have become even more exciting, as TCOLC has now become an Ambassador school for the Edge, and other schools are starting to visit us and see what we’re getting up to!

“Year 7 students are currently focusing on their Leadership skills

and are in the process of arranging activities that they can lead to

develop their skills, confidence and ability to perform in a pressured

environment. A range of activities, from leading horse riding lessons to running sessions in primary schools, have already been completed by our

students!”

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CommunicationUp for Debate Programme

The Up for Debate 2017 competition is in full swing, as we have just rounded off our regional heats.

Across four fiercely competitive regional rounds, just eight teams will be progressing to the next stage of the competition, out of the 80 teams who competed overall.

Each heat crowned a Regional Winner who moved automatically through to the National Finals, which will take place at Harrow School in July.

Northampton Heat: Hinchingbrooke School, CambridgeshireDevon Heat: Cardinal Newman RC College, PontypriddLondon Heat: King Edward VI CEVC School, SuffolkManchester Heat: Elizabethan Academy, Nottingham

The teams who scored the highest combined scores

in their debates took the additional four available slots at the final. They are:

Bishops’ Blue Coat Church of England Academy, ChesterManor High School, LeicesterRedden Court School, EssexSt Ursula’s Convent School, London

In May, we will be bringing all eight teams together in London for an expert Debating Masterclass across two days. This world-class training will help them as they prepare for the National Finals on 8th July!

Do you want your debate team to be at the finals next year? Email [email protected] to register your school’s interest in next year’s competition now! (Entry to the competition is free for all Edge schools). We will be releasing dates for staff training next half term, so the earlier we have an indication of numbers, the better!

Up for Debate 2017 competition The Up for Debate National Competition is brought to you by Noisy Classroom and PiXL Edge. This year the competition was aimed at Years 7 to 9 and we have been blown away by the standard of their debating!

THE

The Manchester Grammar final.

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Prior to being asked to part of the debating project I had no experience of debating. We began preparing for the regional round a few months before the competition, hours and hours of hard work were put in to make sure we had two good, structured debates.

On the day of the regional rounds, we got a taxi to Sunderland: we were all so nervous (especially our coach, Mrs Spencer) and we had no idea what to expect as we had never actually debated before. However, we flew through every debate, winning every single one we were in and then won the regional final.

We couldn’t believe we had made it this far. We had gone from never having been in a real-life debate to being the best team in the area in just a few short hours. Much to our amusement, our coach started crying because she was so proud of us. We were so excited, we told our taxi driver as soon as we got in!

The competition was followed up with a weekend in London which consisted of two days of training (and going to see the Lion King on the West End!) These classes really helped us to identify what our strengths and weaknesses were individually.

Then came the day before the national final in Eton. We travelled down with our coach, our headmaster and our head of English, and stayed in a hotel not far from Eton College. We were all very excited.

On the morning of the competition, the team was up, dressed and ready before the teachers had even woken up – we were all so nervous and had barely slept. After breakfast, we set off for Eton. As we drove through the gates I said ‘there’s no way we can do this’ but I was soon proven wrong.

We had a two debates in the morning and then lunch (where our headmaster couldn’t stop talking about how nice the honey glazed carrots were) and then another final debate. Amazingly, we won them all against brilliant teams and got through to the grand final. At this point, we were just so proud of how far we had come that we would have been happy to come second. We had no idea we had done enough to win. When they told us we had won, we were all in complete and utter shock and didn’t know what to do

with ourselves. It was such a lovely atmosphere as everyone congratulated us and were happy for us as, we had made many friends throughout.

After the competition, I continued to debate and I have helped to coach the new Year 9 team for this year’s competition. It has been an honour to coach the new Year 9 team who won all of their debates this year at the regional rounds in Manchester – missing out on the Regional Final on points – and I am extremely proud of them. During the regional heats I judged in each of the rounds – this has given me a real insight into judging debates which will help me when training the next set of debaters in my school. It was a pleasure to be a judge at the regional rounds in Manchester – especially being asked to judge in the regional final.

During my journey, it has been a privilege to meet so many amazing people.

I’d like to thank our coach, Libby Spencer, and all of the PiXL team for making this possible and for helping us along this journey.

My debating journey – Molly DrewMolly is a Year 10 student at Laurence Jackson School in Guisborough. Last year Molly and her teammates became the first ever Up for Debate National champions.

Up for DebateThe champions 2016-17

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– Molly Drew, Laurence Jackson School.

Molly (right) with the rest of the team from Laurence Jackson School.

Up for DebateThe Regional Heat winners

Students from Bishops’ Blue Coat High School had an exciting and challenging day at the Manchester Up for Debate Heat.

Year 8 students Eleanor Colston, Ruby Miller and Lucy Bradburn were Bishops’ first team. We were thrilled to win all three of our debates over the course of the day, qualifying us to take part in the Regional Final.

The entire day was a great success for all involved, and in particular for Lucy Bradburn, who won the outstanding speaker award for her contributions during each of the debates.

Ruby: “The experience has been so amazing and unreal! For anyone unsure whether debating is for you just try it out because this experience is great fun and we would highly recommend this to anyone”

Eleanor: “The competition has shown us that we

can debate well and has improved our speaking and communication skills hugely. We were continually learning new ways to put our points forward and make our strategies better”

Lucy: “All of the topics were interesting but difficult to grasp, meaning that each debate was heated and passionate. We all learnt a lot during the preparation and on the day of the event. We got so much out of the experience.”

Winners of the Devon HeatHello, or should we say ‘Bore Da’, from Cardinal Newman Catholic school in South Wales. Despite having NO prior debating experience, we have grown very quickly – individually, as a team and as a debating society – since our journey began in January.

Our first speaker is Amelia Furlong. As her Teutonic-origin name implies, she is incredibly diligent and hardworking.

Amelia may seem shy and timid at first, but don’t be fooled – her sharp wit and even sharper rebuttals can leave the opposition speechless, quite literally!

Now, our second speaker is one not be underestimated because of his impeccable manners. Tom Williams a fine intellectual who has ambitions as the future prime minister. Watch out for his exuberant personality and flamboyant choice of wording.

And last, but by no means least, our summary speaker: Melanie Benedict. Mel is a passionate vegan with a fiery edge. Her chosen saint name just sums her up. Saint Cecilia was an inspirational martyr, the patron saint of poetry and creativity, two things that enrich Melanie’s life.

We think it was an amazing experience to visit Blundell’s school and be a part of such an exciting day where we were able to meet new people, take advice from skilled debaters and judges, and, more importantly, have fun. We cannot wait for the Masterclass and for the final. See you there!

The Bishops’ Blue Coat High School, Chester

Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Pontypridd

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“The experience has been so amazing and unreal! For anyone

unsure whether debating is for you just try it out.”

“Despite having NO prior debating experience, we have grown very quickly – individually, as a team and

as a debating society – since our journey began in January.”

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Winners of the Manchester HeatThe school has a strong and proud tradition of developing students’ leadership qualities. Debating provides a natural extension of this work and our Principal had always expressed her keenness to have a debating club in school. However, it wasn’t until an email advertising the Up for Debate competition was forwarded to the English faculty, that it became a reality. With the helpful offer of training and teaching materials, the Elizabethan Academy’s foray into debating started late in the autumn term of 2016.

The scheme of learning and resources provided by Noisy Classroom provided an invaluable tool, as debating skills were taught to all the Year 9s during their English lessons in the spring term. The added attraction of possible master classes in London and a final to be held at a prestigious school added to the buzz and excitement within the student body and a lunchtime club was subsequently set up… although at times there seemed to be more lunch eating than in-depth debating taking place!

As a new team, we were both excited and anxious to be taking part in our first competition, but after the first round, the students were able to relax a little and begin to enjoy their surroundings. We were made to feel extremely welcome, and whilst we knew the competition would be tough, we were determined to get the most out of the day and learn from the experience. The announcement of the academy’s name being called as the winners both stunned and thrilled us, and made a long day very worthwhile!

Winners of the Northampton HeatJust as our school site is a mixture of the traditional and the contemporary (our school is built around Hinchingbrooke House) so too have we enjoyed the challenge of reviving a traditional skill like debating in our 21st century curriculum.

Since our first involvement, our debating society is now burgeoning with enthusiastic members who continue to coach and mentor new students long after they leave the competition circuit. This is in no small part owing to the opportunities afforded by PiXL, and it was a pleasure to enter two new teams into the competition whilst simultaneously inviting last year’s team to hone their skills as judges. We once again offer our thanks to the organisers of this year’s event and greatly look forward to the next competition stage.

This year’s winning team - Craig, Stef and Layla

The PiXL ‘Up for Debate’ competition has provided us with fantastic opportunities to enhance our public speaking skills and experience our first taste of competitive debating. This competition has shown us what it is like to compete at a high standard under pressure. We were continually learning new techniques and approaches from our competitors throughout the day which helped us to progress and gain the regional title.

The Elizabethan Academy, Nottinghamshire

Hinchingbrooke School, Cambridgeshire

“Our debating society is now burgeoning with enthusiastic

members who continue to coach and mentor new students long after they leave the competition circuit

“We were made to feel extremely welcome, and whilst we knew the

competition would be tough, we were determined to get the most out of the day and learn from the experience.”


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Above: Bishops’ Blue Coat High School.

Below: Hitchingbrooke School.

Above: The Elizabethan Academy.

Left: Cardinal Newman Catholic School.

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Below: Manor High School.

Right: St Ursula’s Convent School.

Above: King Edward VI School.

Redden Court School.


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Winners of the London HeatAt the recent Durham Schools Debating Competition, it occurred to me what an honour and thrill it is to see our state-school students competing against, and often beating, teams from the top independent schools; the sort that have their own debating chambers and full-time debate coaches. This all comes from the work of Geoff Barton, who recently left as Headteacher after 15 years. His ‘Friday Night Debate’ Club has become a fixture of the school week and we regularly see 60 to 80 students from Year 7 up to Year 13 coming together to debate a huge range of issues. Last week, it was the length of the school day; this week, eating meat.

Our three PiXL debaters are regular Friday night speakers and all are new to the school this year. Freddie Allsopp, Year 9, is a history buff and comes to us with a family reputation to uphold; his older brother Will is one of our longest serving debaters and has been a huge success in several debate competitions. Will Starling, Year 8, has taken to dancing in a big way and is training with the Royal Ballet regularly. He is always keen to speak in debates at school and he brings a wealth of knowledge to whatever he speaks on. Aaron McIntyre, Year 8, came to us having been a

founder member of his middle-school debating team. We were incredibly proud to hear that Aaron won ‘best speaker’ in the Up for Debate London heat, though it came as no surprise. His confidence, style and wit impress everyone when he speaks in our Friday debates.

The team are looking forward to both the masterclass and the Up For Debate final, which, they assure us, is already in the bag.

Redden Court School, a mixed comprehensive in Romford, Essex, has only been engaged in competitive debating for the past two years. This initiative has been spearheaded by Mr Fox, who runs both a lunchtime debating society and debating competitions within the school. This has proved to

be very popular with the students and is now very successful, with a large pool of accomplished young debaters from all year groups. This made it very difficult to choose only three debaters to take forward to PiXL’s Up for Debate competition.

The three Year 9 students eventually chosen were Tabitha Seymour (first speaker), Cerys Heard (second speaker) and Erin Brewer (third speaker). Each of these students only began debating this year, but their progress has been exceptional. They performed magnificently throughout the London heat, winning each of their debates against very strong opposition. However most importantly, they had loads of fun and learnt a great deal, especially from the judges’ feedback. All members of the team are really looking forward to the London master classes and the national final!

King Edward VI CEVC School, Suffolk

Redden Court School, Essex

“It occurred to me what an honour and thrill it is to see our

state-school students competing against, and often beating, teams from the top independent schools;

the sort that have their own debating chambers and full-time

debate coaches.”

“They had loads of fun and learnt a great deal, especially from the

judges’ feedback. All members of the team are really looking forward to the London master classes and the

national final!”

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The team from Manor High School were delighted to qualify for the National Finals in July. They have worked very hard, giving up significant amounts of their own time during lunch and after school to prepare. We’re a school which are relatively new to debating, only starting up the debate club on a

regular basis around October.

We are currently a middle school but will be expanding into Year 10 at the start of the next school year and we look forward to developing our debating further as a school.

The three competitors, Henrietta Magill, Paige Uppal and Ishali Ruparelia, are hugely hard working and engaged students, whose natural speaking ability and work ethic have allowed them to perform very well as debaters. They enjoyed all of their debates at the regional qualifier, but particularly enjoyed their final debate against the excellent team from Hinchingbrooke School and look forward to a potential rematch at the finals!

They all have some prior debating experience; all three have taken part in local debating competitions against other local schools and have always performed well. They were all thrilled to make it through to the finals and are very excited for the masterclass in London. Ishali said: “I’m extremely excited for expanding my debating skills with the support and knowledge that I will gain from the masterclass.”

Debating is a huge part of life at St Ursula’s, a small girls’ Catholic school in South East London, because it develops such vital communication life skills. We have debating clubs for all year groups and it is embedded in the curriculum too; in Year 9, the PiXL Up for Debate resources form the basis of our English department’s spring term teaching.

In order to be selected for the competition, each student had to demonstrate over a term that they were one of the best debaters in their class. We then held a Year 9 School Final, where those chosen debated in front of the whole year group, as well as staff and governors. Before even arriving at the London Heat, our team had already beaten off the competition from over a hundred other pupils just to be there!

The regional final was really exciting, made even more thrilling by the fact that our finalists were our reserve them; they only found out on the morning

of the competition that they would participate in the debates. When the girls heard their team name called out to participate in the regional final, we were thrilled. We are looking forward to the masterclasses so that we can improve and compete to win at the final at Harrow School!

Manor High School, Leicester

St Ursula’s Convent School, London

“We have debating clubs for all year groups and it is embedded in

the curriculum too; in Year 9, the PiXL Up for Debate resources form the basis of our

English department’s spring term teaching.

The three competitors are hugely hard working and engaged students, whose natural speaking ability and

work ethic have allowed them to perform very well as debaters. They enjoyed all of their debates at the regional qualifier, but particularly

enjoyed their final debate against the excellent team from Hinchingbrooke

School and look forward to a potential rematch at the finals!

Up for DebateIntroducing the website

When PiXLEdge and the Noisy Classroom set up the Up For Debate programme last year, we were ambitious to make it a lot more than a debating competition. We set out to create an oracy programme which would support teachers to embed debating and critical oracy in their school’s culture. At the heart of that vision is the website, www.upfordebate.co.uk, our free to access website for all members of PiXL Edge. Whether you are a school who has entered the competition and is looking for more, or a school who wants to begin their journey, make sure you register for the site this term.

Why should my school debate?“The rules of engagement learnt in formal debating enable students in, say, History or Science to drill deeper into controversial ethical issues. It builds their

deeper thinking alongside their confidence. It teaches them the language used by those who wield power.” (Geoff Barton, former headteacher of King Edward VI School, Suffolk and PiXL Oracy Champion).

A culture of debate as part of your teaching can help lead to: - Essay writers who develop their analysis in structured points. - Readers who interrogate sources and texts, identifying bias and logical flaws. - Speakers who deliver confident and articulate presentations. - Listeners who engage critically and actively with discussions.

And it’s great fun!

Introducing the Up For Debate website – free for all Edge schools to access!www.upfordebate.co.uk – one website with everything you need to establish debate in your school.

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What will I find on the site?There are three key resources on the website:

1. The co-curricular handbook with guidance on running a club and holding competitions both within your school and the community.

2. The curricular handbook with guidance on how to use debating as an effective teaching tool across the curriculum.

3. The fully resourced scheme of work aimed at introducing debating to Year 9 English classes in 8 to 12 lessons.

On the website you can also find videos and worksheets to stimulate particular debating topics, learn more about judging debates and discover more about the competition.

Students who have used the resources have found them engaging and fun and the main characters –

Professor Ivan O’Pinion and journalist Hew Decide – have become cult figures! These characters are created and performed by Harold Raitt of SeeHearTeach, who also designed the website. Harold was nominated for a BAFTA for his online educational film-making whilst he worked at the National Theatre, and he has brought his innovative and creative style to the Up For Debate programme. He says “My aim was to make it easy for teachers, who have never had any experience of debating, to deliver the scheme of work in the classroom. Putting video at the heart of the resources allow Ivan and Hew to do the hard work for you.”

If you would like even more in-school support, then the Noisy Classroom offers student workshops, staff CPD and bespoke resources to support critical oracy across the curriculum.

We hope your school is Up For Debate. Do get in touch to share your success stories and let us know if there is anything we can do to improve the programme or to help your school. Good luck!

– Debbie Newman, Director of Noisy Classroom.

Student achievementSir John Colfox Academy

Mannie Wellman (Year 8)I have always loved learning. At primary school I always wanted to do more and I was driven by challenge, failure and success. When I started in Year 7 I had no idea how many opportunities I would have and the PiXL Edge has pushed me to do so many things, some of which I would never have dreamed of - like talking in front of you for a start!

Whether your talent is sport, music, art or whatever you enjoy, the PiXL Edge gives you the opportunity to get recognised and rewarded for what you do. I have learnt so many things about myself and the Edge has

made me push myself to be the best I can.

The activities that stand out for me as being my proudest achievements in Edge were the leadership attribute where I captained the school football team and the attribute of communication, which I achieved by delivering a lesson in science to my classmates, this was challenging, but rewarding.

In my opinion the Edge is just as important as all my other subjects; in fact I would say it is more important because without the skills developed by the Edge you would not be successful in your exams and more importantly, in life.

Student voice at Sir John ColfoxHere at Edge HQ, we believe that our students can do almost anything better than us – including explaining the Edge. We were thrilled to invite two students from Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport, Dorset, to attend our PiXL Main Meeting in March. They each spoke on stage at Central Hall Westminster to an audience of nearly 2000 teachers – no mean feat, we’re sure you’ll agree.Mannie Wellman (Year 8) and Maddy Herbert (Year 9) both gave excellent speeches about their experience of the Edge – you can read them here in full.

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On speaking at Central Hall…I felt a sort of nervous excitement before, but it was really tense waiting to

go on stage! During the speech I settled in really quickly and it was just like practicing at home, which I had done many, many times before. I was relaxed and embraced the atmosphere. I really enjoyed it and came off stage buzzing

because I knew I had done it and I was ready to do it all again!

Maddy Herbert (Year 9)Two years ago I was lucky to get the chance to come to this building and receive my Apprentice Award from Sir John. It was a brilliant experience but I have to say coming back to speak this time to speak to you is a bit scary!

Achieving the Apprentice award back then really helped to cap what had been a brilliant start to secondary school and to be recognised for developing my leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative and communication. If you are considering getting your students into the Edge then you will definitely be doing something that helps them to be recognised for their effort and achievement.

Now I am working at the Graduate level I can see the step up that is expected of older students. For example when I was in Year 7, helping someone else

to support a primary school running club was a great activity. This year though, for my graduate, I have run a Friday after school cross country club for a local primary school and I have planned and led all of the sessions for over twenty athletes on my own. I have learned so much by doing this and watching their success has been amazing.

Another great new thing has been to become an Edge Ambassador. In this role I have to work with younger students in Year 7 and 8 and help them to plan and record activities so that they can be successful reaching Apprentice level.

As an Ambassador I have also had the opportunity to meet visitors from other schools who want to come out and find more about what we have been doing. If you want to come to Colfox we would be happy to show you what we get up to.

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On speaking at Central Hall…Before I went up on stage, I was really nervous. But it was different to any other

nerves I’ve ever had. As Mannie and I were waiting for our turn, I was able to see the two thousand people sat in the audience. During my speech, my legs were shaking which made it harder for me to speak. By the end I was so relieved it

was over although I wouldn’t have minded doing it all over again.

PiXL Impact ReportChesterfield High School

Why do we facilitate character education? According to the Jubilee Centre for Character Education, Birmingham University, research evidence is clear: ‘schools that are values-driven have high expectations and demonstrate academic, professional and social success’. In the government white paper Educational Excellence for All (2016), the DfE outlines how a 21st century education should ‘instil character traits and fundamental British values that will help [students] to succeed’. The paper outlines how these traits ‘not only open doors to employment and social opportunities, but underpin academic success, happiness and wellbeing’. It is recognised in this report that many schools already offer a range of activities that implicitly develop character; however, more needs to be done to implicitly and explicitly develop good character traits.

The Jubilee Centre argues that ‘good character is the foundation for improved attainment and human flourishing’ and that the ‘ultimate aim of character education is the development of good sense or practical wisdom: the capacity to choose intelligently between alternatives’. To enable the development of good sense or practical wisdom, ‘character education should be reinforced everywhere’ within the school context, and ‘schools have a responsibility to cultivate the virtues, define and list those they want to prioritise and integrate them into all teaching’. This culture of a values-driven community which actively promotes the values outlined

in our school ethos is what we aspire to nurture at Chesterfield High School.

The fundamental aim of the school’s PiXL Edge and Character Education initiative is to ensure that the school’s vision and ethos is at the heart of everything that happens at Chesterfield High School – to ensure: ‘for everyone the best’. We believe that PiXL Edge strengthens our school community’s drive to promote, actively witness and celebrate the personal development and wellbeing of all our students; and, as a result, our students are increasingly motivated to succeed, to participate in opportunities that will positively nurture their personal growth, and to live-up to the moral values of a well-rounded citizen.

Why LORIC?Our personal development curriculum in Key Stages 3 and 4 is underpinned by the character values accredited through ‘The Edge’. At Chesterfield High School, we encourage students to explore their own character through the lens of these values. As a school, we stand firm in reflecting upon these values for the following reasons:

Leadership, as we want all of our students to be unwavering in leading change and improvement for themselves and for others.

Organisation, because we want all of our students to have a plan for future success, knowing what they need to do in order to achieve their goals.

Resilience, because we want all of our students to have the courage to face adversity with a growth mind set, knowing that success can take time.

Initiative, because we want all of our students to realise that they need to be self-motivated and self-disciplined to be successful.

Communication, because we want all of our students to be confident and effective communicators, able to work with others to enable success and achievement for all.

A deep dive into the why and the how of the Edge...Using ‘The Edge’ to build character in our young people – a case study from Chesterfield High School.

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Organisation

Initiative

Communication

Resilience

Leadership

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How did we begin?Before we launched LORIC across our school, we held a series of consultations with our key stakeholders: students, during our school council meetings; staff, during our CPD programme; and parents and governors through our Parent and Carer forum. We explored in these mini-sessions three key questions:

• What is character?

• What character traits do we want our school to develop within our students?

• How can we go about educating and supporting the development of these character traits?

As a school, we gathered our findings and mapped out how the traits identified by our school community linked to the LORIC values identified in the Edge. After this point, students were introduced to these values at the start of this academic year by the senior leadership team; they were informed about the importance of these values for academic and personal success, alongside ways in which they could begin to develop these traits during their time at Chesterfield High School through PiXL Edge and academic study.

How do we embed LORIC within the classroom and across curriculum Developing character is a whole-school priority and is an integral part of the teaching and learning CPD of the school. Alongside the teaching and learning initiatives of 100% Classroom and PiXL Classrooms, staff have been involved in both whole-school and faculty-specific CPD relating to character education. As a school, we have begun to appreciate how character education involves seizing every learning opportunity to develop students’ values, seeking to prepare them for their future by providing fruitful character value-building opportunities. Recent examples of these experiences include 60 Year 9 pupil premium students partaking in a resilience and oracy workshop before Christmas, and our work with a military organisation to develop ‘grit’ for exam success with our Year 10 and 11 students.

In unison with our PSHC programme in KS3, this year has seen the start of an explicit character education programme during form-time and our British values-focused curriculum days. Pupils have been engaged in reflecting upon role models, character values and behaviours, through virtue-themed sessions provided by the Jubilee Centre for Character Education. These sessions have also included tailored tasks to meet

Continued on next page ➢

I like the recognition you get for demonstrating LORIC values. We demonstrate our LORIC values day to day and we are rewarded and recognised for doing it – which is great! To add, when you’ve completed LORIC tasks and have been helpful to others, you gain a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction.

What students say…

Faye Price, Year 8 student

I think LORIC helps us as students and people. It helps us to learn life lessons and values. It has helped me to realise that we demonstrate these values all the time, even without knowing it. It’s good that there is an accreditation for demonstrating these values and that we can be praised for doing good things.

Emily Brough, Year 8 student

PiXL Impact ReportChesterfield High School

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➢ Continued from previous pageour school’s LORIC values and we are currently mapping out next year’s personal development curriculum to include some of the resources downloadable from the Edge palette to strengthen our LORIC education provision.

An important aspect of character education, in our opinion, is the public praising of students who demonstrate the values we seek to cultivate. At Chesterfield High School, the rewarding of character happens during form-time in Key Stage 3 (Year 7 and Year 8). Each week, during the Character Education-focused personal development time, form tutors nominate one student in each class for the development of a LORIC value.

The value is determined by the week as all five values are reflected upon on a carousel, linking to the week’s themed assembly for Key Stage 3 and 4. The nominated student is awarded demonstration of LORIC values reward points and is presented with the appropriate LORIC value badge; this becomes part of their compulsory uniform. This simple strategy is a strong and effective way of allowing the whole school community, including parents and carers, to witness and be part of the student’s character development.

Moving forward and our goal for the end of this yearMoving forward, our next steps include wanting to strengthen our 100% classroom practice by furthering opportunities for students to engage in LORIC-value building within the classroom. We will do this by developing the role of our personal development and wellbeing representatives who are found in each faculty and are currently responsible for the academic and personal achievements of students within their subject area. We are also looking to review our school behaviour policy to include a restorative practice which is focused on our LORIC values.

To end this year, however, our aim is to have 250 Key Stage 3 students achieving their PiXL Apprentice award so they can progress through to the next stages of the Edge programme and become Ambassadors in our wider school community as we want our students to be ‘the best’ -to have ‘The Edge’ in every aspect of their lives – grades and character!

– Kevin Sexton, Deputy Head Teacher, and Chris Loughlin, PiXL Edge Coordinator – Chesterfield High School, Crosby, Liverpool.

I like completing PiXL Edge because our hard work and accomplishments get recognised, praised and accredited. It will also help us to get jobs in years to come. The system of Apprentice, Graduate and Master help us to say how far we have gone to develop our LORIC values. PiXL Edge allows you to demonstrate LORIC values through many fun ways including organising a bake sale and planning and leading parts of lessons.

What students say…

Paddy Preston, Year 8 student

Inside lookBenfield School

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– David Wardle, Leading Edge Co-ordinator at Benfield School, Newcastle.

On a blustery, cold February weekend, 60 Year 7 students left Benfield School, in the east of Newcastle, to take part in an exciting LORIC activity based weekend residential to Kingswood Peak Venture.

Weeks of planning and preparation went in to the trip to ensure the students were challenged both physically and mentally during activities. The chosen activities focused on the LORIC skills they continue to develop on a day-to-day basis.

Over the three days, students were tasked with a range of exhilarating activities, designed to get their adrenaline pumping and their minds thinking. Some activities were designed to develop students’ leadership skills; straight away, some natural leaders were identified. In addition, all of the challenges required the students to show initiative, be resilient and communicate effectively with both their peers and adults. The range of activities explored meant all of our young people had the opportunity to stand out and develop a new skill set.

From the moment we arrived, the students were enthused and excited. Their independence and resilience was vital from the minute we unloaded the bus, as the students were expected to unpack and make their own bed – a first for the majority of our 11 year olds! For many of our students this was their first trip away from the comfort of home, and yet they very quickly made the centre their own, plotting paths and learning their way around the four-acre site.

For some of the students, many of the outdoor activities meant conquering their fears. All we asked of the students was that they attempted everything and pushed themselves to the limit, and they did so with the support and enthusiasm of their peers. Some of our students instantly lead by example, demonstrating how to tackle a 60ft climbing wall, followed by a zip line. For others, organisation became a

clear strength, ensuring all of their group complete the activities in their allocated time. Communication was, of course, essential throughout the weekend; it was, however, paramount, when students tackled the obstacle course blindfolded, that they listened to each other and delivered instructions clearly.

None of the Benfield students will forget the experience and skills they developed. The students were a credit to our school and have since returned to

school able to demonstrate their newly developed skills.

For Kingswood, having a school visit with a clear structure and goals for all the activities was much easier for them to manage, all the staff who dealt with our students were full of praise.

This experience has been logged as a challenge on their individual Edge databases, which will go towards the students achieving their Apprentice level by the end of Year 9.

LORIC leaves the classroom! Benfield School’s LORIC residential experience

New initiativeRegional Edge Co-ordinators

Now, that’s all very well and good when you’re looking after a pilot group of 50 schools, but providing operational support to over 600 secondary schools across the country is a very different kettle of fish!

That’s where our RECs come in.

The role of the REC is to be available to offer remote support and guidance to all Edge schools in their area, with the possibility of school visits in some cases. The RECs work alongside the operations team

to help ensure that consistent support is being offered across our regions.

The only area without a designated REC is London. Due to the high concentration of schools in this area, and the fact that it is home to the PiXL Head Office, support for schools in London is coordinated in-house by the Edge Operations team, with the help of some key ambassador schools.

So, without further ado, let’s meet the RECs..!

Another PiXL acronym! Introducing the RECs (Regional Edge Co-ordinators)

Jeanette Craig, Assistant Head Teacher, Boston Spa School

As the number of schools joining the Edge increases, it has become ever more important to ensure that schools have access to advice and support when it comes to launching and sustaining the team. When we first launched the scheme, advice came from our central operations team.

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I am an Assistant Head Teacher at Boston Spa School in Leeds, with responsibility for Community and Ethos.

I have been involved in PiXL Edge right from the beginning back in 2014 and we were one of the pilot schools who first introduced the Edge. The Edge provides a unique opportunity to develop the five key attributes through targeted

activities and challenges, and I am totally committed to helping students achieve their best, in my school and other schools in my area.

In Boston Spa School all students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 12 are working towards PiXL Edge with many being

successful in the Apprentice level already and now working towards the Graduate level. Students run an Edge club where others can attend and work on activities and there are also plans to develop cross-curricular links next year.

It is so successful that we even have an Edge lesson for one hour per week in Year 7, using LORIC resources to develop students even further!

Jeanette is responsible for: Greater Manchester, North East Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire.

Email: [email protected]

The role of the REC is to be available to offer remote support and guidance to all Edge schools in their area, with the possibility of school visits in some cases.

Steve Harvey, Deputy Headteacher, Charters School

Andy David, AST, Sir John Colfox Academy

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I truly love what I do and get a real buzz from working with young people, not just in my classes but also in the wider life of the school and community. I suppose I am one of the many who consider themselves as a ‘teacher’ first, my subject, although very important

to me, comes a bit of a distant second. Perhaps that is why I believe the Edge to be vitally important to ALL of our young people, irrespective of background, academic ability, whatever talent they may have in the arts or music; all of them can further develop the skills encompassed in LORIC, gaining the Edge.

My philosophy has fundamentally evolved into one that allows students to lead and guide. The best way to learn something, after all, is to teach it; so why not let students take some of that responsibility? All of a sudden we have

students developing their LORIC attributes, becoming so much more rounded and independent as young people than perhaps they would have believed possible. And because the Edge is all about pupils ‘doing’, our school itself grows along with those individuals, becoming so much more harmonious and industrious as a community that thrives as the individual continues to thrive and grow.

The Edge can be transformational, both on an individual and a whole school level. We have seen it happen! It is the reality, not just somebody’s good idea anymore. When everyone finally ‘gets it’, then maybe I’ll sit back and relax…

I have been teaching PE for 19 years, 15 of those in Bridport where I currently teach today. I have been very fortunate to receive a number of teaching awards including: Telegraph Teacher of the Year, School Sport Magazine Teacher of the Year and the 2012 British Athletics Teacher of the Year. In my 19 years I have been: a Head of Year, lower school tutor, Sixth Form tutor, and Head

of Department, but my favourite role has been as an AST which I have been for the last ten years. The AST role has allowed me the freedom to be creative, given me the opportunity to work closely with staff and students, and the time to drive the latest initiatives.

We were a pilot school for the Edge and when I was asked

to lead it at my school I jumped at the opportunity. The biggest frustration I have had as a teacher, particularly as a Head of Year, has been the difficulty in recognising, monitoring and rewarding all the great things our students do. I always had to rely on paper registers to record participation and there was no systematic way of recording activities (both inside and outside school) which often meant that our pupils would leave in Year 11 with nothing more than their GCSE certificates. I always knew we could do better and the Edge has changed everything for me. I have seen, first-hand, the difference the Edge has made to the lives of our students, and it has been an absolute pleasure to lead something that is fundamental to my pedagogical beliefs.

Steve is responsible for: Berkshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bristol, Bath and NE Somerset, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.


Andy is responsible for: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wales. Email: [email protected]

New initiativeRegional Edge Co-ordinators

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Maria Irving, Assistant Headteacher, Benfield School

Phil Hawkins, founder of Aprender and PiXL International Associate

I have worked in schools in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Newcastle (my home city). My philosophy is ‘All about inclusion’. My areas of interest and expertise include SEND, behaviour, safeguarding, and wellbeing.

Benfield were enthused by the Edge and came on board three years ago, as we saw the potential it had in developing essential skills, qualities and confidence in young people. We liked the idea of our students, ‘standing out from the crowd’ because they were involved with and able to articulate LORIC. We

genuinely believe it adds a dimension to our students’ profiles and gives them something extra to talk about and present to prospective employers.

The A-Z of my responsibilities: Attendance, behaviour, character building, deputising, Edge, Framework (Wellbeing, Care and Engagement), Governor (primary school), happiness, Inclusion, joint working (of external agencies and organisations), kindness (acts of), links with primary schools, mental health, non-negotiables (expectations), operations (day to day), PRIDE (pathway to positive behaviour), queries (including complaints!), rewards, safeguarding, teaching (English), uptake (admissions), validations (Edge), wellbeing, X and Y (all the other bits!), zero tolerance (rules and expectations).

I am the founder of Aprender, a British NGO working in the field of international education development. I have 20 years’ teaching experience in secondary schools in multi-cultural Croydon. I was Deputy Head Teacher at Woodcote High School before I relocated to Goiânia, Brazil in 2010 with my family.

I piloted character strengths-based curriculum in schools with no resources in inner-city, gangland

neighbourhoods in Brazil and saw the positive impact on behaviour and ultimately academic results. My work has now taken me to other parts of the world such as the Middle East, where I assist school improvement in a number of refugee schools in Lebanon. I returned to the UK in May 2016 and I am passionate about character strength development in education, to see young people adopt values that are not just laminated, but lived.

Maria is responsible for: Cheshire, Cumbria, Darlington, Durham, Lancashire, Middlesbrough, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Redcar and Cleveland and Tyne & Wear.


Phil is responsible for: Essex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.


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Vanessa Mehta, Deputy Head Teacher, Manor High School

Brian Lightman, PiXL Associate and PiX6 Area Leader

I am pleased to introduce myself as the REC for the PiXL Edge. My background is as a highly proficient science teacher with over 20 years experience. I am currently the Pastoral Deputy Head at Manor High School in Leicester, my second post as a Deputy Head. In September 2016 we found ourselves with a need to revitalise our

tutorial sessions. Tutorial learning walks indicated a lack of motivation, ambition and purpose. We needed something that we could adapt for vertical tutoring.

About to embark on age range change as well, we also needed something that was fully supported and resourced. I launched the PiXL Ede tutoring programme at Manor High and have since opened our doors to support other schools wanting to do the same thing.

Feedback from our students so far has been very positive!

‘LORIC helps me get an understanding of the core values and supports my education’‘LORIC is teaching me skills I can use across all my subject areas‘LORIC has given me the opportunity to lead within school’‘LORIC – I love it nearly as much as Mrs Mehta!’

I was the General Secretary of the Associate of School and College Leads from September 2010 until January 2016. I am a Patron of the National Citizen Service and serve on the boards of the Careers and Enterprise Company and the PiXL Edge Trust.

Since I became self-employed last year, my portfolio now includes working for PiXL as

an Associate, an Area Leader for PiXL6 (KS5), and supporting individual and groups of schools (providing coaching for middle and senior leaders, professional development and support for school improvement.)

As an invited speaker, I contribute regularly to seminars and conferences on education and write extensively. Broad experience within the English and

Welsh education systems has included two headships, extensive representation on UK and Welsh Assembly Government committees, being an external examiner and an Estyn inspector. Having led one of the first schools to implement the Welsh Baccalaureate, I have first hand experience of the impact of embedding those wider aspects of a successful education that are at the heard of PiXL Edge.

I consider it a real privilege to support schools in the leadership and implementation of this powerful programme, and I have particularly enjoyed helping to judge the Up for Debate competitions.

Vanessa is responsible for: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Suffolk, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.


Brian is responsible for: Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands.


PiXL EdgeThe operations team

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Hannah Costanzo, PiXL Edge Programme Co-ordinator

Sian John, PiXL Communications and Operations Manager

I joined the PiXL Operations team in September 2013, and have been involved in the Edge since its conception back in 2014. I have seen the Edge develop from a theoretical concept to a fully-fledged scheme implemented in over 600 secondary schools, and it has been a real privilege.

As a Programme Co-ordinator for the Edge scheme, it’s my job to work alongside the Edge Executive team, as well as technical, operational and administrative departments, to make the Edge the best it can be. A large part of this is liaising with our member schools to ensure we are producing work that supports them, so do please get in touch if you have any ideas!

I work closely with the Regional Edge Co-ordinators to ensure that schools have access to support should they need it, and have overall accountability

for the Edge schools in the North (as a Newcastle University graduate, I’m thrilled that my work now regularly takes me north of the Watford Gap!) Part of this role is identifying best practice in schools, so don’t be surprised if you receive an email from me asking you to write an article for this bulletin!

I am lucky enough to work with schools across all 5 Key Stages, as the Operational Lead for The Primary Edge, and as the Examinations Officer for the PiXL Edge Masters Award (KS5). The Masters has, for me, been a particular labour of love, as I worked closely with the team at NCFE on the course development and am excited to be working with our first wave of pilot schools now.

I am also leading on the upcoming PiXL Edge Celebrations - so do please book on, as I’d love to meet as many of you as possible!

I started working for PiXL in 2011, initially on a part-time basis to look after the PiXL website and offer some general operational support.

The role quickly developed in line with membership numbers increasing. Since 2014, I have been working full time for PiXL as the Communications and Operations Director,

responsible for the Operations Team and working closely with Sir John Rowling (chair) and Will Smith (deputy chair). Over the last few years the Operations team has grown from a couple of us to now a 15-strong team with a vast array of operational responsibilities.

Prior to working for PiXL, I worked at Hays Education for ten years. My last role was Regional Manager responsible for seven offices across London and the South, with an operations team of approximately 65 people. I left Hays Education to set up my own recruitment business, which I successfully ran for three years before I took the decision to work for PiXL full time.

My role within PiXL Edge is to oversee the Operations function, making sure that we are offering both the schools and the Regional Edge Coordinators the support they need. It has been exciting watching how the Edge has grown and developed over the past three years and the impact it is having within our member schools.

You can contact Hannah on 07778 703319, or by email: [email protected]

You can contact Sian on 07799 892120, or by email: [email protected]

PiXL EdgeThe operations team

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Gurinder Badesha, Alternative Edge Operations

Lixi Michaelis, PiXL Edge Programme Co-ordinator

The ‘power of education’ is something that has been ingrained in me from a very early age. Understanding that the journey of education is a never ending life-long lesson has positively shaped my personal growth both academic and socially.

My enthusiasm to share my passion for ‘education’, has allowed me to enjoy over 15

years within the education sector. Roles have included education recruitment for both the private and public sector for a number of local authorities, independent schools, PRUs and SEN schools.

I have been fortunate enough to be working for PiXL since 2012. I primarily support both PRUs and SEN schools on an operational basis, assisting with the implementation of the Alternative Edge and regularly visit schools. This is very exciting time for TRIP, we now have over 65% of TRIP schools engaged in

the Edge programme and would welcome you to share any best practice that can feature in the next bulletin.

The impact this initiative has had on the pupils has been outstanding. I believe this is a powerful tool to equip students with the life experiences and confidence they need to have successful futures.

Outside of education, you can find me moshing at a music rave or putting some poor soul through their paces at the gym! I’m a qualified personal trainer with 20 years martial arts experience in Lau Gar Kung Fu, American style kick boxing and weapons training. I’m also a Netflix junkie!

We’ll be holding our annual Student/Edge Celebration at the stunning News Corp building on 5th July. We hope you can join us to celebrate student success!

I have now been with PiXL for a year (although I began some work on resources when overseas nearly two years ago; in those days in a bamboo building overlooking paddy fields and monkeys – quite a contrast to our Regent’s Street HQ!).

I support the Edge team, in addition to my business support role for

PiXL. My former experience includes development of children’s services in a local authority (in particular working with schools to better support vulnerable learners), community development, leadership education and an inter-faith NGO. This proves to be just the sort of diverse experience that suits the

variety, pace and range of challenges presented by working for PiXL!

What sets this role apart from others is the scale of the impact of the Edge compared with the reach one had at a local authority – a mere 26 secondary schools, as opposed to the over 600 now signed up to the Edge programme. This makes for new challenges but it is immensely exciting to know that I am supporting an innovation (and the inspiring school leaders delivering it), that will make a difference to so many young lives. This drive infuses our work day by day and makes me proud to be a member of a very dynamic and energetic team.

You can contact Gurinder on 07527 888516, or by email: [email protected]

You can contact Lixi on 07717 724231, or by email: [email protected]

in proud collaboration with ….

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Want to share your experiences? Email [email protected] with any tips, advice, strategies and success stories from your school and we will try to include them all in the next edition.

Contact informationHannah – PiXL Edge Operations [email protected] 07778 703319

Lixi – PiXL Edge [email protected] 07717 724231

Gurinder – PiXL Edge [email protected] 07527 888516

Helen – PiXL Edge [email protected] 07932 735584

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