Ten ways for schools to nurture
excellence - challenging approaches
to fit to the school context whilst
remaining realistic in what is done
Define success, high standards and appropriate levels of
progress in English

Investigate gaps to understanding what the appropriate level of
challenge might be for our learners in terms of the work we set
and accept. What does it look like for the learner, and how do we
transmit that awareness? What are the indicators of excellence,
and who generates them? How are they specifically taught?

Develop resources that offer students real stretch on the most
challenging texts to support their deconstruction of unseen texts
(combined with past AEA exam papers and the use of ELAT
papers and Pre U Global Perspectives all accessible online).
Choose challenging texts as they necessitate a depth of thought
and set high standards as well as force students to have to
confront difficulty and develop understanding the hard way.
Select Paradise Lost rather than Carol Ann Duffy to try to
achieve an A* as opposed to very securely achieving an A by
tick-boxing all requirements.
Apply and communicate the language of high expectations and
aspirations in English

Normalise academic excellence through the school culture and
model and encourage an intellectual curiosity and bravery that
never sets academic learning as beyond anyone’s reach

Shift the deficit model and encourage students to be more
ambitious in their learning and in the critical reading choices
they make. Particularly with students who are often good orally
but much weaker on paper, as they often don't know what is
being demanded of them and what their real potential might
be. Improve their understanding that A* requires more flair and
criticality and that this only comes through discussion, reading
and sensitivity to more subtle or ambiguous arguments/ideas.
Improve students’ critical writing skills at KS5 for the exam, to
develop students able to write enough, to a consistently high
standard, and under timed conditions.
Celebrate expertise and mastery and normalise intellectual
debate in English

Ensure students are routinely expected to give extended,
reasoned answers or are at least given that opportunity. Don’t
protect students from grappling with difficult tasks as they won’t
develop what psychologists call ‘mastery experiences.’

Develop approaches and resources that encourage scholarship,
controversial ideas and alternative interpretations and that
develop their skills to ‘take hold’ of a question, and also help them
to look ‘Oxbridge plausible.’ Set a structured agenda for wider
reading so they acquire a deepening familiarity with the full range
of literary forms and genres, and with a variety of cultural, literary
and historical reference points allowing them to interpret texts with
increasingly well-informed sensitivity. Students may be missing
substantial cultural capital but we can teach them how to decode to understand the words and syntax required for breaking down a
text.
Deliberately set up productive failure by continually raising
the bar in English


Build the capacity to resist the temptation to quit when the
practice task looks like being beyond a learners current ability
level is critical to long term achievement. Make the high level
most challenging demands to understand whether our
students would have been capable of reaching the highest
standards.
Teach texts that are in themselves ‘high challenge’ resources
necessitating problem solving/enquiry - texts that will
genuinely stretch the top students is essential as is studying
them in great depth. Set the highest possible standards and
show students what they need to do to get A*s, primarily by
not setting insufficiently challenging work on simpler texts.
Improve their sensitivity to new ideas and develop tact in
negotiating unfamiliar material (rather than subject
knowledge) to give them a shot with Oxbridge interviewers.
Teach students about the role that effort, ambition and
personal responsibility plays in success in English


Teach students that self esteem cannot be given to them
before they embark on a task, that it comes as the result of
tasks being mastered. Too many students think effort is only
for the inept.
Encourage students to question and challenge their own
answers, forcing them to use the text rigorously to support
their interpretations and to see that alternative interpretations
of texts are to be encouraged and explored. Showing what
can be done to get students to write analytically and
evaluatively rather than descriptively and instilling students
with a confidence to take risks in examinations / interviews.
A* responses require a personal enthusiastic engagement
with ideas and texts so students’ ambition can help them
avoid the temptation to ‘play it safe’ rather than display the
flair that the examiners are looking for.
Talk explicitly about subject mastery in English

Make the high level most challenging demands ‘the norm’ and
ensure support for students who need it. Try not to gloss over
the ‘Big Issues and Complex Concepts’ so that students
genuinely understand what excellence might look like.

Explain and demonstrate that A* requires more flair and that
this comes through discussion and sensitivity to more subtle
arguments/ideas. Give students a structured agenda for
reading in order to acquire a deepening familiarity with the full
range of literary forms and genres, and with a variety of
cultural, literary and historical reference points which will allow
them to interpret texts with an increasingly well-informed
sensitivity. This agenda must extend substantially beyond the
range of texts covered by the course specification.
Rigorously reinforce scholarship in English

The point of learners as ‘experts in development’ is that students
need to grasp the subject essentials but also to understand how
difficult and frustrating gaining scholarship can be. Make explicit
what skills and behaviours are required of your learners to
achieve beyond the top grades. Are students encouraged to go
‘off piste’? Is it clear to everyone why this is important?

Encourage students who want to take the subject at university to
research and write essays independently – perhaps setting a
summer essay prize for this and encouraging students to enter
various external competitions. As a department and school, offer
extra-curricular activities that allow students to explore aspects of
the subject beyond the syllabus. These might include reading
groups, drama productions, creative writing groups, debating
society, public speaking competitions and student journalism.
Establish clear expectations regarding precision in the use of high
level subject specific language in English


Make the use of technical language a high priority when evaluating
the quality of teaching and learning and make it clear that
precision is expected. Attack work from as many angles as
possible and unpack/pull apart concepts and ideas through
language.
Ruthlessly assess and interrogate meaning and test and probe
discourse and consistently challenge students to improve their
quality of expression. Establish a continual feedback loop of
writing and improvement – students only achieve at the top end if
they are continually engaging with texts through the medium of
written, academic argument, and in order to improve they need
specific feedback on that writing so that they can implement
generic improvements in subsequent arguments (not in
corrections to existing pieces). Develop students’ ability to write
with a wide-ranging and suitable vocabulary, as well as their ability
to reproduce argumentative genres and to achieve stylistic density
and precision.
Offer the opportunity for students to embrace ambiguity, doubt and
uncertainty in English


Challenge students to go far beyond the specification and focus
them on the ‘where next?’ horizon. Offer the opportunity to
students to make disparate connections and to apply existing
knowledge to new challenges. Encourage risk taking and
academic rigour and normalise mistakes by ensuring they happen
often.
Ensure students are exposed to thinking beyond the boundaries
and are focused on the most difficult texts. It is vital to encourage
students to question and challenge their answers, and to act like
detectives forcing them to use the text rigorously to support their
interpretations and to see that alternative interpretations are to be
encouraged and explored. It’s important with the new linear A
levels to focus on the unseen and to give students practice on
practical criticism through the Pre U Cambridge Lit Paper and to
give them experience of sensitively interpreting texts in the light of
other texts.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in English

Let students know that the aim is for them to really discover their
intellectual limits. Embed excellence into every day lessons
through resources and tasks pitched to challenge the most able
based on an assumption that the most able students will be able
to attain the top grades.

A clear focus needs to be on iterative development, a dialogical
focus talking about the writing process itself and how they are
writing. Show what effective notes look like to secure the top
grade and how to explain texts clearly so weaker students have
access to all they need to know so that a focus on style will then
be possible. Students require very thorough feedback on their
essays so how to mark work with targeted feedback to edit and
redraft work is essential. Resources are currently too tightly based
around ‘what you need to do to get an A’, rather than developing
the skills that would allow pupils to achieve these grades anyway.
What are the barriers to A* in Science?

some of the greatest problems are the students inability to fully
understand the requirements of the question and to not simply
write everything they knows about the topic, the inability to use
their taught knowledge to explain unknown and unfamiliar facts
and the inability to form synoptic links between topics.

the students can arrive with low expectations, low motivation and
a preconceived idea that Science is difficult. They need to be able
to apply their existing knowledge to explain unknown concepts but
they find this difficult.

expecting a high degree of literacy is also a real problem. They
need to be taught all the keywords to extend their scientific
terminology and literacy.
What are the barriers to A* in Science?

Many of our students are not independent learners and would like
to be merely ‘told’ the answers.

Teachers are strong when it comes to teaching exam technique
but sometimes weaker delivering any lessons beyond
specification points. Change will not occur in one exam group. It
will take a number of years and must be a school inclusive policy,
not restricted to the Science department.

There is a lack of lesson time to properly build up their study
skills. A lot of the stretch & challenge work is set through
independent learning, which they do complete in their own time.
What are the barriers to A* in science?

a real problem can be the lack of cumulative understanding.
science very much builds on basic principles which, if
understanding is lacking/missing entirely, makes further study not
only challenging but frustrating and leads to disengagement.
Instead teach a narrative arc of lessons.

GCSE gives students the false idea that they can cram science at
the last minute and still obtain a high mark, therefore trying to
instil a culture of self driven learning early in AS is important.

adding more content to the GCSE exam would be beneficial so
that students enter the AS course fully prepared without denting
their confidence
What would help students in science?

enabling students to answer questions in sufficient detail, using
the appropriate technical terminology, especially when presented
with novel or synoptic questions

employing preparatory materials in bridging the knowledge gap
between GCSE and A level, so that a greater proportion of lesson
time becomes dedicated to tackling the more challenging aspects
of the topic and stretching the more able students

sparking the interests of students both within and outside of the
classroom in the bigger concepts of science
What would help teachers in science?

attending science conferences and annual science day to listen to
current developments in Science from researchers in a range of
fields helps to build teacher confidence and expertise.

ways to understand what the examiner is wanting from the
question and to know what to include and what not to include.

teachers demonstrating they’re interested and excited about talks
and other events going on in school - makes a difference to level
of attendance by students
What’s needed in Physics?

ways to help able students to address low literacy levels – over
40% of the papers in Physics are now explanation based rather
than calculation - and too often students do not appreciate what
the question is asking and what it expects; being able to translate
keywords in an exam context is vital; being able to write in a
classical mode - students don’t know what to write or sometimes
what to assume the examiner knows

ways to give students experiences that go beyond syllabus and
require students to engage more deeply with material such as
relativity, Gauss’s law etc

ways to understand what the examiner is wanting from the
question and to know what to include and what not to include.
Sometimes it is still an issue of not including enough explanation
in the written answer to clarify their methods to the examiner.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Physics

Improving their skill set to include:

Problem solving – the more exposure to challenging, off the
syllabus questions the better

Estimation – what’s the mass of an elephant? How big is this
room?

Mathematical aptitude – pupils studying Physics without Maths A
level less likely to achieve a top Physics grade

Resilience – problems in physics can be very challenging and it
requires perseverance and self-confidence to see a problem
through to the end without asking for help along the way.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Science

Encourage students to thoroughly question the material that is put
to them and to synthesise synoptic links between subjects.

Encourage students to use their syllabus as a guideline for
revision, in addition to their notes and practice questions.

Ensure students can verbally explain their ideas clearly. Ensuring
that the students have revised and answered in sufficient detail,
remembering to always use the relevant terminology where
appropriate.

Students are also sometimes surprised by the level of specificity
required in their answers, compared to GCSE. They critically
need to express ideas with accurate and technical terminology
and have misconceptions in language - how the meaning of
words changes from KS4 to KS5
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Science

Students at A* having been offered a broad and deep
understanding is of huge benefit to them. This is because it
enhances their enjoyment of the subject (which is the key to
motivation) and also prepares them for questions which require
them to suggest completely new ideas or process new information
which is only partially covered in the syllabus.

It also gives students the confidence to know that they will be able
to tackle even the most challenging of questions which are put to
them in the exam or by interviewers. They need to broaden their
subject with reference to current research and articles.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Biology

regularly give pupils articles from Biological Sciences review or
Nature to read.

teach a topic to a substantially higher than necessary level for the
specification.

As a department offer a Biology Society, which is a discussion
group for talking about recent Biological issues in the news.

Establish library access to a number of online biology publications
which can be e-mailed to staff – a quick and easy way to stay on
top of breaking news.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Maths

going beyond the syllabus and running Enrichment activities
incorporating involving advanced level topics in mathematics and
on higher order problem solving which are outside the syllabus. In
particular preparing students for STEP, AEA and MAT papers,
which require problem solving beyond A Level.

include stretch and challenge activities in every lesson and
providing advice to students on what is expected in interviews at
Russell Group universities. Visits and extracurricular trips should
be taken by these students ie Maths Inspiration, Institute of
Education.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Maths

improving the confidence of students to tackle problems alone.
We need to guide students to ‘make connections’ between the
various branches of maths and see how it all fits together.
Weaknesses not being identified damage student confidence
which in turn obviates the possibility of giving then practice on the
topics they need and damages their self belief.

improving students understanding about the impact of hard work
and practice (A* needs some ability too). The students’ must work
hard and do a great deal of work outside of the classroom, ON
PAPER not MyMaths self-marking tasks. Accuracy is key and
much of that comes from practice.
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Maths

improving students understanding that a highly coached ‘spoonfed’ GCSE Maths cannot continue at AS/A2 and that they need to
make the transition to independent learning early in AS. Also
students needing to understand that the requirements of a Maths
degree are very different to A Level (understanding of proofs).

making clear to any gifted students that they will under-achieve if
they compare themselves to the weaker students in the class.

improving students with weak algebra and number skills quickly
so they can process and assimilate new Mathematical ideas as
thoroughly, confidently (or quickly) as those who are more able.
How do we close the gap between GCSE to A Level
and A level to university in Physics?

Vocabulary/Definition/Scientific language. Subject-specific
academic literacy for Science.

How does the precision of the language used in A level science
differ from GCSE. How to bridge that gap?

Classroom approach to support students in understanding and
using precise language.

Unit specific vocabulary (Are some units more dependent on
vocabulary/definitions then others?)

How to tackle long and wordy questions (appreciating what the
question is asking and what it expects)

The development of resources that offered students real stretch
on the most challenging concepts rather than ‘just knowledge’
which can kill understanding, e.g. textbooks from the exam board
What is needed in Physics?

improving the ability of students to develop sound mathematical
technical competence (particularly algebra)

improving their ability to apply their existing knowledge to explain
unknown concepts and understand other situations and also
being able to observe with insight, usually offering perceptive
interpretations and extrapolations are important as well as the
ability to convey the key ideas in an intelligible way.
What is needed in Chemistry?

the development of resources that offer students real stretch on
the most challenging big ideas for Chemistry

maths skills and being able to balance equations

understanding what a chemical reaction is and the maths behind
it

being able to link ‘smaller’ concepts to the bigger picture to widen
understanding
Teach to the top through deliberately and explicitly
demanding work in Chemistry

Run a science society solely by the pupils. They choose speakers
to talk about things that interest them - from the chemistry of the
stars to looking for a cure for Malaria to the science of black
holes. The students can run their own discussions on medical
ethics.

Science enrichment lessons, RSC starter questions, Lectures at
RI/ UCL/ Imperial, Chemical Analysis competition held at Queen
Mary College, Chemistry Olympiad, science society and the
opportunity to edit and write for the school science magazine all
help the high achievers to do better.