Wellspring Academy was a educational programme that trialed during the school years 2013/14 and 2014/15. It ran as a school-within-a-school for 2 of the 8 classes in Years 7 and 8 at Douay Martyrs school in Ickenham in Middlesex.
Following a review of its effectiveness, it was decided to introduce the Wellspring approach right across Year 7 from September 2015. In effect, the Wellspring Academy approach has gone mainstream.
There are two changes from the first two years:
- students will not take the international Baccalaureate (IB) assessments as they clash with the GCSE assessments – they will benefit from the IB approach to teaching, however, because that is being retained
- students will not now be required to purchase Chromebook computers because the e-learning facilities in the classroom and at home have been found to be more than adequate without the need to prescribe a particular device
The voluntary homework club continues.
The Wellspring Philosophy:
- inspiring young people
- learning how to learn
- a holistic approach to learning
- the importance of reflection and evaluation
- promoting independent learning
- developing a can-do attitude
- enterprise skills
- employability skills
- appreciation of the wider community
- thinking skills
- internationalism
If you would like to know more about the pilot that ran for two year, you can visit the old website.