Norwich High School for Girls has launched an exciting new approach to teaching and learning in the Senior School. Our ACTIVE ethos encourages students to be Adaptable, Community minded, Technologically mature, Independent, Visionary and Eager to Learn.

ACTIVE has been designed by Mr Matt Bradshaw, Head of History and Politics and Future Schools Project Lead at Norwich High School for Girls. The programme aims to improve students’ attitudes to learning and their wellbeing. Mr Bradshaw is a fellow of the Global Action Research Collective and will be presenting his research on ACTIVE at the Conference for the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (iCGS) in 2023.

Mr Bradshaw said: “We want every student at Norwich High School for Girls to be an active learner. All six of the ACTIVE components instill attitudes and skills which enable our students to succeed at school, university and the wider world.”

Academic departments at Norwich High School for Girls now incorporate ACTIVE in their curriculum planning, ensuring that each of the six attributes is encouraged in lessons. Assessments in Product Design and Music include marks for displaying positive learning habits. Senior School staff are also observing each others’ teaching to share best practice in active learning.

The Norwich High School for Girls Senior School rewards system will be relaunched in January 2023 with a particular emphasis on the ACTIVE traits. Alumnae are also being invited back to school to speak to our students about how attributes like adaptability and independence have equipped them for life.

Mr Bradshaw said: “ACTIVE supports students who might find they do not immediately excel in terms of marks. It also challenges students who might achieve high academic grades but lack other vital learning attributes, such as the visionary ability to play with ideas. The development of skills such as adaptability, technological competence and independence will be critical to our students’ future employability.”

Mr Bradshaw used a range of leading research on girls’ educational and emotional needs to develop the ACTIVE approach at Norwich High School for Girls.

Mr Bradshaw explained: “My research identified that perfectionism is very common amongst girls of secondary school age. Female students have a tendency to focus on short-term educational goals such as ‘How can I get a Level 9 in my next Biology test?’ Perfectionism can make girls focus on grades to the exclusion of everything else.

“Growth Mindset research by Carol Dweck indicates that focusing solely on grades does not help students succeed in the long term. Some try to ‘play the exam game’ rather than actually learning. Others become so anxious about their academic performance that they produce less original or creative work.
“In some cases lack of intellectual flexibility can damage students’ chances in examinations. In others it can mean students do not focus on any of the interpersonal, teamworking, emotional intelligence or presentation skills which are crucial to life outside of academia.

“At Norwich High School for Girls we are therefore focusing on meaningful feedback rather than numerical grades when we mark independent learning, especially for Years 7-9. ACTIVE focuses on praising the right learning processes to help establish positive habits which create the conditions for sustained success.”

Mr Bradshaw continued. “The psychologist Golan Shahar describes it as “toxic perfectionism” because it creates low self-esteem in students who don’t secure the highest grades, and great anxiety to sustain performance in those who do.

“The recent GDST Girls’ Futures Report 2022 reveals that, nationally, girls’ self-confidence drops significantly between the ages of 14-18, and often doesn’t fully recover into adulthood. It’s interesting to me that both GCSE and A Level examinations occur in this time period. A narrow focus on grades can have a profoundly negative impact on girls’ wellbeing.

“I have developed the Norwich High School for Girls ACTIVE learning programme to meet the emotional and educational needs of our students. We praise positive, proactive approaches to learning, regardless of the mark at the bottom of the page. We do this because we know that ACTIVE attributes are the key to our students’ long-term success, both academically and in the wider world.”

Mark Braybrook, Deputy Head Academic at Norwich High School for Girls, is equally enthusiastic in his support for Mr Bradshaw’s ambitious vision and his recognition of the difference that an ACTIVE approach will make to a student’s learning.

Mr Braybrook continued: “We are excited by the opportunities it offers students to explore how they learn, and thus better understand how to make progress and excel in their chosen subjects. It will equip them to make the most of their time at Norwich High and beyond”.