Homework Philosophy
The College believes that homework is essential for students to become lifelong learners and is an integral element of our curriculum. It is important our high ability boys are challenged at all times to become independent learners and develop skills which will benefit them in later years.
Homework should:
- extend learning
- develop a range of learning strategies and skills
- develop students’ independent learning and research skills
- consolidate students’ knowledge and understanding
- provide students with the opportunity to apply knowledge in different contexts
- provide students with the opportunity to develop their understanding
- provide students with the opportunity to broaden their experience of the curriculum beyond the classroom
- enable the development of independent thought and develop higher order thinking skills
- develop confidence
- develop self-discipline and responsibility
We believe that homework tasks should be:
- regular
- relevant
- challenging
- appropriate to the individual
- varied
recording homework
All students should utilise an online planner called Class Charts. Homework tasks set by teachers are visible by parents and students online or on portable devises and this assists parents to monitor their son's completion of homework tasks. Additionally, we recommend students bring an academic year diary to school.
class charts LOGIN
Students and parent/carers will be supplied with separate logins to access student homework information. Login here. Class Charts user guides are provided below.
setting homework
The College does not utilise a homework timetable but urges staff to keep ‘next day’ homework to a minimum whilst recognising that such timescales can be beneficial in some areas e.g. MFL vocabulary learning. The information below is meant as a guide to expectations regarding the amount and frequency of homework set for students in each Key Stage.
Key Stage 3
Teachers are asked to balance homework tasks between short tasks and longer project-based work and be conscious of loading longer tasks at the end of the half-term.
In Year 7, 8 and 9 homework should equate to approximately 45 minutes per week in RE, English, Maths and Science and 30 minutes for all other subjects apart from Performing Arts subjects and PE. In these subject areas, homework is set as appropriate. Therefore, our expectation is that boys in Key Stage 3 are spending approximately 90 minutes per night on homework. On nights where set work falls significantly below this, boys are expected to focus on independent study and/or revisiting work to be improved or responding to teacher feedback.
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4 (Year 10 and 11), homework should equate to approximately one hour per week in RE, English, Maths and Science and 45 minutes for all other subjects
Key Stage 5
At Key Stage 5 (Year 12 and 13), a range of meaningful homework tasks are set. Students should also be working independently. As a guide: for every one hour of teaching time, students should aim to study for an extra hour outside of lessons, made up of completing homework and independent study.