Gifted and Talented and EAL at Bessemer

EAL

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One of the great things about our school is that our children come from all over the world! We are so lucky that there are 36 different languages spoken across the year groups.

We have an EAL library in our school, full of exciting dual-language books and audio books for children to use to support their English.

EAL Drama and Dance workshops

This year we are working in partnership with Artis to provide drama, dance and movement sessions for children with EAL (English as an additional language) to build confidence and to support them with the development of Topic-focused vocabulary.

Each term, children of different ages enjoy weekly sessions on a Tuesday. They are really lucky to be taught by ‘Shoop’, who links the drama and dance sessions to our creative curriculum in a fun, engaging way.

Have a look at the photos of a session where Maths vocabulary was practised in the context of a shop!

Here are some of our other sessions where we used movement to help us remember different words and phrases:

We have a number of other exciting EAL interventions in our school! We love practising new vocabulary in small group environments so that we can build our confidence, too.

Gifted and Talented

Many of the children at our school are gifted and talented in different ways. Our aim is to provide suitable challenge and support for these children in a stimulating way, so that they are able to reach their full potential. 

As well as providing a curriculum that is challenging, we recognise that the most able children have specific needs and requirements. We use the National Strategies guidance to define ‘gifted and talented’.

‘Gifted’ refers to children that have the ability to excel in subjects such as Literacy and Numeracy. ‘Talented’ refers to children that have the ability to excel in practical and creative subjects. We aim to provide extra opportunities for these children throughout the academic year.

Chess

We currently have a number of fun projects for the children who show particular gifts and talents during school time.

For example, selected children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 play chess for an hour every week with the chess expert Mr Brown! Playing chess is an excellent way to learn important mathematical strategies, such as forward thinking and problem solving.

There is also a small weekly club for KS2 children who enjoy chess and want to play with their friends.

Have a look at the photos of some KS2 children thinking about their next chess move!

Several of our chess superstars have had the opportunity to take part in exciting chess competitions, such as the London Chess Classic Tournament in Olympia. They always have a fantastic day playing lots of other schools and they enjoy it even more when they go home with medals!

Maths 24 competition

Another competition that our Maths experts take part in is the Maths 24 game, which involves us playing against other Southwark schools! The aim of the game is to use the four numbers on the card to make 24. You have to use all four numbers, but only once, and you can use any operations!

Can you make 24 using these numbers?

PE and ICT

We also have sports clubs and an ICT club for children who show talent in PE and ICT. Watch this space for a talented Art club coming soon too!

Philosophy and problem solving

We believe that quality first teaching is at the heart of excellent support for G&T children, but we also run a number of interventions to further stimulate the more able.

Year 2’s gifted group take part in the philosophical challenges presented in Thinkers Keys problems. They have to use persuasive language and imaginative thinking across a range of contexts!

Playground Maths project

Year 3’s gifted group are choosing which equipment should be bought for our Year 3/4 playground! They have to carry out primary and secondary research, analyse their data, purchase their items whilst considering discounts and different percentages, and finally present their finished project to the rest of KS2! We can’t wait to see what they decide to buy for our playground!

Year 5’s gifted group work hard to apply their Maths skills to run a tuck shop every week. They have to select the products on offer, calculate which are the most popular every week and sell them to children on the playground. See the School Council page to find out more! 

Art trips

We take the children on trips as often as possible. We believe that creative and exciting trips and projects help to enrich children’s experiences and deepen their understanding of a topic.

The below photos are from the ‘construction art project’ we took part in when the gifted Art group visited the South London Gallery. We explored the artist’s work and then practised trying to create our own construction and destruction art!

On another visit to the South London Gallery, we explored the effect of living in an urban environment and how this can be perceived by others. We then created our own cities and our own set of rules!

 Debating society

Years 5 & 6 gifted pupils have the opportunity to extend their speaking & listening and problem solving skills in our Debating Society! At the moment, the children are busy preparing their propositions and oppositions for the question ‘Should children be allowed in government?’