Hermitage summer school obtains council’s backing
Brockhurst & Marlston House online lessons accessible across West Berkshire
A WEST Berkshire school’s ground-breaking project to help disadvantaged children whose education has been disrupted by the coronavirus lockdown is being rolled out across West Berkshire.
Hermitage-based independent prep school Brockhurst & Marlston House is offering free online lessons throughout the summer holidays to children in Years 3 to 6 who receive free school meals.
The unique programme was first highlighted by this newspaper last month.
Now West Berkshire Council has partnered with the school by creating an internet seminar for all schools explaining how parents can access the free initiative.
The online lessons will be available throughout July and August.
They will follow the national curriculum and can be broadcast live from classrooms in a school where teachers have access to the latest equipment.
Headteacher David Fleming revealed that, following the initial success of the programme, the online summer school will extend its provision from Year 1 to year 8 to support children who have missed out in the first two years of secondary school as well as those in the primary years.
He said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support the initiative has received and thrilled to be able to work with West Berkshire Council.
“It’s so important that these opportunities exist.
“It’s also fantastic that all sectors of education and family support are pulling together in our area to make a unique difference and I think we are potentially leading the country in this example of localism at its best.
“It’s also something that could be expanded very quickly nationally using the ground-breaking, worldclass platform that we’ve developed.”
The summer school is open from this week and runs for six weeks until August 14 and children can join it at any time.
The enrolment process has also been made simple.
The scheme provides up to six weeks of lessons in English, mathematics, science and geography.
All lessons will be recorded to a cloud catch-up library so they can be accessed at any time, meaning children can learn wherever they are and work at their own pace and level.
The lessons are designed to be watched on any device and pupils will not need fast broadband to access them.
The school is using its own teachers, but is also appealing to any local teachers who might like to volunteer to support this project to get in touch.
Mr Fleming, who has been at the school for more than 20 years, said previously, during the project launch: “We’re hoping to make a real difference to a generation of children who risk having their lives permanently disadvantaged by the Covid-19 lockdown, using our world-class platform.
“We are looking for partners to try to ensure no child need miss out on this opportunity because they don’t have access to a suitable device.
“We are also appealing for voluntary support from teachers who are able give up an hour or two a week to work with us to support these vulnerable children.”
Any teachers who would like to volunteer to support this scheme with on-line tutorials are invited to contact Rachel Harper on (01635) 200293.
For more details, visit the school website at https://brockmarl. org.uk or call (01635) 200293.