Haileybury broadens its pupils' horizons

Today, Monday 12 September 2011, marked the beginning of a new academic venture at Haileybury with the start of its Haileybury Horizons programme.

A traditional broad academic curriculum lies at the heart of the Removes Year [Year 9] but we also want our pupils to develop an understanding of current issues whilst strengthening those skills that allow them to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Thus, this morning all pupils in the Removes received the first of their weekly Horizons lessons on a six-week carousel of subjects.

The carousel includes Current Affairs, Cultural Awareness, Debating, Experimental Sciences and Ways of Knowing. Through very "hands on" experiential learning, the course aims to inspire the pupils to become more aware of the world around them and thus become a successful, responsible, internationally minded citizen.

In this morning’s Current Affairs lesson the pupils reviewed the weekend’s news stories and examined the differences in broadsheet and tabloid journalism, in Cultural Awareness they considered "What is Music" whilst in their Debating class they participated in some fun exercises to warm up their voice and brains.

The Director of Studies, Simon Smith, said: "This is a really exciting and distinctive opportunity for the pupils and teachers to engage in something off syllabus but still intellectually engaging. I hope they enjoy their lessons over the coming weeks."