Literacy and Numeracy
Numeracy
Being numerate helps us to function responsibly in everyday life and contribute effectively to society. It increases our opportunities within work and is a life skill which permeates and supports all areas of learning, allowing young people access to the wider curriculum.
In Castlederg High School we promote Numeracy in the following ways.
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Numeracy Club after school for Key Stage 3 classes;
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Puzzle per week on Screen in Foyer and in the Library;
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School Shop run by Maths department to promote responsibility of pupils own equipment;
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Numeracy Education Plans for underachieving pupils;
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Working with Science on a STEM project on “Space”;
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We work with Geography on Using Maths “River study” task and use of Geographical maps for metric measures and area of irregular shapes;
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Working with Home Economics when teaching ratio;
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Working with Careers to promote the importance of Maths to employers and for Further Education.
Here, at Castlederg High School, we place a strong emphasis on the development of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. This is evident statistically at GCSE with a significantly higher proportion of our pupils, than the Northern Ireland average for similar type schools, achieving 5 GCSE grades A*-C, including Maths and English. This has a really positive impact on our pupils’ futures as it enables so many more of them to access post 16 courses.
Beyond this, literacy development is a priority for each pupil and is always a key cross-curricular focus. Each subject area is committed to reinforcing the importance of proof reading and self -correction skills, as well as agreed standards for pupils’ presentation of written work. Other literacy initiatives are implemented on an ongoing basis.
Literacy
Literacy is essential in enabling each individual pupil to access the wider curriculum and so progress in their learning. As a result, we are committed to ensuring that each pupil leaves school with a functional level of literacy. The English Department works in conjunction with Learning Support to realize this goal through the Reading Partnership Programme and afterschool Literacy Club.
