Cross-Curricular Days 2011

At Thomas Tallis we are committed to supporting students in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to be successful and healthy people in the 21st Century.  A huge part of this is the qualifications they gain but we also value the challenge of developing a host of softer skills which are of high value to employers and businesses.  These include things like teamwork, listening skills, problem solving, collaborating, planning, designing, making, presenting, competing, and rising to challenges.  Above all they include using the imagination and being creative and fostering a flexibility and adaptability that mean our young people will be ready for the changes guaranteed to be part of the future.  Above all we want to cultivate an ability to think outside the box among our young people, and to support them in becoming adults who not only embrace but also lead change.  These skills underpin such an outlook, and we believe that these collapsed days provide the best opportunity to complement the learning that takes place in lessons across the curriculum in the 'normal timetable'.

This year we have embarked on a new model to deliver two events at the end of the term where we will collapse the timetable for the day.  Students will work in vertical groups and experience a range of workshops being designed and led by staff, with many working together in teams of subjects across the curriculum.  There are dual themes.  The first is to mark, record and reflect on the Past, Present and Future of Thomas Tallis as we stand on the edge of an important moment in the school's life as we move from an old building into a new one.  The second looks outwards and seeks to communicate and link with partners in other parts of the world - sharing, exchanging, collaborating, and possibly even communicating with people in other locations. 

The content and make up of these days has been carefully planned involving staff and students.  It is the students who have driven the addition of a final celebration and whose desire to have a choice in what they do has meant the staff are working hard to make sure choice is a key element of what takes place.