Message from the Head of Teaching and Learning

Orange 360 to Orange 2050

30 years ago, I was a teenager living in a ‘not so nice’ part of Kent in the UK. I attended a very large Comprehensive School and was studying really hard. I wanted to be an English Teacher. I assumed that I would finish school, go to University and come back to Kent – maybe even teach at the school in which I was enrolled as a student.

Fast forward 30 years, I am teaching English – but I’m not in Kent – I’m not even in England. I am in Australia – Orange to be precise – a beautiful city – but one I had never even heard of 30 years ago.

My point? A lot can happen and change in 30 years. 30 years ago, I had to use the family telephone if I wanted to chat to a friend – given that it was situated in the middle of the house there was no such thing as a private conversation! We had two televisions in the house and there was a total of 4 TV channels! This was pre the internet so there was no email; no social media; no Google; no YouTube. Where am I going with this – is it just nostalgia?

As part of the Regional Engagement Enterprise, (TREE), at the end of this year, our Year 8 Students will be embarking on a 4 day cross-curricular and soft-skill-building learning opportunity – Orange 2050. Working in their Tutor Groups, the students will be tasked with presenting a Showcase of their vision of what Orange will look like in 2050. What will it be known for? What will it look like in terms of population, business, leisure, recreation, residential? Will it still be a tourist destination? Of course, in order to really envisage what it might look like in 30 years’ time, our students will have to research where we have come over the last 30 years. What has changed in and about Orange since 1988? The students will need to engage in developing a range of really important skills – soft skills that will be very important in setting themselves up for their next 30 years!

They will need to work as a team and delegate responsibilities according to individuals’ and groups’ skill-sets; they will need to engage in some critical and creative thinking in both the nature of their research and the way in which they decide to present their ideas; they will need to organise their time and work their way through tasks sequentially and efficiently. This is going to be a real challenge for them, and their success will rely on their perseverance and persistence – their ‘grit’ as a Tutor Group. Did I mention that this was also a competition? House Dignity will be at stake!

In addition to these important life skills, the students will need to revise their curriculum skills and knowledge and ascertain how best to apply them as part of the problem solving. The most successful Tutor Groups will be those who most effectively utilise all of the skills amongst their teams. Creative Arts, Performing Arts. English, Maths, Science and Technology, Geography and History and even French, will all be part of the rich educational mix.

So, if you are the parent of a Year 8 student this year and you have some history with Orange, be prepared – be very prepared – you may be asked a few questions.

Mrs Serena Lewis

Head of Teaching and Learning