Case Study

The Russian Saturday School

The Russian Saturday School was set up in 1999 to promote Russian language and culture and to raise the self esteem of children with English language difficulties. The school has 18 Russian students who attend the Russian language classes. Apart from teaching Russian, they teach music and arts and more than 60 children from various ethnic backgrounds attend these classes.

The school was set up because the Russian population was increasing in the Croydon area. Having newly arrived in England, many parents thought it would be more useful for the children to focus on learning the English language, which lead to some children forgetting the Russian language while younger children never learnt it at all.

Westwood Language College

Westwood Language College for Girls is a six-form entry Comprehensive Community School for pupils aged 11-16. Westwood has status as a Specialist Language College. Language study has an important place in the curriculum from Year 7 onwards. The curriculum is diverse and includes Modern European Languages (French, German and Spanish), Latin, Japanese and English as an Additional Language (EAL).

The partnership

Michelle Stewart, the inclusion adviser from Croydon council, introduced the Russian Saturday School to Westwood Language College. Due to the increase of the Russian population in the area, there was a demand from the community for Russian and English language lessons. Westwood Language College, which has a number of Russian students, enters students from the Russian Saturday School privately for GCSE AS and A Level. This fulfils their need to work with the community as a Language College. The partnership has been running for three years. There were no written agreements or meetings, just one face to face meeting and ad hoc arrangements.

Michelle matched the two schools together for a much more cohesive approach towards the learning process for the pupils. The collaboration takes the form of:

• mentoring
• sharing exam information
• referring pupils to the Saturday school
• providing information on the protocols of the examination process

The mentoring role provided by Westwood Language College enables the Russian Saturday School to secure the best possible outcomes throughout the examination process for the pupils sitting their language exams. A leaflet was distributed to all maintained schools within the borough, highlighting the Russian school’s music and arts department and its ability to support children from both Russian and non-Russian backgrounds. Many pupils from Westwood Language College now attend music lessons at the Russian Saturday school.

Impact

There is much more synergy for the pupils in language studies and the examination process. Pupils are much more confident when sitting exams as they have been given guidance for exam techniques. Pupils build confidence and trust with the teachers and are therefore much more open to the support provided. Working in an informal setting also allows the pupils to open up to seeking support in other areas of their mainstream curriculum work.

At the end of term there is an assessment of the pupils’ achievement, which is measured through essay writing in Russian and also through tests, which are graded by the teachers.

Challenges

• When pupils are only referred to the school for the purposes of sitting the examination, they tend to have lower pass marks, as there has been little or no preparation time for the exam.
• To disseminate information that the school is open to anyone interested in studying Russian or taking part in Russian arts and music classes, not just Russian students. This would also encourage community cohesion.

Successes

• The partnership involves mentoring, exchanging information and providing updates on policies and procedures to exams and curriculum content which has worked well
• Westwood college contacts both pupils and parents providing them with information on the Russian Saturday School and the services they provide
• Westwood Language College provides a venue for pupils to take exams

What could have been done differently?

With an increase in pupil numbers from all sections of society, a venue where there are football grounds and space for the younger children to have some outside space could have been sourced.

Future plans

The work will continue in the same vein but the Russian Saturday School has applied for funding from the London Child’s funding source, and hopes to get a grant for their music activities. The school has pupils attending music lessons from the wider community who have successfully passed their music exams.

Students attending the school are from various backgrounds, with many pupils from Asian and African descent, who come to the Russian School specifically for the music, choir and arts classes. Being such a multicultural group has made community performances much more enjoyable, with the pupils sharing their diverse musical backgrounds. The performances consist of Russian music as well as music from mainstream and other cultural backgrounds, catering for all parents and people from the community who attend the events. The pupils take part in performances every year at the Russian community centre attended by parents and the local Mayor.

The Russian School would like to incorporate drama and arts into their curriculum as there is such a demand for the subject and as this will complement the music lessons. They will start looking for suitable funds in this area and hope to get started as soon as possible.

Russian School Background

The school has impacted on areas such as behaviour management, especially with the Russian students as they are taught cultural etiquette as well the language. The cultural expectations ensure the students are learning their language in context to their societal expectations and therefore, the Russian school think they provide a much more holistic approach to teaching.

The Russian school have found that Russian students attending the supplementary school become more confident in their maintained school as they are learning study skills within the supplementary school. The Russian school provides the students with the learning tools that enable them to assert themselves within all their subjects. If students are finding any subject difficult at school they can approach the Russian school for help.

Since 1999, 30 students have taken GCSE or A levels in Russian. In 2007, eight students sat the GCSE exams with six students achieving A*, one student an A, and the remaining student a B.

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