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School improves exam results after introducing 8-minute lessons for all GCSE subjects
Last updated at 15:22pm on 12.05.08
Star pupil: Laura Spence attended Monkseaton community high school
Now the method, which boosted results by an average of half a grade, is to be used for all subjects.
Pupils aged 13 to 15 at Monkseaton Community High School will have an eight-minute lesson followed by a ten-minute break for sport or word games.
The lesson will then be repeated, using a different teaching method.
The Tyneside school is thought to be the first in the UK to adopt the "space learning" system, based on U.S research suggesting the memory develops most effectively with repeated short bursts of learning.
School headmaster Paul Kelley said: "It may seem bizarre to teach an eight minute lesson, break for 10 minutes to dribble a basketball and then repeat the process, but it works.
"In rigorous evaluation, students show improvement regardless of subject, teacher or their ability."
The school hit the headlines in 2000 when pupil Laura Spence was rejected by Oxford despite a prediction of five A grade A-levels.
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Yes, but this is not education. It's just training people on how to pass exams.
- Sej, Reading, Hants.
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