Thank you to all our supporters who have helped us to expand our Primary School into the equivalent of Year 7, the start of Secondary School.
The cost was in the region of £7,500, to demolish the hall storeroom, the gable end of the building and to extend the ground area to form a standard classroom and walkway. Ridgeway High School, Birkenhead, raised £1,000 to pay for 40 desks and chairs.
The 13th September saw 40 pupils enter OAKS first JSS. Our teachers have worked very hard to prepare a suitable curriculum. Our new member of staff, Patrick Goba, is the form tutor.
The uniform chosen is similar to the Primary except the shirt/blouse is yellow check and the girls have skirts instead of gymslips. Some of the girls have customised their uniforms by adding a thick green elasticated belt, gives them a bit more style and one or two have chosen a matching green beret!
They have a slightly different curriculum. The core subjects are maths, English language and English/Mende/African literature, science and social studies. There are several new subjects. Practical Arts, which gives the pupils skills they could use to make a living; the first term will be making rag rugs or beaded mats and term two, making soap. They now have to learn to read and write Mende, their spoken tribal language, along with its various rules of grammar. The other new topic is Business Studies
Much greater focus is now placed on the reading skills, obviously required for all subjects. We’re fortunate to have sufficient copies of the first Harry Potter, ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’. It’s proving extremely popular.
This will be a difficult transition year for both pupils and staff. New staff, pupils and new curriculum to embrace. Everyone is very positive, the staff appear to be enjoying rising to the challenge!
Junior Secondary class two will be built in the spring 2014, ready for September occupation.
