The English Team at The JCB Academy are celebrating the results of a very special English learner. Linda Saunders (55), Specialist LSA (learning support assistant) for English at the Academy decided to support learners in a unique way by studying for the new English Language examination at the same time as Year 11.
Mrs. Saunders attended Mrs. Sillitoe’s and Miss. Bailey’s English lessons and (mostly) behaved well and worked hard. Miss. Bailey said she was particularly impressed with Mrs. Saunder’s revision of short story writing, and Mrs. Sillitoe noted how competitive Mrs. Saunders was when comparing her answers with the learners and with those Mrs. Sillitoe had written!
On the morning of results day Mrs. Saunders awaited her results with trepidation, but we are very pleased to report a star learner with her achievement of grade 8, equivalent to an A* – something she has been very keen to share with staff and learner alike. The English Team and the Academy are very impressed with her results and know that she will share her experiences and expertise for many years to come!
“I have been a Specialist LSA at The JCB Academy for 7 years and for the last three years, a very stable and successful English team has created a climate for learners to achieve in a subject that they do not always find easy. The introduction of the new very challenging and academic GCSE understandably worried staff and learners alike. In a bid to let learners know how confident we were in the English Language teaching but also to let them know how much faith we had in them and their preparation, I decided to take the GCSE at the same time that they did. I really enjoyed the reading paper and the ‘real life’ transactional writing; I was not that keen on creative prose task though, as 45 minutes to write your own story from scratch is quite a feat! Taking this GCSE gave me an insight into the challenges that are faced by our young people, and on results day I was as nervous as they were. I am very proud to have achieved a grade 8 and would like to thank my English teachers Miss. Bailey and Mrs. Sillitoe. Who knows what is next for me, maybe GCSE English Literature and then perhaps A-Level!” Linda Saunders
