The West Kent Independent State School Partnership (WKISSP) is a partnership of eight secondary schools: Beechwood Sacred Heart School, The Judd School, Kent College Pembury, The Malling School, Mascalls Academy, Oakley School, The Skinners’ School and The Skinners’ Kent Academy which was established earlier this year.
It was set up with a number of aims including sharing resources and also providing high aspirational learning opportunities for all eight schools’ pupils which they may not be able to offer independently. The projects will not only benefit pupils, but also enable teachers to extend their professional development, free from curriculum constraints.
Last month in order to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the WKISSP held its first day of inspirational masterclasses at Mascalls Academy in Paddock Wood for 90 students. Before the masterclasses commenced, students heard from Deborah Sims, a chartered engineer from the University of Greenwich, who provided an overview of Leonardo’s career and legacy. Ms Sims also discussed the artist’s unprecedented work in various fields.
After her lecture, students in Years 7 and 8, were asked to choose one masterclass to study in depth. Led by different teachers from the partnership schools, students could choose to study either Anatomy and Art, Engineering and Ethics, Politics and Media, Engineering and Textiles or Beginners’ Italian.
“The masterclasses were designed to be academically challenging, thought-provoking and offer stimulating opportunities,” a WKISSP spokesperson told the Times. The special cross-schools partnership hopes to offer a similar lecture and a day of inspirational masterclasses for its member pupils on an annual basis.
