St Paul's Blog

Six-day vs five-day timetable: What are the benefits?

Bex Robinson — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 21:26:34 GMT

Are you having trouble understanding your child’s timetable? Or perhaps you’ve wondered why some schools use a six-day timetable system?

The common secondary school timetable, which you may be familiar with from your own schooling days, is five periods per day across a five-day week from Monday to Friday. Some schools, however utilise a six-day timetable, which consists of six periods per day across a rotating six-day cycle.

Here’s a look at what that means:

Week 1		Week 2		Week 3
Monday	Day One	Tuesday	Day One	Wednesday	Day One
Tuesday	Day Two	Wednesday	Day Two	Thursday	Day Two
Wednesday	Day Three	Thursday	Day Three	Friday	Day Three
Thursday	Day Four	Friday	Day Four	Monday	Day Four
Friday	Day Five	Monday	Day Five	Tuesday	Day Five
Monday	Day Six	Tuesday	Day Six	Wednesday	Day Six

And so on and so forth….

So what are the benefits of the six-day timetable?

Consistency. Public holidays and days off throughout a year result in students who have a five-day timetable missing the same classes. A student who has Science or Physical Education on a Monday or Friday, for example, could miss as many as 10 sessions during the course of the school year. The six-day timetable provides 11 percent more time in each subject area.

Continuity of learning. With the six-day timetable, teachers see their senior students every day ensuring a better continuity of learning. If a senior student happens to be sick and misses a day of school, it is only one day they miss with a particular teacher, rather than two or three – as would be the case with a five-day timetable. It is also easier for the student to catch up when they return to school.

Flexibility. For teachers, in schools with smaller class sizes, the 36-period teaching load per week allows them more options and flexibility for delivering the curriculum to students.

Shorter periods. More periods per day means lessons are shorter in length - 45-50 minutes - and more focused. Longer periods require teachers to keep students more on-task.

So while the advantages are clear, there is one disadvantage to the six-day timetable. There are fixed activities like sports practices or school duties that must occur on a daily basis rather than on a rotating schedule. This does require good planning and for students and staff to be well organised in remembering what academic day of the week it is, and what activities fall on that particular day.

While the five-day/five-period timetable might be the norm, there are schools who run a five-day/six-period and even a five-day/seven-period timetable – opting for double periods in order to spend larger blocks of time with their students.

At St Paul’s, we have chosen the six-day timetable, as we believe it improves the educational delivery outcomes for our students and contributes to our school’s overall academic success. At the end of the day, the timetabling decision is what works best for the school and for St Paul’s the six-day/six-period timetable, produces the desired results especially when it comes to teaching seniors. St Paul’s has a high on-task rate and our individualised learning environment means our students get as much done in the 45-50 minute periods as students in schools that have hour-long periods.

NCEA vs Cambridge: Comparing secondary school qualifications

Bex Robinson — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 21:08:24 GMT

The two common secondary school qualifications in New Zealand are New Zealand’s National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). But which one is better for your son or daughter?

Many high schools in New Zealand offer senior students the opportunity to complete dual qualifications that are tailored to their academic ability and career prerequisites. At Year 11, they offer NCEA Level 1 and Cambridge’s IGCSE.

Firstly, what is IGCSE? The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) originated in the UK and is an academic qualification that is well recognised around the world in secondary education. When completed outside of the UK, it is known as the International Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). IGCSE runs parallel to the British GCSE qualification and is controlled by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) – a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations and qualifications to 10,000 schools in more than 160 countries.

NCEA vs Cambridge – what is the key difference?

While the syllabus content between the two is very similar, the assessment is quite different.

NCEA assesses by modules of work (called standards). For most subjects, approximately 40% of the assessment is done in class (internal standards) and the remainder in an end-of-year examination (external standards). Each standard has a credit value and grades are awarded in four categories – Excellence, Merit, Achieved and Not Achieved.

IGCSE is assessed mostly by an end-of-year examination. Grades are awarded in eight categories from A* to G. The content of these exams are set and marked by Cambridge, although tests and mock exams are taken as a guideline to track progress.

With this style of assessment, Cambridge subjects tend to offer an increased breadth of knowledge, much like the old School Certificate. Students have a better idea of what is going to be asked in the final exam and can prepare for it accordingly. Whereas with NCEA, you never quite know what you are going to be asked.

Workload and difficulty

There are two levels with Cambridge courses – core and advanced. The syllabus is designed to be taught across a year and one term and is assessed by one external exam which does require students to remain focused and knowledgeable about the syllabus for the entire the year.

While Cambridge subjects can be more difficult, students can prepare for the final examinations by looking at mock tests and gaining a better understanding of what questions are going to be asked.

Recognition

Both qualifications are recognised by universities in New Zealand. There is a common misconception that NCEA is not as well recognised internationally, however we believe this is not the case anymore given the length of time NCEA has been in the secondary school system.

High-achieving students should be encouraged to sit the New Zealand Scholarship examinations in addition to NCEA and CIE. These examinations are well recognised overseas and students are being accepted into international universities on the back of these scholarship qualifications.

Conclusion

Both NCEA and CIE have their own merits and our best advice to students coming into Year 11 is to consider what kind of career or university study they might be looking at and discuss their options with their school.

Ultimately academic ability and university and career outcomes will influence the decision to take one or the other, but if you are still unsure then at most schools, your child can trial the Cambridge syllabus for six weeks, transferring back to NCEA at the end of that time if it is not right for them. It is however difficult to transfer from NCEA to Cambridge.

How do the dual qualifications work at St Paul’s?

Some schools might chose to offer either NCEA Level 1 or IGCSE. St Paul’s however offers both to students in Year 11 in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, English and Maths. NCEA runs parallel to IGCSE and the material covered between the two is very similar therefore, a student could take a Cambridge subject in Year 11 and pick up an NCEA one the following year.

Nearly half of our Year 11 students will take at least one Cambridge subject (they can take up to four) as well as NCEA subjects. Cambridge subjects do not carry any credits so you can’t cross-credit them to NCEA. At St Paul’s our Cambridge Chemistry, Physics, Biology, English and Maths students have the opportunity to sit many of the NCEA internal standards. Why? Because we like all our Year 11 students to achieve NCEA level 1. This means we operate a dual platform in Year 11, but only in selected subjects.

It is a different story though when we get to Year 12. Based on our research of what works best for our students, all Cambridge Year 12 Chemistry, Physics and Biology students are switched back to NCEA Level 2, but the English and Maths students can continue onto the next level which is AS and following that A level (Year 13).

We continue a Cambridge pathway for English and Maths primarily because of the direct correlation between what is taught in these subjects in Years 12 and 13 and the New Zealand scholarship exams, which we encourage our academically capable students to take. However, for Chemistry, Physics and Biology, the school holds the view that the NCEA curriculum in Years 12 and 13 is better suited to prepare them for scholarships and what they will be doing at university.

At St Paul’s, the Cambridge syllabus is taught in three terms, making the schedule a lot tighter than NCEA and more material to cover off requiring additional homework and a heavier workload for students. There are two levels with Cambridge courses – core and advanced. At St Paul’s we focus on the advanced level, therefore only students with good academic ability are accepted to take Cambridge subjects.

As Cambridge is assessed by one external exam, students do have to remain focused and knowledgeable about the syllabus for the entire the year. At St Paul’s we believe this suits a lot of students’ learning styles, especially boys, at that age. Boys are often not as good at organising their time and managing deadlines for assignments, as is required for NCEA assessments.

All in a good night's rest

Bex Robinson — Sun, 10 Jun 2018 21:13:42 GMT

Thoughts from an educator by Headmaster Mr Grant Lander

Having personally experienced the benefits of a break away and a few longer sleep-ins, articles about the importance of sleep for teenagers strike a real chord.

At an International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) conference, Dr Greg Wells stressed the importance of resting one’s body, quoting that 40% of teenagers are sleep deprived. Sound, lengthy sleep is needed for the brain to clear its daily accumulation of cellular waste products. Teenagers, it is estimated, need all five stages of sleep for average periods of seven and a half to nine hours daily.

Interestingly, it is believed that learning happens at night when you are asleep. This is when your encoding processes occur. Looking at device screens at night alters pineal gland activity and Melatonin secretions, resetting timing mechanisms to daytime. Research has shown young people who consistently got seven to nine hours sleep performed better academically and had enhanced mental and physical wellbeing.

Teenagers often don’t get enough sleep for a number of reasons. These include, shift in sleep pattern – after puberty there is a biological shift in an adolescent’s internal clock of about two hours; early high school start times – secondary schools start probably an hour earlier than the students would have experienced at primary school; social and school obligations – homework, assignments, after school and evening activities (often involving phones and computers) and socialisation (including social media) that lead to later bedtimes.

As a result, many teenagers are sleep deprived. It is recommended that if your sons or daughters are to avoid the impact of sleep deprivation i.e. mood swings, high levels of negative risk-taking, lower cognitive ability and lower academic performance they should, try and maintain a regular sleep schedule; avoid over sleeping on the weekends; turn off television, computers and music at least an hour before bedtime; and read before bedtime.

As Thomas Dekker once said, “sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together”. So maybe we should all take the time to review and reflect on our own and that of our son or daughter’s sleep pattern, in order to maintain a healthier balance in our lives.

It’s important to be emotionally intelligent

Bex Robinson — Wed, 09 May 2018 21:33:52 GMT

Thoughts from an educator by Headmaster Mr Grant Lander

Developing soft skills for a successful future

Bex Robinson — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 02:16:08 GMT

Thoughts from an educator by Headmaster Mr Grant Lander

Protecting your teenager's wellbeing in a digital age

Bex Robinson — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 21:56:43 GMT

Thoughts from an educator by Headmaster Mr Grant Lander

How is your parenting style affecting your teenager?

Headmaster Mr Grant Lander — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 21:39:38 GMT

Thoughts from an educator by Headmaster Mr Grant Lander

9 reasons your teen received poor NCEA results

k.simpson@stpauls.school.nz (Karen Simpson) — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 21:19:09 GMT

There can be various factors influencing a teen's NCEA results. Some include the time given to study, school support and peer influence. We have listed the top 9 reasons why some students may be disappointed with their results and what can be done to improve these.

6 ways parents can help improve their teen's NCEA results

k.simpson@stpauls.school.nz (Karen Simpson) — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 05:00:00 GMT

To ensure your child achieves their very best NCEA results it is important you are involved. You should offer them guidance and also work in partnership with their school and their teachers. Read our 6 tips below on how you should be involved.

11 secrets from an exam marker for better NCEA results

k.simpson@stpauls.school.nz (Karen Simpson) — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 05:00:00 GMT

Getting the best academic results from a student is impossible without the right tools and attitude. Below, we give away 11 secrets for improving NCEA results from one of New Zealand's most experienced educators, Peter Hampton, who says study is only half of the equation for academic success. Creating the right environment, goal setting and appointing mentors are all as equally important as revision.