SECONDARY SCHOOL

Our Secondary school students begin to show strong linguistic abilities and confidence in use of their English and at Riding we work hard to shake them of the common teenage embarrassment of speaking in public, particularly in another language. From day 1 we work to build an inclusive and comfortable environment where everyone is able to make mistakes and learn as a team, whilst being supportive of others.  Through this, students develop their grammar and vocabulary without pressure and in a natural way.

Speaking is a fundamental aspect of our classes, and through games, movement and short demonstrations in front of others, students get more and more comfortable using English as their main form of communication while at Riding. During their projects, they become increasingly comfortable and relaxed when working which facilitates their learning even more, whilst working in a real and practical environment.

Throughout this process, they need to defend their ideas, vote, accept group decisions and debate topics and ideas, which all help to build a dynamic and active working environment. We aim to develop our students into committed future citizens with a capability to express themselves, respect others and tolerate each other's differences, in whatever field they find themselves in.  With this in mind, democratic values are present throughout the project and learning process from the beginning to the end, where they eventually demonstrate their learning in a final presentation (usually to their families)

At Riding students enjoy the first two courses of their ESO years through projects as they prepare for the transition into working to obtain official certificates that demonstrate their dominance of English from ESO 3 onwards. With these formal certificates, and their near fluency in English, they move onto the next stages of their lives with the right stepping stones to get them to their chosen careers or universities.