Ivy League Programme
The Ivy League Programme
What is the Ivy League Programme?
The Ivy League Programme is Thurstable School’s provision for our more able learners. You may be familiar with the term “gifted and talented”, but this tends to be a judgement based on students’ excelling at one or two specific subjects. We use the term “more able”, as Ivy League members are performing above average in more than one or two subjects: they are the students who show the greatest potential, across the greatest range of subjects. We take the top highest ranked students by SATS scores in Year 7 initially in the programme.
The overarching aim of the Ivy League Programme (ILP) is to prepare students to make an informed decision about their future and provide them with the support to successfully apply for a competitive position at university and/or with an employer. This is achieved by providing opportunities for students to develop and gain a competitive advantage. It is underpinned by the three core aims and five steps of the APP.
The three core aims of the Ivy League Programme are:
To raise the aspirations of our ‘More Able Learners’
To ensure these learners develop the skills required to be successful.
To provide opportunities to help them “stand out”..
The five features of the Ivy League Programme are:
Identify those with the potential to achieve.
Engage members with the programme, via their chosen pathway and input. ensure that more-able pupils are motivated to achieve to the best of their ability and set standards of excellence as an example for others to follow
Challenge members through various events and opportunities for more-able pupils to work at high cognitive levels and /or to develop specific skills
Support members to make informed decisions about their future.
Achieve the best possible grades and a competitive advantage over others.
Ivy League Thursday Seminar Series
The seminar series takes place after school each Thursday as part of the Elective Programme and all students in Years 7 to 10 follow four academic pathways. Each session will include a delivery of content, discussion and a handout for students with links to further sources of information to research e.g. podcasts, further reading etc.
Preparation for Undergraduate Life - The Extended Project
Working independently having been inspired by lectures, seminars, experiments, performances is a key feature of undergraduate life at university and we want to try and ensure we are providing our most able learners with the experience of this throughout their five years at Thurstable.
At the end of the Spring term students will need to select their preferred subject pathway from the four they have been studying. They will then later in the Summer term work on an independent project from a list based upon the seminars they have studied or a topic of their own choice. At this point the KS3 groups are merged depending on their chosen pathways.
The final half term for Years 7 and 8 students will see them prepare a 5 minute presentation, performance or extended essay which will be presented to parents and staff in the last two weeks of term. Year 9 students will use their Summer half term to start preparing for their Level 2 Extended Project Qualification which they will complete in Year 10. This is a fully accredited qualification and they will receive a grade.
Year 10 students will start their independent project earlier and in partnership with the Brilliant Club will produce 1500 word essays and work with PhD students at school. This will culminate in the Year 10 students attending a university for a day.
Other Ivy League Programme Events and Opportunities
We run various events throughout the year, including:
Study skills workshops
Options support
Applications and transition Support
University talks (including Oxbridge)
Competitions: Young Writers, British Biology Olympiad, Junior Mathematics Challenge etc.
Educational Visits
Membership of the Ivy League Programme Programme
Membership is based on a combination of the following criteria:
Students’ SATs results
Students’ assessment data from ROAs and milestone tests
Feedback from staff
Decisions are not based on a single factor, therefore students with the highest SATs/CATs results or best Progress Check data are not guaranteed a place on the – we look at the whole picture. However, members of the Ivy League Programme are usually within the top 10% of their Year, with approximately 20 members per Year group.
Membership of the Ivy League Programme is reviewed at the end of each term. This means that membership is not guaranteed for the duration of a year, so members need to ensure they maintain a high standard and continue to achieve and excel. Equally, this also means that all students could join (or re-join) the Ivy League Programme throughout their time at Thurstable School.