Nodehill Middle School

From Mr (Roger) Brown. . . I have had a lot of friends requests. Please do not be offended if I do not accept yours. Nothing personal just too much to cope with. Well done everyone for posting.

A personal account of what happened to Middle schools on the Isle of Wight.
by Roger Brown
The philosphy of the Middle School came about to bridge the gap between Primary and Secondary education. When children entered the Middle School at the age of 9 (8 in some areas) they were presented with a continuaton of their primary school experience. in Year 5 nearly all their time was with their class teacher allowing a strong bond to develop between the teacher and the pupils. It was a safe and secure environment for children to learn. The progress through the school allowed a gradual transition so that when they left and went to the High School they were fully prepared. In year 6 most of their time was still with the class teacher but a few lessons were with other staff. Year 7 saw the introduction of setting for some subjects but still about 50% of the time was with the class teacher. In Year 8 the children might be streamed into classes by ability or setted for more subjects. This proved to be highly successful plan. Also the Middle School was where many children experienced puberty and again because of the close bonds with a class teacher this proved to be secure and emotionally stable.
Then came the KEY STAGES and SATS! The Middle School now had a problem. It had half of Key Stage 2 and Half of Key Stage 3. This was thought to be disruptive to education, although I had yet to see hard evidence of this. This brought about a change in how many Middle Schools worked. In year 5 instead of it being a continuation of good Primary School practice children were being put in sets almost from day one. Less time was spent with the class teacher so the necessary bonds were not developed. Very quickly young children were being setted and having specialist teachers for all subjects. From having 95% their time with their class teacher it had dropped to 5% . Everything changed. Teachers registered a class and then did not see them again until the next regstration unless they came across them as a specialist subject teacher.
The Middle School was no longer a transition it had become a Secondary type school.
I am not against Primary Schools. My early teaching years were spent in several.
They too provide a safe and secure environment but at the age of 11 they are whisked out and into High School.
I think it is so sad that we lost the Middle School philosphy because of a national introduction of the Key Stages. I believe people will look back and realise just how successful they were.
PS It's interesting that in the USA in many States and in Canada they have a very successful Middle School system.
Roger Brown
July 2011