New Green Primary offering quality education

New Green, Manchester:

For years, the Manchester-based institution was looked upon as an underdog and was never the ideal choice for parents seeking a top-performing school for their children.

However, the tables have now turned.

Under the hands of Principal Christophe Russell, along with the parents, teachers and members of staff, for the past two years, the New Green Primary School, with a population of 235 students, has steadily made a 360-degree turn.

NEW PROGRAMMES

Russell revealed that some of the new programmes instituted include:

- Early work beginning at 7:30 a.m.

- Lengthening of the school day

- Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) residential camps

- Grade four day camps

- Individual Education Profiles

- Data analysis of core subjects to track areas where students are not performing at their best.

- An algorithm for attendance was created to enable administration to better track student attendance

- Students' psychosocial well-being became just as important as their academic achievement

According to school records, in 2016, New Green Primary's performance for the Grade Four Literacy Test was 88 per cent and in numeracy 60 per cent.

In 2017, the literacy rating from the grade four test was 97.5 per cent, having placed second in the parish of Manchester and first in northwest Manchester. Numeracy saw an increase of 20 per cent, placing it at 80 per cent.

And the successes were no different for the recent GSAT.

"For the 2018 sitting of GSAT, the school boasts five boys being placed at the prestigious Munro College and one girl at the esteemed Hampton High School. Fifteen other children were placed at various traditional high schools in Manchester. What was really extraordinary was the increase seen in students writing task and the high averages achieved by many students in all subject areas," said Russell.

... No child gets left behind

With the mantra 'At New Green Primary School, no child gets left behind', Principal Christophe Russell acknowledges that this is the precedent on which the Manchester-based institution will continue to operate.

"The aim is to provide a constructive learning environment which respects the uniqueness of each child. The school also caters for each child's individual learning needs by helping the children to succeed and encouraging the development of self-confidence," said Russell.

Key to the school's success also is the administration's belief in student-centred learning, as various strategies are involved in the teaching-learning process to assure the highest level of student achievement.

"In the 2017-18 school year, I did an experiment with gender-based teaching where the boys were separated from the girls. Through this, the boys were engaged using strategies that cater to boys learning. I designed an online learning platform that both boys and girls could access learning resources and interact with me even while being at home," Russell added.

This, he says, proved successful with the last batch of students that did the GSAT.

Russell is of the belief that just as the colours of the school have changed to a bold royal blue and sunshine yellow, persons are realising the change that is taking place within the walls of New Green Primary School, and that the school is quickly becoming one of the top performers in the parish of Manchester.