Ascent, our Summer term Saturday morning programme for Year 5 partner school children, continues to go from strength to strength. Aimed to support children who are either failing to meet national standards in English or Maths or are highly able and in need of further stretch and challenge, the programme is increasingly popular with our partner school heads, parents and pupils.

Ascent participants, ably assisted by Year 9, 10 and 12 Emanuel volunteers, participated in weekly action-packed English and Maths sessions plus hands-on Science  – everyone loves a Bunsen burner – coding and gaming and Art.

On the 8 July, we took our 35 partner school pupil ‘Ascenters’ to the Science Museum in South Kensington to experience Power Up and watch the 3D ‘Under the Sea’ presentation. We were accompanied by wonderful and resilient Emanuel School parent volunteers as well as some of our regular student helpers. We had a fabulous time and will definitely look to repeat the experience again next year.

Feedback from Ascent pupil’s parents includes:

“I feel it’s phenomenal to offer children from the community the experience at Emanuel.”

“My son is definitely more knowledgeable about the topics, which is fantastic!”

“Bella has loved her time here. Always eager to go and sad to leave”

“Much enjoyment and confidence building has been evident”

93% of parents stated that the programme furthered their child’s understanding of the topics

100% of parents stated that their children were more confident and/or interested in the topics covered having completed the programme

98% of parents noted that attending the programme was a positive experience for their child.

Thank you again to our wonderful EPA for supporting Ascent so generously. Your support enabled us to take our wonderful  Ascent children to the Science Museum  safely via minibus and then to enjoy the inspiring experiences on offer.

Mrs L Irwin, Head of Community Partnerships and Outreach