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HOME FAQ overview HOW IT WORKS BOOKING & FEES TERM DATES DOWNLOADS CONTACT US
FAMILIES SAY ... ASSESS A SCHOOL STUDENTS HOW WE TEACH SOFTWARE? OUR 3 CLASSES TIMETABLE TEACHERS PERSONAL SUPPORT EXAMS HOME EDUCATION USEFUL LINKS DOWNLOADS CONTACT US |
First College FAQ - OVERVIEWQuestions for Parents to ask to assess an (Online) School"Download it as .RTF text document  What kind of Students or families choose First College?Main reasons: -- Bullying/ Sensitivty. -- Support needs. -- Disability or health. -- High achievers. -- Independent/ minority principles. -- Separated families -- Worldwide residents/ expats. These are the main reasons we have met so far, but you might like to discuss others. More detail. What kind of reaction have you had from the education authorities?Very very approving! QUOTE “… he could not believe your fees were so reasonable for the amount of support, learning, work etc Was impressed with the report page and the feedback on marked homework.” (Kent LEA. Their own scheme costs four times as much as our fees!) QUOTE “I have to say that I was impressed … The course organisers have obviously put a great deal of thought into providing a virtual school day that is varied and challenging, with built in personal relationships ... for each student. I have no hesitation in confirming that the education … fully meets the legal requirements.” (Buckinghamshire LEA) How does online learning work in practice?Students attend one hour classes at set times ( Mon - Thurs school day 09.30 - 14.00 UK) together with a teacher. Each is at their own computer. During class they can talk to each other either by voice, or by text (typing short statements) for discussion and exercises. The teacher can send a picture, web page or a prepared document to all students in class simultaneously. Private conversations can be instantly opened with the teacher for individual help, but there is strong encouragement to work in the group too. Then there is our pioneering, exceptionally powerful homework system. Students send work in (like a special email service) and get marked work back the same way. But each srtudent's private work area displays a continual Report to student, teacher and family. You can see EXACTLY what your student is doing - every work item, and whether it's been done or not. Each family can also message individual teachers whenever they wish. Finally students can contact each other by messaging both during and outside school. Isn't online learning impersonal?It can feel like that for perhaps the first half hour. After that it is often a surprise how clearly other people's personalities come across. Younger people especially find it easy to relate to friends and fellow students purely through their home computer. Each Student has a personal area where they can display a small portrait picture, or a picture of something important to them, plus a description of their interests. This helps them "see" each other, and their teachers also provide the same kind of information. With discussion areas and a private post system open as well as active classrooms, there is plenty of ways to connect with all the living people also using the technology. We would stress that we are far more than a tutoring service. Your child receives strong support around social skills and personal issues, as needed. What about socialisation?Students meet their own small class group four days a week, then have wider access to the whole school community which gathers weekly for the Monday "Philosophy and Society" seminar. Students additionally have their own private areas to meet, and there are purely social times apart from study focussed discussions. The private conversation option further supports student friendships and many families allow the use of MSN as well. Families can if they wish, exchange telephone numbers so their students can talk as ordinary friends, and where possible, arrange visits. What about internet risks and security?This is something we take very seriously indeed. Our classrooms and discussion areas are not only carefully protected behind username and password access, but the school is not run on this public site you are looking at. It is hosted completely separately; only fully registered families can access it. We are often asked by enquirers, journalists or sincerely interested outsiders to allow them to try out or visit a class. We would NEVER permit any outsider into our classes as the security risk of a constant series of strangersWe monitor student exchanges, and any outsider is immediately apparent from the technical logs. We provide our own briefing on internet security, with step by step instructions on how to protect your computer/s, and how to support your child or young person's safe use of the internet. What about exams?Our Scholars' class prepare for the Edexcel IGCSE O Level Exams, which can be sat in the ordinary way at a variety of international and UK locations. IGCSE exams are equivalent or better than GCSE; they involve a more international outlook and do not require exam coursework projects. We are currently looking into providing A Level tuitorials for our GCSE graduates. More details What is Home Education?In the UK every parent is legally responsible for educating their child/ren (under the Education Act 1996 Section 7). Parents can choose to appoint a school to assist them, or not. Most families who try it are highly successful at full time Home Education; in fact research shows electively home educated children and young people do strikingly better at academic tests, are socially skilled and responsible, and adjust well or better to college, or (self) employment. On our Links page you can find websites to provide more details. For older children and young people though, families often feel they would prefer to have education advisers and partners: that is teachers like us, working with them. First College fills this need by being a balance of home education and school. It was created by experienced home educators. More details What is the First College teaching philosophy?Throughout First College our approach is to apply generous amounts of kindness, patience, and detailed support on work done. Where necessary, these essentials are backed by strong guidance, especially on self discipline. We work in constant partnershp with a family to ensure self discipline by the student increases to enable sharing, mutual respect, commitment to and completion of work projects. Our rules are few, and clearly explained. We like to encourage choice and independence but this has to be underpinned with clearcut self discipline boundaries. Our Three Classes
First Class This class is the first group for all new students where we check and strengthen confidence and basic study skills. First and foremost we work on a Student's confidence, the golden key to learning.This may involve going slowly at first if the student is young or has had problems in the past. But a careful slow start will pay off handsomely later on where a hasty push upwards can easily end in the distress of going back to the basics again. We believe in groundwork, solid basic skills laid down before the leaps and achievements come in. Groundwork does involve a careful building stage to fill in gaps but we do ensure that our basics class is not just dull old nuts and bolts! but also includes a good proportion of fun to keep the Student happy and motivated. Seniors With confidence and groundwork in place we can introduce far more at intermediate level, to explore the true joy of learning. Much of this can be student led, on projects and presentations. More details Familes have a choice about taking exams; a student can stay on in Seniors taking on more complex and advanced projects, improving collaborative research and design skills to an advanced level. Scholars is our exam class. Students are given intensive support to not only prepare the content of the syllabus, but to train in exam techniques, in terms of personal organisation, stress handling, and question strategies. More details
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