Well here’s one way to make your lessons more interesting: Harry Potter has cast a spell over pupils at a once-failing school with Hogwarts-inspired lessons said to be behind a dramatic reversal in fortunes. Wizard-themed lessons are just one of the techniques woven into the curriculum at Robert Mellors Primary School, in Nottingham.
Children dress as their favourite Harry Potter characters, chant spells and use their wands in maths classes. The innovative programme – where children vote on the theme for a term’s lessons – has been credited with transforming academic standards at the school. Recent themes include the film Titanic, cartoon Shrek and the boy wizard Potter. Robert Mellors has gone from being in the bottom 25% of all schools three years ago to the top 25% and recently received a glowing report from Ofsted inspectors.
Inspectors judged maths lessons to be “outstanding”, saying: “Subtraction was seen as a spell by Harry Potter.” They went on: “Behaviour in lessons was of the highest standard and reflects pupils’ enjoyment. Pupils enter the school with standards well below average. Over the last three years, standards and achievement have improved greatly.” (Guardian)
