Parents Resources
Homework
Homework is important. It helps to complete, consolidate and extend classwork and to develop the habit of study at home which is vital to the achievement of success. It is therefore the policy of the school to set homework and to expect it to be done.
The amount of homework expected of a pupil will vary as he or she moves from S1 to the senior school. There will also be variations from time to time during the school year, and indeed times when pupils in the same class will have different types or amounts of homework according to their own individual needs and circumstances. In general, a first year pupil can expect to have from 45 minutes to one hour’s homework each evening. In third year it is likely to be between one and two hours per night, while in the upper school, where there is a greater emphasis on exam work, as much as two or three hours’ work per night would be not only appropriate but necessary if the pupil expects to be successful. Homework can take a number of different forms and need not necessarily be written work. It may include reading notes or texts, research or fact-finding exercises, or some practical activity.
Student Planners
All pupils are issued with a Student Planner which is used to record homework and plan revision. They will be given full instructions on how to use this properly. Parents can be of great assistance in checking this Planner and ensuring that homework and study tasks are completed. The Planner contains a listing of important dates each term, such as those of parents’ evenings, important events and, for the senior school, the dates for completion of SQA projects, etc. Planners will be monitored regularly by senior staff in order to reinforce their use and to assist in the general monitoring of the amount of homework given. Parents will be contacted directly by the Principal Teacher of any subject in which their child fails regularly to do homework, or in which the homework produced is of an unsatisfactory quality. In cases of continuing difficulty, contact is likely to be made by the appropriate Head of House.