Understanding Teaching Groups at Endon High School

As pupils move through the school, teaching groups are organised differently depending on the year group and subject. We appreciate that pupils naturally compare timetables with their friends, so we hope the information below helps explain how classes are organised and how teaching groups are determined.

Year 7

• In Year 7, pupils are taught in their five mixed-ability form groups for many subjects. For others, they are taught in six teaching groups to support curriculum delivery.
• One of these groups (XE) includes our nurture provision, enabling additional support to be provided where appropriate. The remaining five teaching groups are mixed ability.

Years 8 and 9

• In Years 8 and 9, pupils continue to be taught in their mixed-ability form groups for History, Geography, RE, Music, Performing Arts, Learning for Life (PSHE) and German.
• For English, Mathematics, Science and PE, pupils are first organised into two balanced populations (X and Y). Within each population, subject leaders create teaching groups using a range of evidence, including pupils’ performance across the three assessment points during the academic year, together with their professional judgement of where each pupil is most likely to thrive.
• In Years 8–11, teaching groups are identified by the suffixes O, A and E. Broadly speaking, O groups are designed to provide greater challenge for pupils currently working at the highest levels of attainment, A groups provide suitable challenge for those working within the middle range of attainment, and E groups are designed to provide additional support for pupils who would benefit from it. These groupings relate only to a pupil’s current attainment in that particular subject and should not be viewed as a judgement of their overall academic ability.
• As each of these subjects makes their own decisions within the X and Y populations, it is entirely normal for a pupil to be in different teaching groups for English, Mathematics, Science and PE.
• The Science teaching groups are also used for Art, Design & Technology, Food & Nutrition and Computing. This is purely for timetabling purposes, allowing these practical subjects to be taught in smaller class sizes than if they were taught in form classes. These are not ability sets for these subjects, and all pupils follow the same curriculum regardless of which Science teaching group they are in. A pupil’s Art, Design & Technology, Food or Computing class should not be viewed as a reflection of their attainment in those subjects.
• Teaching groups are reviewed after each of the school's three assessment points. Where it is felt that a different teaching group would better support a pupil's progress, changes can be made.

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)

• At Key Stage 4, pupils are organised into two balanced populations. These populations are used to create O, A and E teaching groups for English and Science.
• Mathematics is organised separately and does not use these populations. Mathematics teaching groups are determined independently by the Mathematics department to best meet pupils’ learning needs. As a result, a pupil’s Mathematics group may not correspond with their English or Science group.
• PE and Learning for Life/Religious Education use the two populations for timetabling purposes but remain mixed-ability teaching groups.
• Option subjects are not taught in ability groups and many only have one teaching group. Where there is more than one class, groups are created primarily to maximise the number of pupils able to study their preferred option combinations rather than according to attainment.

Teaching Groups Are Reviewed

• Teaching groups are reviewed following each of the school’s three assessment points. Where it is felt that a different teaching group would better support a pupil’s progress, changes can be made.
• It is important to remember that teaching groups are subject-specific, are reviewed regularly and should not be seen as a judgement of a pupil’s overall ability. It is entirely normal for pupils to be in different teaching groups across different subjects, reflecting their individual strengths and where they are most likely to succeed.