Dunottar Plans to Broaden Sixth Form Learning Experience though ‘United Classroom’

From September 2015, the co-educational school aims to offer an exciting new distance learning course, delivered through a ‘United Classroom’.

Following the highly successful pilot scheme where students studied GCSE Astronomy with United Classroom, pupils at Dunottar and other United Learning Schools will be studying Physics A’ Level using this virtual classroom. 

The students will enjoy a blended learning approach of live online lessons delivered by Dr Robert Bastin PhD, Head of Physics at Surbiton High School.  In 2014, 100% of his A’ level students achieved A*-C grades and 50% went on to Russell Group universities, including Oxford University and London Imperial College.

Students in the lower sixth will be able to interact with the teacher, collaborate with others, and review everything that happened afterwards through anytime/anywhere access to all the course materials and lesson recordings.  They will also continue to have the support of Dunottar staff at school.

There will be also be scheduled help sessions so that the students can ask questions and lead sections themselves, just like in a face-to-face session.  Some of the courses might also include residential weekends to focus on the practical side of the subjects, discuss theory and exam technique. 

Dunottar School’s Assistant Head, Pippa Smithson, said: “This initiative will give the sixth formers access to specialist delivery, develop their experience of learning, and provide them with the chance to share and debate ideas with other students in United Learning schools. This way of learning will help develop pupils’ ability to work independently; a skill that is so key at University and beyond. This is a taste of what the future holds.”

The first United Classroom course to be offered in September 2015 is A’ level Physics.