Blog

Jan 09, 2019

New  year and a new start for City College Oxford –  come and visit!

New  year and a new start for City College Oxford –  come and visit!

We’re preparing for the opening of our new college building. We’ve moved to a great new location in Oxford with easy transport links across city of Oxford and for London.

Our new school has excellent classrooms and facilities for students and teachers. We know that everyone works better in a pleasant environment. We have a lovely, fresh and bright new school – come and visit us anytime.

Research shows that the physical environment can make a difference to student learning and achievement. That is why we’re making sure that we design our classrooms and facilities to take into account the best practice for learning. For example did you know that the layout and colours in the classroom can make a difference to student achievement? We’re making sure that we address the environmental factors such as:

Noise – we are in a quiet location away from traffic and the classrooms are solid construction so noise does not carry between rooms.

Technology -  we use digital wherever possible and simple things such as making sure phones are turned off in class.

Too much comfort – our facilities are high quality and comfortable but not so comfortable that students are so relaxed that they fall asleep during class!

Temperature and lighting – we can control these to make sure it is right whatever the weather and you know it changes a lot in England!

Layout – we layout our classrooms to suit the best methods for the lesson. Flexibility is important so we can have a formal layout for exams and assessments or informal for conversation classes or group work activities.

Student engagement with their environment – we always listen to our students and their feedback is important to make sure we are getting it right. Are our students making the most of their learning environment? We use a coaching approach to encourage students to identify their learning needs and then we can help them develop.

Teacher engagement with their environment – it’s not surprising that teachers also perform better when they have a pleasant working environment. We know that our teachers are our most important asset and happy teachers get the best for their students. Our teachers are very happy with the new school and can’t wait to get going. Enthusiastic teachers are great for our students.

The best learning occurs when the physical environment supports the psychological environment and that is established by the teacher. Our teachers are careful to consider the learning styles and needs of our students and make sure that our school is set up in a way that is best for our learners.