The High School of Glasgow Junior School
The High School of Glasgow Junior School is an independent school in Bearsden, Glasgow. There are around 400 pupils in classes up to Junior 6. The transitus class in the senior school is the equivalent of P7. The school has won an Investors in People award, and a gold award in the Schools Enterprise programme.
Karen Waugh, headteacher, discusses the whole-school programme
Karen Waugh arrived as head of the High School of Glasgow Junior School in 2001 from a state primary school. After auditing all areas of the curriculum, it was clear that problem solving needed development. Karen attended an in-service day on problem solving run by Professor Lindsay Logan and the school’s problem solving programme was devised as a result.
The programme concentrates on seven strategies, with progression within each one. For example, ‘Working with a pattern’ in Junior 1 becomes ‘Finding and continuing a pattern’ in Junior 2 and then ‘Finding the rule’ in Junior 5. Karen was very keen for problem solving to be seen as a separate subject to maths, so each class has a weekly problem solving lesson.
Pupils use problem solving strategies in other curricular areas such as design and technology. In Junior 5, for example, pupils are asked to design and build a bridge. Karen feels that the pupils have gained enormously from their problem solving classes - they are more confident, more prepared to have a go and not give up, more able to work in groups and more able to articulate how they arrived at an answer.
| Karen Waugh, headteacher, discusses the whole-school programme | |
|---|---|
| Description | Karen Waugh describes the whole-school problem solving programme and the impact it has had on pupils |
| Duration | 2 minutes 48 seconds |
| Windows version |  Windows Media video: Karen Waugh, headteacher, discusses the whole-school programme |
| Mac version |  QuickTime movie: Karen Waugh, headteacher, discusses the whole-school programme |
| Transcript | Karen Waugh, headteacher, discusses the whole-school programme |
Stages at High School of Glasgow Junior School
- Junior 2, High School of Glasgow Junior School
Junior 2 pupils 'Find and continue a pattern'.
- Junior 4, High School of Glasgow Junior School
A Junior 4 class uses the ‘Guess, check and improve’ strategy.
- Junior 6, High School of Glasgow Junior School
Group work in Junior 6.