1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,720 Speaker 1: Been another education revamp. The governments announced open plan classrooms 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: are gone and we're going back to single classes. At 3 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Cheerley Boys High School, they spent eight hundred thousand dollars 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: changing their open plan spaces back to single cell rooms 5 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: after poor performance. And Tim Grocott is the headmaster and 6 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: with us now morning Tim. 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 2: Oh, good morning here that. 8 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: Why didn't it work for you guys? 9 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 2: I think for us we just found the distractions were 10 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 2: too great. It was too noisy, too much going on. 11 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,639 Speaker 2: Boys struggle to focus on the learning that was in 12 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 2: front of them, and our teachers just found the same. Basically, 13 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 2: it was hard to keep the boys engaged in those areas. 14 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: Have you seen a turnaround since you put the walls 15 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: back up? 16 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely. People are just much happier. You know, we 17 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 2: haven't had enough of an opportunity to sort of measure achievement, 18 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 2: but certainly we're seeing some really good engagement from the 19 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 2: boys and people just really happy to be in spaces. 20 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 2: Our teachers have just been able to set up their 21 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 2: own rooms. I've got a bit of ownership over their space, 22 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 2: look after it better. All of those sorts of things 23 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 2: have been really good, along with really positive teaching the 24 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 2: student relationships, you know, which is really key for us 25 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:11,919 Speaker 2: in the boys school. 26 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: I see that some schools are not entirely happy with this. 27 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: They still want some flexibility. They want to be able 28 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: to have the open plan. Why would a school want 29 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: open plan at all? 30 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 2: Look, I'm not one hundred percent sure why that would be. 31 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 2: I guess that the flexibility of how you use spaces 32 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 2: and doing different things. I guess that's what they're looking for. 33 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 2: If I if I think about our context, you know, 34 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 2: we're a secondary school, we teach individual subjects. Therefore, having 35 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 2: individual rooms to teach in those with one teacher is 36 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 2: absolutely crucial for us. Particularly with the way the curriculum 37 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 2: is developing, that's going to be even more crucial. So 38 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 2: that for us, that was just an absolute no brainer. 39 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: I mean, I can I know that boys really really 40 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: need to concentrate. Is it different at co ed schools 41 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: and girls. 42 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 2: Schools in terms of the classrooms? Yeah, how Look, there 43 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 2: will be a max I mean christ Church is probably 44 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 2: different because of the christ Church rebuilt. There will be 45 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 2: a mixture of spaces. But for schools that were designed 46 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 2: and built around that twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen period. 47 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 2: Most of those schools will have elements of modern learning. 48 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: What I was asking Tim is I know that boys 49 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: need a single classroom to concentrate, right, They really need 50 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: to be able to not be distracted. What about girls? 51 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 2: I think probably there is a difference, a slight difference, 52 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 2: but a difference between the way that boys and girls learn. 53 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 2: I think that in the teenage years, the girls certainly 54 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 2: have that stronger ability to concentrate and to focus on 55 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,959 Speaker 2: the task in front of them. Boys need far more structure. 56 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 2: Girls are able to learn better independently. And what we're 57 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 2: finding is that the boy that structure that can be 58 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 2: provided in an individual room is really helpful. But having 59 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 2: said that, there will be a mixed ride across boys 60 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 2: and girls. There will be girls who would be loving 61 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: being in individual spaces as well. 62 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, totally, Tim, really appreciate your time to look after yourself. 63 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: That's Tim Grocott, headmaster at Shirley Boys High School. 64 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 65 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 2: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 66 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.