CATALYST by Winchester College provides novel programmes aimed at developing and propelling students in their critical thinking and metacognitive skills through current issues.
Our immediate climate, whether socio-political, cultural, or environmental has polarised young people’s everyday life – and subsequently their lifestyle.
Social media activism, increasing coverage of protests and nationwide strikes, cuts in social care and health – in addition to global warming and the consequences of globalisation and technology.
These fundamental and immediate issues are inescapable and demand full attention from every corner of society – including education.
Education and educators are catching up. Whilst the traditional education syllabus might fail to actively address current issues, schools across the UK are increasingly borrowing pedagogy from higher education institutions to better deliver a theoretical framework directly addressing real-worlds problems and solutions.
By means of incorporating current events, real-world issues and new theoretical ideas, students are much more likely to connect their learning to the world around them.
To ultimately prepare the next generation of young people to become active and engaged citizens, capable of creating positive change to society.
CATALYST by Winchester College
Novel courses such as Winchester College’s summer programmes by CATALYST, aims to help with just that.
Through a pedagogy of inquiry-led practice which teaches students how to think, challenging established opinions and engendering a passion for discussion and exploration – the courses’ interdisciplinary approach is concurrent with epistemological ways of navigating real issues.
Through a combination of online seminars, lectures, teamwork, and off-screen activities – students from around the world are connected to top UK educators and wider global leaders.
With this new type of pedagogy in secondary education – it is therefore appropriate to introduce new mediums of study.
Their course is predominantly taught online through their virtual campus.
Designed specifically for the course (and completely exclusionary to the zoom archetype), the virtual instillation of the Winchester College campus conjoins elements of gamification to foster a space for interaction, idea sharing and cohort community building.
What is most interesting about their courses, is that they draw on Winchester College’s unique pedagogy, Div. Div ‘defines the liberal character of Winchester academic life’, by teaching students to think, discuss and debate far beyond the syllabus.
Div contextualises students’ metacognitive abilities and ways of processing information and critical thinking – which ultimately bleed into a student’s syllabus, exam preparation, future education and further into their adult lives. Learn more about metacognition here.
CATALYST in the same respect, develops the DIV framework by simultaneously also including themes of dynamic change and theoretical volatility – to catalyse change. Read more on their mission here.
How are the programmes marked?
A key feature of the course is the opportunity for students to engage in one-on-one sessions with educators from Winchester College, along with the benefit of small class sizes.
This personalized approach to instruction affords students the opportunity to receive invaluable feedback and enables them to acclimate to a learning style closely aligned with that of their future university experience.
The candidates are subject to thorough monitoring and analysis by their educators, resulting in heightened levels of feedback and attention to individual areas of improvement.
Upon completion of the course, candidates are presented with a transcript that includes personalized feedback on their strengths and weaknesses across six distinct competency areas:
- Negotiation & Resolution
- Narrative Defence
- Empathetic Collaboration
- Critical Analysis & Problem Solving
- Quantitative Fluency
- Effective communication
Typically, conventional marking practices lack the specificity found in CATALYST’s evaluation system. Although traditional methods may provide grades, annotations, and marking criteria, they generally do not offer the depth of categorization and analysis that CATALYST provides.
Through the rigorous feedback included in CATALYST’s transcript, students gain invaluable insights into their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to target specific areas for improvement in critical thinking, understanding, and argumentation.
These competencies are essential components for success in higher education and beyond, as students embark upon their future careers.
University Help
Their courses are particularly suited for ambitious, highly motivated and independent thinkers. International or domestic home-schooled candidates that are thinking about attending top universities or secondary schools would gain an invaluable experience of British Independent education.
Alongside a critical thinking framework and the study of current issues, CATALYST focuses on developing students for their university and school applications .
Upon course completion, CATALYST provides outstanding students with a personalised letter of recommendation for Winchester college to the university or school of the student’s choice.
The course also embeds further assistance to students through their coaching and advisor initiative. Students will get a chance to be coached by expert advisors for university entrance and school exams and admission processes, in addition to establishing their personal statements for university applications.
The programme also offers funding for students to further develop their individual change projects after completion of the course.
Programmes Available
CATALYST currently has spaces on just three of their courses. Below is a summary of what they include:
- Foundations Programme
Dates: 10-14 July 2023
Duration: 1 Week
Ages: 10 – 13
Location: Remote/Online
About: This programme focuses on building skills in communication, critical thinking, negotiation, and narrative defence. The course focus on societal change through a range of different topics such as technology, science, philosophy, and ethics.
- Rethinking Change System
Dates: 17-28 July 2023
Duration: 2 Weeks
Age: 13-18 (average age 15)
Location: Remote/Online
About: This is the most selective programme offered by CATALYST which explores the foundations of change – particularly exploring how students can facilitate change in their own communities.
- Rethinking Change Systems
Dates: 31 July-11 August 2023
Duration: 2 Week
Age: 13-18 (average age 15)
Location: Remote/Online
About: This is the most selective programme offered by CATALYST which explores the foundations of change – particularly exploring how students can facilitate change in their own communities.
Get in touch
Get in touch with our expert team of consultants to find out if CATALYST is right for you or if you need more information on these programmes. Gabbitas offers an expansive list of summer schools to choose from. If you are interested in viewing our full summer schools list for 2023, email info@gabbitas.com or call +44 (0) 203 026 7443.
