HARROW Way Community School held its second SALAD day recently to help pupils focus on speaking and listening skills.

SALAD stands for Speaking and Listening Active Development.

On SALAD days, students across the school engage in activities that involve discussion, debate, presentations and performance.

The school feels that by dedicating a day to such activities, students are able to focus on how they communicate with each other to raise the profile of this skill.

Various subjects were discussed, ranging from life in Cold War Berlin to the effect wealth can have on a person.

Some students gave individual presentations on chosen subjects and family history, or were given topics to research, such as the life and work of an artist.

Role-play allowed students to explore life in different periods of history or to flesh out a role in drama and English lessons.

In Year 11, many students focused on peer assessment of each other’s work, giving advice and suggestions on how it might be improved.

Graeme Fluellen, assistant head teacher, said: “Giving pupils the confidence to articulate their views in a range of contexts will, we believe, help them become more effective, life-long learners.

“As well as supporting literacy skills, at the heart of this approach is the recognition that pupils need to learn the skills required to work together, listen to others, make decisions, solve problems and explain clearly what they have done.”