OpAL

The WGS OpAL (Opportunities through Assisted Learning) Programme was set up in 1998 under the banner; "Why should a bright dyslexic child be denied an academic education?"  That question still encapsulates the OpAL philosophy.  Through carefully targeted small-group work in timetabled curricular time, bright youngsters are helped to develop coping strategies with regard to their Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD).   Specific Learning Difficulties are not 'curable', but excellent specialist support can help children to work with and around them, and OpAL pupils learn to do this very effectively. 

Our growing understanding of dyslexia and other learning difficulties has enabled us to help large numbers of young people who are bright and able to thrive at WGS but who, before they came to us, suffered great difficulty and demotivation in school because of lack of understanding of their difficulties.

Research
Our OpAL Programme has become our academic research and development department, giving rise to many new initiatives which have raised achievement across the whole school.From OpAL has come the emphasis on study skills for all, a screening programme for all new students and a far more sophisticated range of interventions for students who begin to struggle.

OpAL has given us a greater appreciation of how children learn and how we can enhance that learning. WGS has been immensely enriched and strengthened as a result of that experience. Of course it is a never-ending journey. Every year we understand more about the brain, about learning and about the obstacles that may hamper learning.All our students benefit from the greater knowledge that we have gained as a school.

Academic Successes
Our OpAL students continue to do exceptionally well at GCSE and A Level. In 2008, 98.6 percent of GCSE students in the OpAL programme achieved passes at grades A* - C, whilst at A Level students achieved 100 percent passes at A and B. All 2008 OpAL students gained a place at their first choice university, whilst students from the first OpAL intake in 1998 are now starting to graduate from university.

Extra Fees
OpAL programme costs are an additional term’s fees per annum. This additional charge is to meet the cost of the intensive small-group teaching that OpAL students receive to help them with their Specific Learning Difficulty.This fee applies to your child’s first three years in school. When your child embarks on his or her GCSE or A Level course, we will reassess the level of individual need. At this point, the school can usually reduce the additional charge to 50 percent of one term’s fee as the amount of extra help diminishes.

Application Procedure

To register your child for the OpAL Programme, please complete the registration form and send it to our admissions secretary. You will also need to send a recent report from an Educational Psychologist and the name and address of any teacher who has given your child specialist teaching in the last two years.
At 11+ onwards there are two routes of entry into the OpAL Programme: by our standard entrance test or by interview. Once you have registered your child for the OpAL Programme, the Programme Director will discuss with you the options of sitting the entrance test or being assessed for admission by interview. To register for a place in WGS’s OpAL programme  and for details of current fees, go to our application procedure.

In accordance with SENDA (2001), all candidates assessed as dyslexic, receive extra time in the entrance examinations. The school’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Accessibility Plan is available on request.