Chapters

What is "Chapters"?

Chapters is a group for home educated children who love to read and who want to delve deeper into the stories they engage with. Each term we look at a new book and use it as a spring board to find out more about all sorts of topics from Geography and the environment and from Maths to Philosophy. We meet fortnightly to discuss what we have read so far and then to explore the key themes through active and engaging workshops lasting around 2 hours. We also offer Creative Response sessions which aim to support the children and young people in expressing their learning through art. These run on alternate Thursdays and last around 2 hours.

Is it only for excellent readers?

Not at all! We enjoy welcoming children of all abilities and skills sets to join in with our learning. Some of our students use audio-books to support them in accessing the text, some read independently and some read with support at home. There are opportunities throughout our learning sessions for children to choose which activities they complete as well as different options for how they present their learning.

What books do you read?

Previously we have read "Floodlands" by Marcus Sedgewick. We used this book to explore some local geography, think about environmental issues as well as considering issues around ethics and human rights. We have also read "The Iliad" and explored Ancient Greece. We found out about Just War Theory, explored different concepts of God, designed field medical packs for the Trojan War and considered the extent to which we are free to choose our actions. Last Christmas we explored Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" and considered life in Victorian London, had great fun trying to learn the Sir Robert de Coverley dance and much, much more. Recently we read War Horse and discovered more about the 1st World War, animal rights and probability before studying Shakepeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream last summer, which culminated in an incredible performance of the play in the Bishop's Garden at the end of July. During the Autumn term we have delved into the wintery world of Narnia and have been reading "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", exploring the experiences of evacuees, the ways in which secret tokens of trust have been used and discovering why a winter witch is really nothing new. The group has also been creating their own incredible wardrobe dioramas inspired by famous artists during Creative Response sessions.

How do I join in?

Our next book will be "Running Wild" by Michael Morpurgo.
There will be 6 led learning sessions in the Cathedral Centre:
9th January, 23rd January, 6th February, 27th February, 13th March, 27th March

Each place on the book study costs £55 and includes all learning sessions, a copy of the book, a reading diary and all the resources we use during the learning session. Book study sessions will take place in the Cathedral Centre between 10.00am and 12.00pm.

The creative response sessions will run on alternate Thursday mornings this term. The group will be exploring different forms of Indonesian art and building up their own portfolio. There will be 6 led learning sessions in the Cathedral Centre:
16th January, 30th January, 13th February, 6th March, 20th March, 3rd April

Each place on the creative response sessions costs £45 for the term and includes all the resources they need to create their art portfolio. These sessions take place in the Cathedral Centre between 10.00am and 12.00pm. It is not essential to do the creative response sessions as well as the book study sessions, but it isn't possible to do the creative response sessions without the book study.

This group is best suited to readers aged 9/10+ and we will make sure that the resources help all children access the text, everyone is welcome regardless of their individual skills set and learning preferences. If you have any questions about next term, please contact us at learning@elycathedral.org

Chapters is always very popular and the places do fill up quickly as we limit the group size to 25 to ensure that everyone has a great learning experience. Chapters is full for the Spring Term, please email learning@elycathedral.org to register your interest if you would like to be placed on the waiting list should any additional spaces become available. We are aware that there are a number of families who are keen to join the group. Please do get in touch and let us know if this is the case as we are exploring the possibility for a second group in the Summer term if there is sufficient interest.

Chapters costs £55 per student for the whole term. This will include at least 7 learning sessions, a copy of the book that we are reading, a reading diary and all the resources that we use during the learning sessions. If you wish to join both sessions, the cost will be £100 in total including all of the resources your child will need and 12 led learning sessions.