• Announcement 1/1: The School swimming pool will be closed over the weekend due to unforeseen circumstances. More information will be made available on Monday.
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GTX: Gifted & Talented eXtension

Standing for Gifted, Talented and eXtension, GTX is Merchant Taylors' Friday afternoon enrichment programme, replacing the ‘conventional' school timetable for Year 7-9 boys and offering ‘vertical grouping' to enable students in all three years to work collaboratively and outside the restrictive confines of traditional academic assessment. Many leading schools are investing time and resources in enrichment activities and Merchant Taylors' is no exception - GTX is designed to stretch our students beyond the confines of exam specifications.

Whilst we will continue to focus well over 90% of precious curriculum time on the core business of examination preparation, we believe there are huge potential gains in offering a portfolio of activities which can develop "soft skills" such as problem-solving and creativity, especially when it comes to UCAS applications to top courses and to Russell Group universities.

Students typically opt into three 10-week GTX sessions a year, ranging from activities as diverse as beekeeping and robotics. They will learn new skills and hopefully unlock latent talents which might otherwise remain dormant in more traditional settings. Crucially, we hope that many will develop transferable learning skills such as resilience and resourcefulness, which will trickle down into the academic curriculum. Sixth formers, if their timetable allows, can opt into any GTX course, often helping members of staff to lead the activities effectively. Rather like being a monitor or peer supporter therefore, it is a chance to develop leadership skills and, more importantly, it is meant to be a fun way to finish on a Friday! See the links below to read more about what our students have been up to in GTX and to get a flavour of the activities available for this term.

Gifted and Talented Parliament Trip

Read Deputy Head Mr Simpson's thoughts on the GTX programme >>>

GTX Gardening Photos

Gifted and Talented Oxford Trip

Gifted and Talented Parliament Trip

Gifted and Talented Liverpool Playhouse Trip

Gifted and Talented Biology - Manchester Museum Trip

GTX Diving News Story

GTX Bees News Story

 

buzz buzz buzz

Bee-keeping is just one of the enrichment activities as part of GTX