High Performance Learning | Queen's College Taunton

Queen's College > High Performance Learning

High Performance Learning (or HPL) is an educational philosophy that we use at Queen’s to help all of our pupils, from 3-18, to develop their potential and achieve fantastic results.

HPL fits perfectly with the Queen’s ethos and mission to prepare young people ‘not for school, but for life’ and is driven by sound academic research. It is our intention that HPL is integrated into every aspect of college life: academic, pastoral, boarding, the co-curriculum and future education and guidance. It is an important part of our plan to achieve our long term strategic aims – ultimately, to overcome the shortcomings of the current curriculum as defined by the government, prepare our students for an unknown future and create resilient, creative, and independent learners.

Outcomes at Queen’s are excellent at all ages, from EYFS early learning goals to A level results and on to progression destinations, such as university entrance. However, we recognise that good grades alone are not enough, we want our leavers to be equipped for the future.

What is High Performance Learning?

HPL is an approach to education that challenges traditional notions of ‘fixed ability’ and emphasises the significant potential that lies within children and young people. It’s a philosophy that recognises that talent is not an innate gift but rather a product of deliberate practice, perseverance, and importantly the right opportunities.

At the heart of the HPL philosophy lies the belief that every young person, regardless of their background or starting point, is capable of achieving excellent academic outcomes. Research has shown that children’s brains are incredibly flexible and adaptable and can grow and develop throughout their lives. This means that with the right approach, we can foster the skills and attitudes that are essential for success, both in school and importantly beyond into later life.

One of the key principles of HPL is the development of metacognitive skills; the idea of thinking about our thinking. This in turn empowers our students to become active participants in their own learning journey.

At the core of HPL are a number of specific ‘Skills’ and ‘Attitudes’ that we seek to actively teach and develop in our students. We ensure that the way in which we deliver HPL is age-appropriate to the various learning phases across the college but, wherever possible, the key HPL language does not change. If children can understand words and concepts like ‘multiplication’, ‘division’ or ‘photosynthesis’ they can equally understand ‘meta-cognition’ and ‘originality’.

Preparing our students for the future

The only thing we can be certain of in the future is change. Good grades are essential but work will probably look very different in the future and AI may do much of the heavy lifting in terms of many of today’s job roles. The young people of today need to focus on meta-skills (learning to learn) and how they combine their skills with the tools available to them.

In the future, there will still be fabulous opportunities for creative people. AI may do the technical part but the successful person will be the one who knows how to prompt the systems and get the best out of the tools.

Young people need to develop the skills and attitudes that will make them highly adaptable so that when new opportunities arise, they are able to work out quickly how to make the best of them in their context.

With HPL, we can identify the skills and attitudes that these highly adaptive and high performing learners possess. HPL is a codification of those skills and attitudes that we can teach explicitly and help develop in children and young people.

We are here to create a supportive and stimulating learning environment where all children and young people feel encouraged to take risks, embrace challenges, and celebrate their achievements. By providing the right opportunities and guidance, we can empower them to tap into their own potential and achieve remarkable things.

At Queen’s, we believe that every single student deserves academic success, and a life full of opportunity and fulfilment.

The World Class School Award

The High Performance Learning World Class School Award is a prestigious, globally-recognised award that celebrates the achievements of schools which are among the best in the world. Achievement of the award is confirmation of a school’s ability to provide an exceptional level of education for its students, using the High Performance Learning approach to enable them to reach high levels of academic performance.

The World Class School Award is awarded to schools that:

Have effectively planned their own self-improving journey to meet the demanding criteria of the award
Meet the standards and continually review the scope and quality of their provision to ensure that they are delivering High Performance Learning for their students
Consistently achieve high academic standards for students, who are equipped with the values, attitudes and attributes that will serve them well in university, the workplace and life

The journey to achieve the award takes around two years and follows a carefully planned roadmap. The award itself is based on a set of standards that comprises four elements which cover the culture of the school, the professional practice in teaching and learning, the leadership, management and internal accountability processes and the resulting outcomes for students.

At Queen’s we expect to achieve the World Class School Award in June 2025.