When i visited the New City academy on saturday, i did't expect to meet many students. I got a big surprise !!! Saturday school started as a punishment, but on the day that i visited , only seven students were wearing school uniforms, a sing that they were in detention. all the other students were at school on saturday because they wanted to be there.
Everywherei looked, people were working hard, but not many activities have anything to do with the school curriculum. A rock and roll band was practising in the canteen. The band started coming to saturday school two years ago."We wanted somewhere to practise. Rock and roll is noisy, but at school, it doasn`t matter,' they told me.
In the gym a group of teenagers were preparing to take part in team games, and in the library another group were talking life skills lessons. About fifteen students were watching X-Men 3 in the computer room , while another thirty or so were working in the school garden.
Tony , 13, doesn't have a computer at home. "I came to school on saturdays because i wanted to use the computer to do some revision. Then i did a bit of gardening. now i came every week", he told me . Head teacher alan mason made sure that saturday school was fun for the students , but how did he persuade teacher, who earned nothing fot heir morning's work, to join in?
"All the teachers who came found it very satisfying", explained Mr Mason. " they had more time to by deal with problems and they made contact with the students in a diferent way".