Discovering Learning Habits and Academic Outcomes

Wells Cathedral School has partnered with a department of the University of Cambridge to trial a new online assessment that promises to help pupils perform even better in their A levels.

The Cambridge Personal Styles Questionnaire (CPSQ) was developed by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, part of the University of Cambridge. The CPSQ is an online assessment that helps teachers understand the attitudes and behaviours of individual pupils, so that they can then encourage each pupil to develop better learning habits and academic outcomes.

Wells’ participation in the trial was led by Charlotte Wilde, the School’s Head of Academic Enrichment. She chose to be involved in the project after noticing how some academically able pupils struggle with the transition from GCSE to A level, where pupils need to get to grips with a new style of learning that requires more individual ownership. 

The CPSQ was introduced as part of the School’s tutoring programme. Having taken the 30-minute assessment, pupils and their tutors reviewed the results, which enabled the tutors to give guided coaching, concentrating on the specific areas that each pupil needed to work on.

Reactions to the trial have been overwhelmingly positive. Tutors noted that the CPSQ enabled them to really get to know the pupils, while the pupils reported that they felt understood by their tutors, and better supported during their time together.

The CPSQ is just the latest in a number of initiatives Wells Cathedral School has taken to help improve pupils’ academic performance. Wells is one of the UK’s top independent schools for “added value”, helping pupils of all abilities to gain higher exam grades than expected.