Study Hall Supervisor Kev chats about his role in helping students

Study Hall Supervisor, Kev, cuts a popular figure around the College. His passion for helping students and his fun-loving character make him a favourite of both students and staff alike.

Here, Kev talks through his part in assisting students’ learning, and the role that the Study Hall has for College students.

 

What is Study Hall?

The Study Hall is a designated workspace in the College for students if they need to catch up on work or need to do that extra bit of work not to fall behind. Teachers can book students in for sessions or students can book themselves in if they want to. It’s a quieter place to work than the Hub, and there’s support here if they need it. Generally speaking, the students respond really well to having the Study Hall option, and the teachers know that anyone that may have missed lessons through illness or other circumstances has a specific place to catch up on what they need to do.

 

What’s your job?

I’m the Study Hall Supervisor, which entails making sure the students arrive for Study Hall, following up if they don’t, and liaising with the teachers and with the students. It’s all about facilitating the students’ study and making sure that they’re on track.

 

What kind of students use Study Hall?

It’s available for every student at the College and it’s used by the full spectrum of the student body. It can be students that need to catch up on work or it can be high flyers who are aspiring to push themselves as much as possible. It’s just for people who want this quiet space to focus on their work. Sometimes, students can fall behind through absolutely no fault of their own. It might be that someone has missed a few lessons through illness. We’re conscious that we don’t want students to feel like they’re struggling to keep pace with the work, so the Study Hall sessions and the support we give really helps with that.

A lot of the clubs and societies use the Study Hall at lunchtimes and after College too. Equality Club, Chess Club, Photoshop Club, we’ve got an Art Clubs that mainly look at Japanese art and Anime stuff, The Christian discussion group Pulse: I’m supervising when all these clubs are on. It’s all a lot of fun and the students are really respectful of each other and the environment that they’re in.

 

What kind of support do you offer in the Study Hall?

We can look through students’ work with them and answer questions. If the question is very subject specific then we can flag that area to the teachers to go through with that particular student, but a lot of the time we’re on-hand to help with spelling, grammar and essentially being a sounding board for the students. All of the Hub and Study Hall staff can contribute something to the students’ learning though. I’ve got a depth of knowledge about computer studies, where my colleague Jack is particularly good with maths, business and accountancy, and Olivia’s brilliant with history and humanities. The whole team has specific expertise.

 

What’s the best bit about your job?

The best bit is seeing the students go from a place of lacking confidence about their work and maybe being slightly behind to actually handing in assignments on time and to a high level, and maybe going up in grades. We get students just coming in for a chat too, which is always nice. I get to build up a rapport with them and offer all-round support.

 

Speaking of rapport - you’re a popular character around College. What’s your secret for good rapport with the students?

I think that not talking down to people is really important but that’s not just me - all the teachers and support staff at the College treat students like adults and it’s all built on mutual respect. Generally speaking, I just try to have a bit of a laugh with students and be easy to get along with.