UTC Reading’s head Jennie Thomson promises lunch on her for every student and staff member who beat her score at a recent professional qualifications Test Fest.
The headteacher of UTC Reading was put to the test when she took on the entire school – students and staff – in attempting to pass a professional qualifications exam!
On 24 October, the school sat down for ‘Test Fest’, which required students to study for and sit an exam of their choice from a selection of Microsoft Office, Adobe Suite or cybersecurity options.
The students are free to study as many of these professional qualifications as they like throughout their time at UTC Reading, adding to their employability skills.
Not to be left out, Headteacher Jennie Thomson joined the students in attempting the Microsoft Excel Expert level exam – she is already an Expert in Microsoft Word and Specialist in PowerPoint, Excel and Word.
To make it more interesting, she set a Beat the Headteacher’s Score challenge, with a slap-up lunch reward for those who beat her score.
“I sat my Microsoft Excel Expert qualification, but unfortunately, I didn’t pass with a score of 550/1000 (I needed 700 to pass!)
Down but not out, Jennie is demonstrating one of the school attributes ‘Resilience,’ saying: “I am determined to continue revision and practice for this exam, especially around the use of Macros and more complex formulas so I can try again in future Test Fest sessions.”
And she’s good on her prize promise: “The 26 students and staff members who beat my score on the day will receive a fully paid for lunch by me in the week after half term – very well done to them!”
Andrew Griggs from E-learning company Prodigy Learning hosted the day, also giving away prizes – one for KS4 winner Wezen, with a fantastic score of 900/1000 on Microsoft Excel; and KS5 winner Fred, with an amazing score of 892/1000 on Javascript. Both won a £50 Amazon voucher.
Jennie summed up: “I am so impressed with the attitude of students who participated and very well done to those who managed to pass! This is what makes us different at UTC Reading, and I really do hope that students and staff enjoyed the opportunity to compete, have some fun, and gained additional qualifications to add to their CV.”
