More and Most Able Vision:

At The Piggott School, we are committed to empowering every student to aim high, fulfil their potential and develop the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to succeed. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum that offers our most able students extensive opportunities to excel academically, artistically and in sport.

Our teachers draw upon their expertise and in-depth subject knowledge to design lessons that promote mastery, extend thinking, and provide appropriate levels of challenge. We encourage students to be ambitious in their learning, develop intellectual curiosity, and take pride in their achievements.

Our commitment to aspiration extends beyond the classroom through our tailored Ignite (KS3), Inspire (KS4), and Excel (KS5) programmes. Together with access to our Super Curriculum activities for both students and parents, these initiatives empower learners to explore subjects beyond the syllabus, deepen their academic passions, and gain the confidence, knowledge, and skills to achieve their highest ambitions.

A wide range of enrichment opportunities—including clubs, educational visits, competitions, sports leagues and guest speakers—further broaden students’ experiences and enrich their learning beyond the classroom.

More and Most Able Intent:

During the secondary phase at The Piggott School, we identify More and Most Able (MaMA) students through a range of measures, including prior attainment at Key Stage 2, Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs), GCSE outcomes and professional teacher identification. This holistic approach enables us to recognise students’ strengths, provide appropriate challenge and ensure that they are supported and inspired to fulfil their potential.

Our aim is not simply to identify high attainment, but to cultivate ambition, independence and a love of learning. Through our curriculum, enrichment opportunities and MaMA programmes, we encourage students to challenge themselves, develop their strengths and aspire to achieve highly both within school and beyond.

Pedagogy and Research to inform best practice:

To ensure best practice when supporting and challenging More and Most Able students we use research and pedagogy from several leading educational research hubs, including:

More and Most Able Identification:

‘More’ and ‘Most Able’ are terms we use to describe students who are performing at a higher academic level than their peers.

At The Piggott School we use a range of strategies for identification of our More and Most Able students.

At Key Stage 3 and 4, quantitative test data such as CATS and SATS are used for identification.

SATS: More Able: 110-115 Most Able: 115 or above

CATs: More Able: 112-119 Most Able: 120 or above

We also consider base data, e.g. information from feeder schools, progress between key stages and analysis of progress.

At Key Stage 5, identification is through an average GCSE point score of 7.5 or above and/or through teachers' predictions of A*/A across all subjects.

The Piggott School also identifies students who show ability in certain subjects. Therefore, students can also be identified as Subject More Able. This is done through assessing students against subject specific criteria, marking, monitoring and classroom observation.

More and Most Able in-class support:

At the Piggott School, we aim to provide all students with learning opportunities that encourage them to think deeply, work independently and achieve their full potential.

Quality First Teaching is at the forefront of our pedagogical approach; our subject specialist teachers ensure that all students receive inclusive, effective and appropriate challenging learning opportunities to meet the needs of all.

One way that we do this is through ‘Stretch and Challenge’. Stretch and Challenge means providing learning activities that encourage all our learners, but especially our MaMA students, to go beyond basic understanding.

Challenge does not mean simply giving more work, instead it focusses on:

• Deeper thinking
• Applying knowledge in different ways
• Explaining ideas and reasoning
• Solving problems independently
• Developing curiosity and resilience

Stretch and challenge opportunities are built into everyday teaching across all subjects. Teachers use effective questioning to help students explain their ideas, justify answers and think critically.

MaMA Programme:

The Piggott MaMA programme is an extracurricular initiative designed to extend student learning beyond the standard curriculum. Delivering a combination of structured mentoring, external speaker sessions, and collaborative projects, the programme aims to stretch student capabilities. While particularly beneficial for those striving for top academic outcomes, it remains fully inclusive, welcoming any student who demonstrates sustained commitment, motivation, and engagement. 

For more information on our Ignire, Inspire & Elevate programmes, please see the tab to the right of this page. 

Super Curriculum Activities:

Super Curriculum activities are used to extend learning beyond the classroom and encourage students to develop a deeper understanding of their subjects. Every department has created a list of suggested activities that students can do, read, watch or read to explore areas of interest independently and help develop intellectual curiosity.

These activities can be found on the tab to the right of this page. 

Impact of More & Most Able Provision:

We are extremely proud of the achievements of our More and Most Able students. Our provision is designed to support students in reaching their full potential, both academically and personally. This includes targeted academic support, mentoring, and opportunities to represent the school at national competitions across a range of disciplines, including Sport, Computing, the Arts, Business and Mathematics.

In 2026, 98.9% of our More and Most Able GCSE students achieved at least five GCSEs at Grade 4 or above, including English and Mathematics. Furthermore, 43% of students achieved the highest grades of 9–8 across their GCSE subjects, demonstrating the high level of attainment within this cohort.

At Key Stage 5, our More and Most Able students achieved an average grade of A. 72.2% achieved A/A* grades, while 98.2% achieved grades A–C, significantly exceeding the national average.

These outcomes reflect the impact of our commitment to providing ambitious, challenging and personalised opportunities that enable More and Most Able students to excel and develop their academic potential.

More & Most Able Staffing Structure:

To support More and Most Able students at the Piggott School there is a team which coordinates and leads activities, 1:1 student support, student workshops and training for staff.

Mrs Sarah Lawson: Assistant Headteacher and More and Most Able Lead

Email: LawsonS@piggottschool.org

Mrs Emma Penson – More and Most Able Lead KS5

Email: PensonE@piggottschool.org