Case Study: Alcester Grammar School

Alcester Grammar School is an 11- 18 grammar school with a large Sixth Form in South Warwickshire that offers a rich, ambitious curriculum and a broad all-round education, supported by outstanding pastoral care.

Alcester Grammar School is a founding member of The Three Rivers Alliance. This is not a Multi Academy Trust (MAT), but an alliance of successful schools where they retain their independence as Single Academy Trusts, but come together to share best practice in both the academic curriculum and wider opportunities for young people.

Before coming to The EverLearner their challenges were:

• Supporting every PE student with independent learning
• Accessible learning without limits
• Resources that enable students to feel confident, equipped and exam-ready

• Less time planning, more time teaching

Here's what Jamie Richens, Head of Academic PE, had to say about their experience since implementing The EverLearner across their PE department.

"It's our 'one-stop shop."

When Alcester Grammar School introduced GCSE PE alongside their OCR A-Level PE course four years ago, Jamie Richens and his department wanted a consistent way to support students across both courses. They needed something that could help students revisit theory content outside lessons, reinforce classroom learning, and give the department a reliable structure for homework and revision support.

Initially introduced as a practical teaching and revision tool, the platform quickly became embedded across the PE department and is now used regularly throughout the academic year to support both GCSE and A-Level students.

Rather than replacing classroom teaching, the platform became an extension of it, giving students another way to engage with learning beyond the lesson itself.

Clear links between engagement and outcomes

Jamie quickly noticed the impact that The EverLearner had on their student engagement, even before students entered the classroom.

This shift has helped create more meaningful classroom conversations with PE students feeling more prepared and willing to contribute ideas, ask questions and revisit concepts with greater confidence.

Checkpoint activities and retrieval practice have also become valuable tools for monitoring understanding over time, particularly with GCSE cohorts preparing for mock exams and final assessments.

By giving students regular opportunities to revisit and apply knowledge independently through The EverLearner platform, including the ‘Test yourself’ feature, the department has seen stronger recall, greater familiarity with exam content and improved confidence approaching assessments.

Flexible learning that supports every student

A significant strength of The EverLearner is the flexibility it offers students with different learning styles and personal circumstances.

The ability to revisit explanations independently has helped remove some of the pressure students can feel in fast-paced learning environments, particularly when revising more challenging theoretical PE concepts.

The platform became especially valuable during COVID when maintaining continuity and preventing learning gaps during school closures became a significant challenge for educators everywhere.

Rather than relying solely on worksheets or static resources, Jamie was able to direct students to structured online content that mirrored classroom learning and could later be revisited in-person, in lessons.

This flexibility (or “gold dust”) continues to support Jamie and the whole PE department today:

For students, this creates reassurance and consistency and for PE and sport teachers, it removes pressure, and helps keep learning moving forward without unnecessary disruption.

A platform that's easy to use and trust

Alongside the classroom impact, Jamie also highlights the confidence his PE department has in the support behind the platform itself.

This level of support has helped staff feel comfortable using the platform regularly without it becoming another complicated system to manage and The EverLearner’s ease-of- use has also been important from the initial onboarding process:

For busy departments balancing teaching, planning, assessment and extracurricular commitments, introducing a new tool had to be straightforward and easily integrated into daily teaching practice. The EverLearner platform has helped the staff at Alcester Grammar School to achieve this by reducing friction and not adding to the workload.

"There still isn't anything as good out there."

Jamie and his colleagues have explored alternative PE platforms over time to compare what was available in the market with interesting results.

The EverLearner has helped to create opportunities for Jamie’s students to revisit concepts independently, engage with content in different formats and build understanding gradually over time with confidence:

By giving students more ways to access and reinforce learning, the department has seen improvements in understanding, participation, engagement and belief in their own ability.