Together to the Finish

With the aim of ensuring success for all children and preventing early school leaving, this project in Flanders, Belgium is specifically focused on introducing a school culture and a range of measures to avoid grade repetition.

'Together to the Finish' (Samen tot aan de meet) started as a follow-up to a research project, ‘Never to repeat a grade’, funded by the city of Antwerp. This was first published as a book on alternatives to grade retention. Together to the Finish resulted in the publication of 2 more books of good practices, intended as an inspiration for school leaders, school teams, teachers and others in their search for alternative approaches to grade retention. The books consist of an international overview of scientific research on retention, new didactic approaches and managerial practices in schools. They also provide specific information on how schools can implement alternatives to grade retention and propose a set of good practices.

The goal of the project was to gather educational partners in Antwerp in an ‘experiment’, in which they try to reduce grade retention by changing the year-by-year system and its homogenous groups, by a system in which children of 2-and-a-half to 14 years old continue their school career without grade retention.

In practice, all schools receive books from the City of Antwerp and are encouraged to implement the process of change (proposed methods and practices) in their school. Interested schools get free support in how to develop a school policy and how to establish methods that focus on the participation of the whole school team (shared leadership and common goals). In addition, the School Board receives training in coaching skills (to ensure this vision and method can extend to other teachers and students), in how to cope with obstacles during a change process.