Academic Excellence
We are proud of our heritage delivering academic excellence, with pupils receiving multiple offers to some of the most academically demanding and prestigious independent and state secondary schools in the country. Up to a third of our Year 6 cohort are awarded scholarships to these senior schools. Through recognising and celebrating the skills and strengths of individual pupils, we pride ourselves on supporting families to find the secondary school that best matches each child’s interests, talents and values.
Our success is a result of creative teaching. We don't tick boxes, we deliver a creative curriculum, which is designed to develop children's problem-solving skills, critical thinking, curiosity and reasoning. This not only brings our children academic success but establishes a lifelong love of learning and our pupils develop the characteristics and habits necessary to thrive in an ever-changing world.
By being intentionally individual, we can track each and every child's academic journey very closely, with teachers working collaboratively alongside our 'Enhanced Learning Provision' team to stretch and challenge pupils, to provide support where necessary, and to cater for any special educational needs.
Our curriculum is further enhanced in a multitude of other ways:
- We have subject specialists for music, drama, performing arts, computing, French and PE/Games.
- This includes three former semi-professional athletes on our staff in women's rugby, women's cricket and men's football. Additionally, our Year 6 pupils have specialist subject teaching for the core subjects, which helps to prepare them for life at secondary school.
- Our Lower School pupils spend over 6 hours a week at Forest School in our beautiful ancient woodland.
- Every class in our middle and upper school has a weekly 'Academic enrichment' slot on their timetable, where they receive individualized support or stretch and challenge in specifically targeted areas of the curriculum.
- Every class across the school now has a weekly 'Mindfulness' lesson, where children are taught strategies to manage the stress and anxieties of the modern world. Our children and teachers are very grateful to have a moment of quiet calm and reflection in their normally very busy lives!
- Finally, we have an excellent homework programme throughout the school. Our homework model is designed to consolidate learning, develop children’s independence and to establish fantastic learning habits that they will take with them into the next stage of their educational journeys.