Academic

The curriculum at the Preparatory School is broad, balanced and challenging and far exceeds the requirements of the National Curriculum.  Our excellent facilities and highly qualified staff enable specialist teaching to take place in all year groups.  Science, for example, is taught in a well equipped Science Laboratory and subjects such as Music, French, Art and Design Technology are taught by specialist teachers in specialist rooms.   This approach provides a stimulating and challenging curriculum in which children thrive.  Class sizes are small, with an average of 20 pupils, which allows for a high level of individual attention for each child.

National Curriculum
We offer a challenging curriculum, leading to excellent SATs results in the National Curriculum Key Stage 2 level. Our Form teachers are responsible for the teaching of English and Maths, and specialist subject teachers provide in-depth classes in additional areas such as Science, Humanities, ICT, Music and Arts. As mentioned, class sizes are small, to allow the highest level of individual attention.

SATs Key Stage 2 Results
The tables below show the results of the National Curriculum tests which our Year 6 pupils sat in May 2010.  All pupils gained the Government target of level 4 in English and Mathematics.   At level 5 our pupils scored over twice the national average (it takes approximately eighteen months for a pupil to move up one level).  

Value Added
The introduction of a tracking system four years ago now enables us to predict pupils' results and quantify ‘value added' by the Prep School.  When the 2010 Year 6 cohort sat the PIPS (Performance Indicators in Primary Schools) in 2006 (on entering the Prep School in Year 3) the results predicted the following National Curriculum Test level 5 scores at the end of Year 6:  English 44%, Maths 49%.  According to the PIPS results, therefore, the value added for English is 30% and maths is 23%.  PIPS papers are marked externally by Durham University.