Junior Sections

“The pastoral leadership and management is excellent”

ISI report 2019

 

Reception

Children transfer into Reception Class in the September before their 5th birthday. We still encourage the children to learn through play. There will be times during the day when the adult takes the lead and is teaching specific skills and concepts. In the morning when young children are more receptive we focus upon teaching Literacy and Mathematics. In the afternoons the children have more opportunity to develop their child led interests. The adult focuses on developing the children’s understanding of the world, music and the arts.

Our small classes ensure that each child receives the very best possible care and attention during their formative years.

Our children spend their day in a calm environment where they are happy and confident. Children enjoy themselves and have every opportunity to succeed and achieve. Good, warm and caring relationships between adults and children are evident.

In our school all children are valued and adults help children to feel good about themselves by providing positive support, praise and encouragement. All our children enjoy stimulating practical activities in addition to building on the firm foundations begun in our nursery setting.

We provide a broad range of rich and stimulating opportunities for children to explore and investigate their environment and a range of equipment and materials.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

During these years, children develop the skills essential for the rest of their academic career; reading, writing and numeracy.  Pupils are encouraged to become outgoing in their interaction and confident in their abilities.

They also are expected to learn how to work well together, whether undertaking research on healthy food or investigating the conditions needed for plants to grow successfully.

The results of classroom endeavours in poetry and prose are regularly displayed, creative artwork is exhibited throughout the school and the children are given the opportunity to showcase their acting, speaking and singing skills.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6)

Here, our policy of maintaining small class sizes enables children to build successfully on the foundations established in the earlier years.

Great value is placed on providing a stimulating and attractive learning environment that encourages children to focus productively on their work.

In addition to the thriving extra-curricular programme, children are encouraged to develop a social conscience which they demonstrate in their enthusiastic approach to our charity fund-raising, and through their class roles and responsibilities. All classes within Key Stage 2 receive certain specific subject tuition from subject specialists, many from our Senior School. Examples of this include Art, French, German, Music, PE and Science. A number of these lessons are taught at the Senior School site. This movement for specific lessons is an important part of learning organisational skills vital for success at the next stage.

Although many of our pupils proceed into our own Senior School we prepare pupils in Years 5 and 6 for the 11+ examinations of their choice and have a 100% pass rate at both state and independent schools. Links with the Hipperholme Grammar Senior School are strong, ensuring a smooth transition into secondary school.