We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 (KS1) Curriculum to ensure the best start in education although we have an added layer of breadth to our learning. We offer a varied curriculum including Maths, English, Science, Phonics (we use an accredited scheme), ICT, History, Geography, PE, Sport, Swimming (weekly in our on-site pool), Music, Drama, Languages and more. The majority of lessons are taught by our Pre-Prep class teachers, with specialists in certain subjects taking the lead in others. These teachers benefit from teaching across the whole-school, so they know exactly where children have come from and where they need to go. We enhance our provision through our fantastic WOW Days where we suspend the broader curriculum for the entire day to provide an unusual or amazing experience that can start, augment or finish a topic the children have been studying.
We keep our class sizes deliberately small so we can provide the right levels of support, enrichment and challenge tailored to suit the needs of each pupil. We are not a ‘one size fits all’ school and we continually monitor progress and give regular feedback to parents. The individual is at the heart of our educational offering, we understand that not all children learn in the same way and tailor our offering to suit all learners.
We place a great emphasis on helping children to develop skills of enquiry, harnessing their natural curiosity and helping them make connections between subjects under broad and engaging themes. Termly trips help to provide real-world links to learning and teach our youngest learners the value of the wider-community. We also host a variety of events, such as our annual inter-schools football festival, cross-country run and annual gymnastic competition. Termly music recitals, our Christmas Nativity and End of Year Extravaganza are always very much anticipated by children, parents and friends alike and always well supported by our community – reserve your seat now!
As well as year group WOW Days, we also have whole-school WOW Days where everyone in the Pre-Prep takes part in an exciting day together, focusing on an area of the curriculum such as Maths, Creative Arts or Science. During these days we often make use of our wonderful outside environment, including our large Forest School, where the children take part in imaginative, creative and investigative activities designed to inspire a love of the natural world, which is then linked to all areas of the curriculum.
If a small, vibrant, yet intimate Pre-Prep that really understands and nurtures your child, whilst providing a wider context for their learning through integration with the older years in the Prep and meaningful links to the wider-community around Sherborne, sounds like the ideal school for your child, then we look forward to welcoming you to our next Open Morning or on a bespoke tour.