Over 60% of parents who have chosen to send their child to a prep school are “first time” customers of the independent sector. Why have they made such a decision?These parents have strongly felt that their child would benefit from an education based not only on a broad and strong academic curriculum but also which would benefit and enrich their child’s all-round development fully, whether in Sport, Art and Music or socially and giving them the opportunity to develop not only their knowledge and skills, but also non-standard thinking and a comprehensive approach to tasks by attracting additional opportunities, for example, such as
buy book reports.Teaching and Learning in the independent sector, where schools are free to develop their own “best practice”, is exactly about catering for each individual’s needs. Indeed it is the feature of the independent schools to provide “personalised” education for every child in their care so that each child can progress at his/her own level and pace. The freedom to construct their own curriculum, based on the National Curriculum and on the individual schools’ teaching and learning needs, including their own assessment arrangements, is what makes education in the independent sector different and successful.
Two of the key characteristics of a Prep School curriculum are its breadth and early specialisation. Practical subjects, Science, ICT, PE, Art and Design Technology, are taught in purpose built facilities. In the case of Science, just as at secondary school level, it is approached as three discrete subjects: Biology, Chemistry and Physics. This is enabled by the fact that the majority of subjects are taught in prep schools by specialist teachers. What a privilege for 4 or 5 year olds to be taught by experienced teachers who have an in-depth knowledge of their subject, having previously taught up to A level standard!
Languages are another curriculum strength of prep schools. Again children are introduced very early on to a foreign language, often by French native speakers, and, from the age of seven or eight, could have an opportunity to study a second language. These studies are supported by several trips abroad and extensive contacts with French, Spanish or German students. It is interesting to note that only 3% of state schools provide 8 to 11 year olds with a weekly Modern Foreign Language lesson of at least 20 minutes. By the time our students leave their prep school at 13, they are ready to take a language GCSE!
Another advantage of the prep school curriculum is the inclusion of classical subjects such as Latin and/or Greek with elements of Classical civilization.
Although only about 50% of prep school curriculum is devoted to core subjects, pupils at those schools achieve highly in the National Curriculum tests with a high proportion performing at Level 5 at the end of Key Stage 2.
Sport is also a major feature of prep school education. The timetabled sport sessions are a minimum of twice the average state school allocation and Sport is on offer every day under one form or another, during lunch time or after school clubs. It is again useful to remember that 80% of the medalists from the 2000 Sydney Olympics were educated in the independent sector. However prep school sport is not exclusively competitive and elitist, far from it. Preparatory schools pride themselves in ensuring that all children at some point represent their school in teams appropriate to their ability levels.
Music is another point of pride for prep schools. Peripatetic music teachers ensure that every musical instrument is taught; a myriad of orchestras, bands, groups, choirs give the pupils a chance to share their musical expertise and enthusiasm and to perform in public.
Drama is very prevalent in prep schools too and much more ambitious than the ubiquitous Christmas play. Productions may range from an emotional rendering of a First World War production, a highbrow Julius Caesar production and a most entertaining Guys and Dolls musical, to name just a few.
The school day is certainly longer than in the state sector, with breakfast clubs and after-school clubs lengthening it from before 8am to past 6pm.
Most important though, is the social and personal development of the children; pastoral care is a priority as are the numerous opportunities given to allow the children to grow into mature, well-rounded, confident and responsible teenagers. These opportunities range from public speaking clubs, prefectorial and student council systems and charities involvement.
I shall leave the last word to one of our parent:
“Ten years ago, we entrusted you with our three year old son’s education. We were looking for a school which would educate and stimulate our child, introduce him to a wide range of activities and discipline him without breaking his spirit. You have not let us down. Ten years on he has had a full and rich life and above all he has been extremely happy.”
