Secondary School
The transition to Year 5 and the Middle School for all students, whether from the Lower School or from a different school, presents immense opportunities, which continue to grow and expand with each academic year until pupils leave us at the end of Year 8.
From Year 5 to Year 8 the boys and girls assume greater responsibility for themselves, their belongings, their organisation, in fact, their whole approach to school life.
Academically, the opportunity to be taught the entire curriculum by teachers who are knowledgeable, experienced and passionate about their particular subject is, in itself, the greatest thrill for each boy and girl.
Learning is awakened and stirred as the pursuit of greater understanding in each stand-alone subject takes a hold.
Lessons are dynamic, demanding and designed to give each boy and girl easy access to learning; teaching is jargon-free and extra layers of academic help and/or extension are at hand. We take our pupils beyond the work required to fulfil an examination syllabus; our boys and girls debate, inquire, consider, share opinions, challenge perceptions… we want them to be proactive learners, to be alive to the joy of learning.
Our aim is for students in middle school to progress into the Upper School as self-assured young men and ladies with a confidence derived from their success in their academic subjects as well as the independence they have developed in managing their time and being able to recognise their strengths and weaknesses.
Outside the classroom we want to see boys and girls develop as individuals. These are the years when they begin to seek greater independence in a quest to become ‘their own man and lady’. We encourage boys and girls to discover new pursuits beyond the classroom and have found that interests developed at this time often become lifelong.
What goes on beyond the academic classroom is as important as inside the classroom.
