Prep School Curriculum

There is a carefully planned scheme of work which focuses on skill progression from Early Years to Year 6. At the start of the Prep Department in Year 3, children are taught by a specialist teacher and have an hour of Art each week.

They experience a wide range of creative activities. These include observational drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and textiles. The children also explore various types of three dimensional skills such as clay and wire work. They are encouraged to work collaboratively as well as on their own individual pieces.

The Manor is a Google school, and the use of G-Suite is now embedded in the way we work, with all pupils in the Prep Department having their own login from Year 3.

We want pupils to feel confident in their use of ICT and excited by the possibilities it offers. Each Prep class has an ICT lesson once a week, in which the focus is on coding and computer science. Computing is also used creatively throughout the school to enable, support and enhance all our main curriculum subjects.

The carefully planned progression of developing skills in Design Technology gives the children the opportunity to explore ideas, solve problems and Experiment. All of which give them a sense of pride in their work and helps to high standards.

All children in the Prep Department have a weekly Drama lesson with the Head of Drama. Highlights of the school year include reciting readings for the annual Carol Concert in December and the opportunity to take part in the bi-annual Poetry Festival.

English skills underpin almost every other subject, whether through reading, writing or speaking and listening skills. We aim to inspire our pupils with a love of reading, and an understanding of the power and beauty of what can be done with words.

Our Year 3-6 curriculum is built around the National Curriculum, ensuring that we cover key skills including spelling and grammar alongside and within our creative work. Each term or half-term, our work is centred around a whole book which provides the inspiration for a wide range of spoken and written activities. We might act out a scene, write a letter in role as one of the characters, create poetry, or write a story inspired by the book.

Children from Year 3 to Year 6 are taught Food technology in half classes termly in rotation with Design Technology. A wide range of activities are taught from basic skills to food origins to why our diets are varied.

In Years 3 to 6, with two lessons each week, the children expand upon the skills they learnt in Pre-Prep (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing). Whilst maintaining the fun of the subject, they begin to establish a soundly structured framework of elementary grammar and practise transferable language learning skills. They are taught with a variety of audio-visual methods using songs, games and computer technology, as well as traditional teaching methods.

Geography is a lively and colourful subject taught throughout the school. A broad range of topics are covered from Abingdon to St Lucia, rivers to world environments. We aim to encourage a curiosity and fascination about the world by providing practical and relevant activities which develop skills and understanding. Field work is a key part of our Geography teaching and children undertake field trips both at home and abroad.

History is a very successful and popular department which actively engages the students. They are encouraged to discuss their personal experience and family history, with many bringing in objects from home to present such as a model of an Anderson Shelter or medals awarded to family members during World War Two.

At The Manor, our key aim is to promote enjoyment and enthusiasm for Mathematics! Through inspirational teaching that involves games, practical activities and interactive resources, children develop skills that enable them to calculate, reason and solve problems.

Pupils are taught to understand and appreciate relationships and pattern in both number and space, and to relate Mathematics to their everyday lives. Children are provided with opportunities to investigate questions, make mathematical decisions; and to develop an understanding of how and when to apply skills learnt. Pupils are encouraged to feel positively about their Mathematics and have increasing opportunities to reason, justify and explain their work which allows them to develop a mastery approach to their learning.

From large inclusive choirs to scholarship level individual musicians, all children are encouraged to explore and respond to music. Our hope is that this will lead to a lifelong love of music in all its richness and diversity.

Most of the children between the ages of 7 to 11 receive individual music lessons at school by highly experienced music teachers. Individual music lessons are offered to pupils in Years 2-6 by consultation with the child’s form teacher and the Director of Music.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) is delivered throughout the school and each year group follows a prescribed programme. Our aim is to support the children in their personal development and citizenship, to promote fundamental British values, to encourage respect for democracy and also respect and tolerance for others.

We believe that Religious Education is important in every child’s development. Different religious, spiritual and moral themes are purposefully explored. Explorative questions encourage pupils to listen to and value different viewpoints. Greater understanding of Christianity and the major world religions are brought to life.

Science is a core subject within the curriculum and is taught throughout the school, harnessing the children’s own natural interest in the world about them.

In the Prep Department, Science is given additional curriculum time and in the later years, specialist teachers. The pupils are encouraged to make links between ideas and explain results using simple models and theories. The emphasis is very much upon scientific enquiry, outdoor exploration as well as individual and collaborative projects.

The pupils thrive on the practical approach and become adept at planning and carrying out their own investigations. The large, spacious and well-equipped science laboratory gives the children in Years 5 and 6 the opportunity to complete a wide range of investigations within a stimulating learning environment.

Sport and PE at The Manor provides our children with a balanced and varied curriculum, where enjoyment and all-round development are the core elements of each lesson. Year 3 to 6 children are encouraged to experience a wide range of activities from our challenging and inclusive PE and Games programme. It is our firm belief that children should have a multi-sport and activity experience throughout their time at The Manor. This enables skills to be transferred across numerous activities and sports, prolongs enjoyment and interaction with their peers and promotes a healthy, active lifestyle.

Our facilities include a multi-purpose field, generously catering for numerous sports pitches, outdoor tennis and netball courts, and a new, state of the art Sports Hall.

In order to provide valuable preparation for the senior schools’ entrance examinations at 11+, and to enhance pupils’ reasoning and deductive skills generally, Verbal/Non-Verbal Reasoning is taught for one single lesson a week in Year 5, and in the Autumn Term of Year 6.