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The Bridge Curriculum
The Bridge Curriculum is an exciting new initiative which will come into force in September 2019 for those children inYear 7.The curriculum aims to combine the best aspects of the Common Entrance Syllabus with the National Curriculum and other programmes of study to create
a pathway of learning that is exciting, dynamic and more effective in preparing pupils for the demands of GCSE and beyond.
The curriculum has been carefully coordinated with
Heads of Subjects at Eastbourne College to provide
better progression betweenYears 8 and 9 and to prevent duplication of topics in subjects such as the humanities. Importantly, the Bridge Curriculum has been benchmarked against Common Entrance and is compatible within the core subjects so that our pupils can move on to any senior school of their choosing as well as dovetailing effectively with the programme at Eastbourne College.The curriculum will also continue to enable some of our brightest pupils
to tackle the ISEB CAS (Common Academic Scholarship) exams just as they have always done.We will continue to prepare them rigorously yet flexibly for these or for other academic scholarship papers that senior schools set.
The newYear 7 cohort will be the first cohort of
St Andrew’s pupils who will no longer sit Common Entrance at the end ofYear 8.They will continue to sit a set of exams but these will be tailored to the new curriculum and the emphasis ofYears 7 and 8 will move away from extensive exam preparation towards the process of learning interspersed with more continuous forms of assessment across the two years, including presentation skills, debating, research, investigation and collaboration. Ultimately, we
will assess the pupils’ work and provide evidence of their achievement/attainment so that senior schools and parents receive a child-centred comprehensive report on the standards reached.
Art
All children inYears 3 to 8 study Art with Mr Jones in the Art studio. Prior to this they have Art with their class teacher utilising a well-stocked resource room.Within Art, children explore a range of materials and learn to manipulate these to develop imagination and creativity.
They work with clay to make pots and models, and learn about various glazing techniques. Children learn to develop their drawing skills using pencil, charcoal, wax, inks and mixed media.They also experiment with collage, batik, wax resist, print making, colour graphs, willow sculpture and dry point.There are evening pottery hobbies on the wheel and also hand building.There is also an Art scholars activity to develop portfolios and a two hour optional Saturday morning drawing on the beach activity.
DTI Department
During DesignTechnology and Innovation lessons pupils will learn how the world around us relies on our ability to turn ideas into reality.Through a number of projects each year, all with a ‘You are the designer’ approach, pupils are encouraged to find things out, to think for themselves and to be inventive.They design and make products with a combination of electronics, mechanisms, structures and a variety of materials. From using basic hand tools during Years 3, 4 & 5 pupils progress to seeing their ideas come to life using CAD/CAM in Years 6, 7 & 8.
With STEM at the heart of their experience, pupils will realise the importance and connection of Science and Maths in this subject developing their problem-solving abilities and thinking outside the box. Evening activities include further opportunities to complete STEM challenges and competitions.
Drama
Drama lessons are regarded as essential for developing
a child’s self-esteem.Through mime, improvisation and voice control they are able to increase their self-confidence and their ability to communicate with others. Children study
a range of texts in Drama, from Harry Potter, to Blood Brothers through to Shakespeare.Through Drama games and improvisation children develop their team work and individual performance skills. Numerous opportunities
are provided for performance with some outstanding productions featuring both large and small casts. Students are also taught about back stage craft; from make up
& hair through to set design and lighting. Co-curricular drama sessions, after-school drama clubs and LAMDA (speech and drama) lessons are also on offer on site.
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