Page 4 - St Andrews Prep Androvian 2019-20

2 | ACADEMIC SUCCESS
BRIMMING WITH OPPORTUNITIES
With a fantastically broad curriculum on offer, St Andrew’s Prep creates a strong blend of academic experiences alongside opportunities galore in the creative and performing arts and on the sports field.We embed structure and aim to create fascination and curiosity in our pupils about the world in which we live.
The big change this year, academically, was the start of the Bridge Curriculum in
ear 7 making 2020 the last year in which St Andrew’s pupils took Common Entrance. From September 2020, we are moving away from there just being one assessment at the end ofYear 8.The children now receive two grades at the end of Year 7 and two at the end of Year 8 – one for their performance in the end of year exam and one for their performance in all other areas over the course of the year. The aim is to give to Senior schools a much more rounded picture of the child’s ability, progress and potential across the whole curriculum.
Further down the school, Super Andro Bear’s Learning Powers have been introduced in the Pre-Prep to help children to understand how they learn and how to make progress. Alongside this, the Junior Department has introduced a Growth MindsetTree which is displayed outside their classrooms.The tree highlights a different quality each week and pupils are awarded a leaf for the tree if they exhibit that particular quality. Outdoor learning for the Pre-School and Reception has been enhanced by developing their outdoor classrooms. Sugra Marshall, in her new role as Deputy Nursery Manager and Curriculum Lead has completely revamped the Nursery curriculum.
As part of our Friday Lecture programme, I spoke about the Magic of Maths to coincide with the first ever Maths Week England in the autumn term. In the spring term, Mr Ivor Bailey spoke about how the mind works and how we can facilitate and improve our learning strategies. In February, Mr Shahram Kashani spoke about the role of artificial intelligence in the health service. As with many things, the Friday Lecture programme was cut short by the lockdown and enrichment events such as our subject half days andYear 6 challenge day could not take place.
Throughout the year, children took part in theme days and competitions including critical thinking and science workshops, public speaking and technology competitions,World Maths Day,World Book Day, Science and Arts Weeks.They also enjoyed a mix of talks and demonstrations from a number of visitors including a dental practice manager and a mad scientist and took trips to locations including Canterbury Cathedral and Battle Abbey.
Paul Shouksmith, Deputy Head,Academic