Page 10 - Androvian2021

8 | THE ACADEMIC YEAR
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
The advantage of a St Andrew’s Prep education is that we set our own curriculum and teach what we think is important; and this is one of the principles behind our new Bridge Curriculum.
This academic year marked a major milestone for the programme which saw the firstYear 8 cohort move from St Andrew’s Prep to their senior schools without having to sit Common Entrance. The benefits have been significant. Gone are the two sets of mock exams with much of Year 8’s final year preparing for exams and
going over past papers, with all the stress that that entailed. In, and here to stay, is a more continuous method
of assessment with children receiving grades for their classwork as well as grades for their end of year exams. Children are awarded grades in all subjects, not just the examinable ones! This assessment makes it clear to senior schools where each child’s strengths lie, and highlights abilities which might be outside of examinable subjects. I certainly feel that this has led to a much more positive, purposeful and less stressful year for the majority of our Year 8 pupils.
Many other enrichment events were adapted.We still took part in theYear 4 and 5 National General Knowledge Quiz and we performed respectably in both. Our top sets inYears 7 and 8 took part in an online version of the UK Junior Maths Challenge with a number of gold, silver and bronze certificates being gained.
Sadly, our Friday Lecture programme could not take place this year but I am excited for what lies ahead in the new academic year.
Overall, we will remember the Academic Year 2020-2021 as the year when things nearly got back to normal, then took a step backwards and then took several steps forward towards normality again. All children and staff deserved their summer holidays more than ever before, even if it was spending time on the beach in sunny Eastbourne with onerous quarantine rules and testing making holidays abroad tricky.
Paul Shouksmith, Deputy Head
I love understanding the world around us in terms of particles and chemical reactions. I also really enjoy doing experiments to prove a hypothesis.
Dan Clark, Year 8