The Upper School

Years 6, 7 and 8

The Upper School at St Edmund's educates pupils who are in the 10-13 age range. We have a significant intake of new pupils in Year 7 and they are quickly made to feel part of the school family. Of course, for many pupils, Years 7 and 8 would be at the bottom of the secondary school; our pupils find themselves instead at the top of their school, and therefore benefiting from the leadership roles they can enjoy within the house system and in sports, music and drama, and also in a broader context as responsible young citizens. Pupils with particular aptitudes can even find themselves participating in Senior School sports teams or musical ensembles.

Teaching in the Upper School is entirely conducted by subject specialists, helping to prepare our pupils for their senior schooling through not only academic skills, but also by developing their confidence and independence. In Year 6 pupils work towards the Key Stage 2 SATs for the core subjects within the National Curriculum. In Years 7 and 8 they prepare for the 13+ Common Entrance Examination. Teaching for English, Maths, French and Latin is by ability group, and Senior School staff teach Technology and Art (from Year 6) and Science (from Year 7). In this way, we find that our pupils are very familiar with the Senior School by the end of their time in Year 8, thus making the transition to the Senior School in Year 9 a less traumatic, and more enjoyable experience.

We prepare full academic reports for our pupils' parents at the end of each term, with additional interim reports, and we invite parents to a formal consultation evening every year. In addition, we welcome our parents on any occasion they wish to discuss their children's progress, either with their Form Tutor or any of their specialist subject teachers.

In keeping with the ethos throughout the Junior School, we encourage our children to take part in extra-curricular activities, giving them the opportunity to continue to learn about themselves, discovering skills or characteristics they may not have previously explored. We therefore offer a wide range of activities at lunchtimes, after school or during the holidays: adventurous training, art, craft, cross-country, dance (jazz and modern), drama, fencing, 5-a-side football, golf, hockey, mountain biking, a wide range of musical activities, photography, squash, swimming, and trampolining.