Elstree School
Elstree School
An English preparatory school called Elstree School is located in Woolhampton House in Woolhampton, a town close to Newbury in the English county of Berkshire, for children ages 3 to 13. The school has said that it will be completely co-ed starting in September 2020.
In 1848, Elstree School was established. Staff and 70 boys moved to Woolhampton House in Berkshire when war broke out in 1939. The end of the war saw Woolhampton House become Elstree's permanent residence, where the School is still located today. This lovely Georgian property is situated in a 150-acre estate with lush parkland and gardens. The Sanderson family owned and operated Elstree School until 1961, at which point it was formed as a Company Limited by Guarantee and became a recognized charity.
Programs in Elstree School
The Foundation Stage Framework is followed by the Nursery and Reception classrooms, who learn via play and hands-on activities in the classroom, outside play areas, and on the vast Elstree School grounds. Children in the Nursery are given flexible sessions on days that work for both the children and the parents, including lunch if necessary.
Three major areas and four niche areas make up the Foundation Stage. The three main focuses are on language and communication, physical development, and personal, social, and emotional growth. These are the key areas of concentration in the Nursery since they are essential for kids to develop properly in all areas. In order to improve and apply the three primary areas, Elstree School makes sure that the kids are assisted in the remaining four niche areas. Literacy, math, world understanding, and expressive arts and design are the focus areas. The seven categories are balanced during the Reception year, which serves as the best preparation for the changeover to Year 1.
Children transfer from the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum's play-based learning to the more structured lessons of Key Stage 1 in Year 1. The year begins with a soft introduction that aids the kids in adjusting to their new routines. To ensure that the transition is successfully managed and that employees are aware of each child's strengths and learning characteristics, there is close communication with the reception staff.
During these two years, there is a significant emphasis on English and Math while also making sure that the kids have access to a comprehensive and balanced curriculum and the chance to learn by doing and getting involved.
To support the kids' phonics and grammar, Elstree School combines Jolly Phonics with the Read Write Inc. program. To give the kids' learning more direction, creative writing and other English activities are weaved into the current unit's theme. Children follow the National Curriculum for Mathematics and work at levels suited to their ability. Years 1 and 2 topics are chosen with care to include science, geography, and history. The children at Elstree School are encouraged to become autonomous learners and to utilize skills from all areas of the curriculum to assist their learning.
In order to prepare for the Common Entrance or Entrance Scholarship to your top senior school of choice, Elstree School offers a first-rate, advanced education.
From the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), through Key Stages 1 and 2, to Common Entrance and Scholarship level, the Elstree School whole school Curriculum Policy offers a wide variety of experiences, skills, and subjects. It aims to realize the highest academic expectations for all students within a framework of tried-and-true learning, teaching, and learning techniques. Children mature academically and emotionally at varying rates, and the small groups (average class size is 12 students) allow us to challenge the brightest students academically while also supporting those who require more care and attention.
English, math, science, geography, history, TPR, ICT, art, design technology, music, physical education, and PSHE are all on the schedule. All kids learn Latin and Spanish in Year 5, and the Scholarship program runs concurrently with the final two years of Common Entrance training.
The Elstree School Learning Support Department helps students with a variety of learning challenges access the curriculum. A small group of specialized teachers offer one-on-one courses that are thoughtfully designed to boost self-confidence and enable each student to reach their potential.
The Form Tutor will first speak with the parents of a student if it is thought that they would benefit from Learning Support in order to explain how Elstree School can assist. Elstree School may conduct some informal evaluations to identify the problem area. Effective communication between the Learning Support instructor and the parents is essential. Each student has an individualized plan of study that is created specifically for them and can contain any of the following, alone or in combination:
- Literacy – enhancing handwriting, reading, and spelling through a planned, multimodal teaching method.
- Numeracy – support of classroom mathematics.
- Organizational skills – daily guidance on organization, revision, and exam strategies.
- Social skills – being able to comprehend emotion and sentiments, as well as knowing how to act with peers.
- Study and thinking skills – Elstree School works together with educators to incorporate topics and areas that have been identified as challenging for the student.
experts' recommendations - Elstree School ensures that instructors are informed of the tactics and recommendations provided for specific students by an educational psychologist, occupational therapist, and speech and language therapist.
One or two lessons each week are generally provided at an additional expense. Once Elstree School has obtained the parent/carer consent, the courses can begin and the charge will be added to the termly bill.
School Life in Elstree School
At Elstree School, there are numerous chances for extracurricular activities. For students in Years 3 and 4, junior activities are offered in the forms of theater, logical reasoning, Spanish, chess, golf, tennis, and Scottish reeling. After lunch and supper, Middle and Senior boys can participate in Da Vinci's enrichment club for art and DT students as well as golf, tennis, fencing, and shooting. Three choirs, an orchestra, and a number of ensembles, including the jazz band, are available for musical performances.
The "Elstree Award," a customized leadership program that starts in Year 6 and strives to build the leadership, teamwork, and critical individual qualities necessary for life after Elstree School, provides a framework for these activities.
Additionally, there are numerous groups accessible that switch up every term. These clubs range from cooking to kayaking, from shooting to astronomy club. Of course, there are several trips throughout the year that broaden the educational experience overall in addition to enhancing the curriculum.
The famed Duke of Edinburgh Award, which is particularly well-liked in senior schools, serves as the inspiration for the Elstree Award. It offers a genuine chance to hone extracurricular competencies like leadership, problem-solving, and responsibility, as well as chances to give back to the community and stretch one's fortitude. Each level becomes increasingly difficult as the students advance through the school; for example, Year 6 students participate in the "Bronze" program, Year 7 students strive for the "Silver" award, and Year 8 students participate in the "Gold" award.
Every year the group goes on day and overnight trips as part of the curriculum as well as for fun and rewards. Along with helping to establish relationships and independence, these chances improve learning and broaden the entire educational experience.
These extracurricular activities are always carefully planned, organized, supervised, reviewed, and coordinated by a designated staff member acting as the "Educational Trips Coordinator," as Elstree School sees considerable value in them.
Year 3 to Highclere Castle, Year 4 to Butser Farm Park, Junior Choir annual trip to a musical in London, Year 5 to Normandy and Warwick Castle, the Jewish Museum in London, and the Wolf Trust, Middle School Choir trip to the Watermill Theatre, Year 6 to the Reading Mosque, Middle School boys to St. Ives for a residential Art trip, and so on are some recent excursions. Senior Choir ice skating trip to Winchester Cathedral; Da Vinci DT club to the Basingstoke Arts Festival; Year 7 to Paris, the National Space Centre, the Olympic Site Park, and the National Gallery; Year 8 to Dorset on their yearly Geography Field Trip, a trip to Glasgow and Edinburgh for the arts and, at the year's end, a trip to Dorset for the leavers after Common Entrance.
Additionally, students frequently represent Elstree School at music and sporting events, inter school competitions for general knowledge, debating, chess, math challenges, and other events.
Future Prospects after study in Elstree School
Elstree School is proud of its academic achievements, which include a wide range of Scholarship Awards to prestigious senior institutions (including Bradfield College, Eton College, Radley College, Sherborne, and others), maximizing students' academic potential and also boosting each child's self-confidence.
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