Brambletye Pre-Prep is a very special place. A place where children race to their classrooms each morning to share their news with their teacher, to see their friends and to start the day with a wealth of creative possibilities and challenges.
The children spend their days in large, airy, purpose built classrooms or enjoying the extensive grounds that Brambletye has to offer. Two large well equipped playgrounds ensure that every child has the opportunity to have fun whatever their preference and a small football pitch means that everyone is happy!
If children are happy and feel secure in a stimulating and active environment they are more likely to embrace the challenges and possibilities that a school like Brambletye has to offer. A high staff pupil ratio (an optimum of 15 children per class) ensures that from entry at 2.5 years of age, every child is nurtured and that their individuality is valued as they embrace, over time, consideration for others, self discipline, honesty and a desire to learn.
A love of learning and an enthusiasm for challenges produces confident, highly motivated pupils who arrive every morning with a smile.
The school welcomes children from 8:15am – 8:45am
Lessons begin at 8:45am
The School Day ends at 3:15pm
THE CURRICULUM
At Brambletye academic skills are developed through carefully planned schemes of work which follow and extend the National Curriculum, ensuring that children are not over burdened with constant testing. We seek to prepare children for the challenges of the Prep School and to this end we have very strong links with the Prep School. The children have regular contact with the Directors of Sport and Music and enjoy workshops led by the Science and French Departments as well as benefitting from` the use of the theatre, swimming pool, sports hall, pitches and dining room.
All children enjoy learning with our ‘topic based’ approach which discreetly encompasses many areas of the curriculum. English and mathematics are however timetabled daily to ensure a continuity of progress.
From Reception, every child will read daily to the class teacher or teaching assistant, and, will select a reading book of a similar level to bring home to share with an adult every day. In this way we hope to engender not only proficient readers but a love of reading.
All studies show that smaller class sizes and more specialist teachers result in higher educational standards and levels of achievement, and to this end all children from Reception receive specialist teaching in French, Music, I.C.T., P.E., Swimming and Modern Dance or Football.
The Pre-Prep has its own music practise room used by pupils and peripatetic teachers. All of Year Two pupils learn to read music and to play the recorder within the curriculum but many pupils from Reception to Year Two chose to learn to play a musical instrument. Due to the thriving Prep School Music Department, children have a wide choice of instruments available to them including drums, cornet, violin, guitar and piano.
Drama and having the confidence to speak in front of an audience is a skill for life and to this end children are encouraged to participate in assemblies, concerts, end of term reviews and of course the Christmas production. Parents are invited to many of these occasions some of which take place in the theatre.
Alongside the more traditional elements of the National Curriculum, children from Nursery to Year One are involved with ‘School in the Woods’. Based upon the Scandinavian ‘Forest Schools’, every week these children spend an afternoon in their ‘woodland classroom’. Here, come rain, wind or shine they enjoy learning woodcraft skills, team building exercises or stories around the fire with a mug of hot chocolate or juice…depending upon the weather! A fairly new initiative, this will be extended to include Year Two in 2010.
Year Two are very much involved in learning about organic gardening, composting and seasonal planting in their raised vegetable beds. They plant seeds and seedlings, they water and weed, as well as enjoying the fruits of their labour at harvesting time!
Year Two also take care of the school rabbits. This involves preparing their daily vegetables as well as their dried food and water, and, of course the cleaning of the large hutch at the end of each week. Caring for and understanding the needs of a small animal is a popular and at times challenging area of the curriculum. The Nursery are daily visitors and big ‘bunny fans’
AFTER SCHOOL CARE AND CLUBS
Every afternoon during term time we offer a very popular ‘After School Care Club’. This operates from 3:15pm, when the children are collected from their classrooms until 5:45pm and is accessible to all Pre-Prep pupils.
Parents are invited to ‘sign in’ each morning if they wish to use this facility, or, if it involves a regular commitment may agree a regular arrangement with the Pre-Prep Secretary at the beginning of every term.
The aim of this club is to support the often busy timetables of parents by providing a safe environment with a variety of ‘fun’ activities at the end of the school day. All children attending enjoy a sandwich tea before embarking upon activities which include baking, art, adventure walks, board games or perhaps simply sitting down and reading a book!There is a charge for this facility.
WEDNESDAY LATE STAY
A late stay facility is available every Wednesday when children with older siblings in the Prep School are supervised by a member of staff until 4.00pm. This allows parents to support older children participating in sports fixtures.
CLUBS
A wide variety of clubs are offered each term by members of staff and outside professionals. During the Autumn Term these are restricted to children in Years 1 and 2, but in the Spring and Summer Terms Reception children are increasingly involved.
Clubs offered by staff change on a termly basis, but include Computer Club, Science Club, Music, Outdoor Games, Cricket, Puppet Making, Art and Gardening Club. These clubs are free of charge, but others, involving outside agencies, such as, Football. Tennis, French and L.A.M.D.A.(performing arts) do incur a fee.