Amesbury educates pupils to 13+ because our experience tells us that all things being equal it is the best age of transfer for a pupil.
In those final two years parents and pupils come to see the rewards of the work that has taken place in the earlier years and realise the full value of a prep school education. These final two years at Amesbury are characterised by academic rigour and momentum. When the time comes for a pupil to leave in Year 8, GCSEs are just three years away and it is that academic rigour which we believe is at least in part responsible for their GCSE success. Reaching the top of Amesbury gives a young adolescent more time for his or her character to form and the opportunity to reflect on their values and realise their talents and ambitions. It also enables the parent to have longer to find the right fit between child and senior school.
Our purpose built Academic Block forms the base for Years 3-8. We start to encourage the children’s independence by asking them to travel around the school for specific lessons with corresponding books and equipment.
The only other major change from Pre-Preparatory years is that they will get a choice of food at lunchtime with many opting for 3 courses…
Years 3 & 4
Each year group is split into two tutor groups. Tutors have pastoral responsibility for their tutees and are the main point of contact between home and school. Pupils will start and end the school day in their tutor groups.
Pupils are taught by subject specialists and are allocated to three teaching groups. Teaching assistants support pupils in Maths and English lessons.
For Years 3 and 4 the school day starts at 8:15am and finishes at 4:00pm. Sport fixtures for Years 3 and 4 take place on a Thursday afternoon.
In Year 5 (aged 9-10) and Year 6 (aged 10-11) pupils are divided into three Tutor Groups. From Year 5 onwards subjects are taught by subject specialists and children move around the school for their lessons.
In Year 7 (aged 11-12) and Year 8 (aged 12-13) pupils are divided into three/four Tutor Groups. Each child remains with the same Tutor for two years.
In Years 5-8 the day starts at 8.15am and finishes at 4.40pm. The option to do Prep at school is widely taken up, thus their day usually finishes 5:45pm. Sports fixtures for Years 5-8 take place on a Wednesday afternoon.
Children in the Prep School have a morning break of 30 minutes, a lunch break of 60 minutes and ‘low tea’ break of 25 minutes.
There is no school on Saturday or any school commitments at the weekend. That time is left as sacrosanct, a time for the family. We want them to work hard but also to make friends outside of school and integrate themselves into the local community by way of sports clubs, art groups and other activities.
