Academic Achievement & Support

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Every girl and boy achieves academic success at Clayesmore Prep by working at a level that suits, but also stretches, their capabilities.

We offer small classes, where children can benefit from plenty of individual attention whilst enjoying a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum.

There is a strong academic core ensuring progression throughout the prep school, underpinned by our school’s innovative approach to attitudes to learning. Children follow an adapted national curriculum with a strong emphasis on the monitoring of pupil progress and attainment in all subjects. The Common Entrance syllabus is followed for our Year 7 and 8 pupils in English, maths and science.

In addition to their weekly computing lesson, children have an opportunity to harness their ICT skills across the curriculum. These opportunities include data-logging in maths and science, 3D design in design and technology, developing online safety awareness and enhancing their learning through cloud computing.

The development of life skills runs at the core of our curriculum. This is enhanced by our LEX programme which aims to provide children with memorable and transformative experiences whilst helping to equip them with the tools needed for them to progress successfully throughout their education and beyond.

Prep Attitudes to Learning: The Clayesmore Compass

Prep Tutor System

Prep Academic Support

Challenge and Support for All

Every child has their own specific learning needs regardless of their academic ability and it is our responsibility at Clayesmore Prep to ensure that these needs are met.

Academic Challenge

We ensure that provision for our more able children is effective and ambitious and ultimately through which all pupils will benefit. Our knowledgeable and experienced staff work energetically to create challenging lessons in which high expectations and aspirations are paramount. Further enrichment is offered in opportunities such as competing in the UK Maths Challenges, participating in the Model United Nations debates, and entering national writing competitions.

We are members of the National Association for Able Children in Education and Potential Plus UK, and regularly strive to improve provision to our more able pupils and raise achievement for all.

Academic Support

We place great importance on knowing the profile of individual pupils in order to develop the strengths of each child, whilst working to improve and support more vulnerable areas. After specialist assessment, targets are set for lessons within the Teaching & Learning Centre and reinforced cohesively right across the school and in consultation with pupils and parents.

Our teachers are experienced in adapting content and style of delivery to make topics accessible to every pupil, while keeping expectations high. Even when pupils have challenges with their learning, the focus is on higher order thinking skills. Within the Teaching & Learning Centre, some pre-teaching and reinforcement of topics can take place, across the curriculum, as necessary.

At Clayesmore we recognise and support dual or multiple exceptional children, ensuring their needs are fully met.

Pupils with specific learning difficulties benefit from structured and incremental knowledge and skills-based teaching. ‘Overlearning’ through games, puzzles and computer software provides an enjoyable experience. Reinforcing underlying auditory and visual skills is essential to improve attainment and is an important thread running through all learning support sessions.

Our specialist teachers have extensive expertise and experience, and the department is fully and appropriately resourced. Provision for the development of speech and language, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, and assistive technology are all available within the Prep and Senior Schools. The whole school is accredited by CReSTeD.

In the junior years, most lessons are delivered by the class teacher who is at the heart of your child’s academic progress and pastoral wellbeing. This provides a supportive and solid foundation to their journey through the school. The children also benefit from specialist teaching in art, ceramics, design & technology, computing, French, games, music and PE.

As children move through to the middle years, further specialised teaching is introduced whilst their progression and development continues to be monitored and supported by our dedicated team of tutors. This phased approach encourages them to become more independent, resilient and responsible as they transition into the senior years.

The senior years, made up of our Year 7 and 8 pupils, move on to the challenges of key stage three learning objectives which provides a seamless transition into Year 9 and future years. This is facilitated by the close links between Clayesmore prep and senior school subject leaders who will ensure your child is best placed for success in their GCSEs and future examinations.

Our pupils partake in games and PE lessons with the Clayesmore Prep School sporting ethos: Compete, Play as a team, Strive to improve central to every lesson and fixture. Everyone is given the opportunity to represent the school across a range of sports, and a number of pupils compete at county level and above. Specialist music tuition across a wide range of instruments is a strength of the school: at least two thirds of pupils learn a musical instrument. The senior and junior choirs each have around fifty members and every pupil sings regularly. Our musicians can develop and demonstrate their musical skills in many ways, including master classes, concerts and tours. Drama classes and theatre performances allow pupils to grow in confidence and there are a variety of additional specialist art, ceramic and design & technology opportunities to inspire our creative pupils. Many of our Year 8 pupils are successful in being awarded scholarships in many of these areas, as well as in the academic subjects.

You can view the year group curriculum maps below.