The benefits of Years 7 and 8 in prep school
Page 4 The benefits of Years 7 and 8 in prep school
Page 6 A letter from our Head
Page 8 Dr Tom Smiley, the psychological benefits of Years 7 and 8 in prep school
Page 10 Performing Arts
Page 14 Sports at Amesbury
Page 16 Amesbury Award and PSB
Page 18 Summary
Deciding on the education you wish for your child post age 11 can be a daunting process. With an abundance of choice in the Surrey area, along with senior schools now offering admittance at Year 7, it can make finalising a decision difficult.
The best starting point in choosing any school is to ask, ‘what is the best education I can give for my child at this age?’. Consider not only in academic aspects but more importantly in the social benefits for your child.
At Amesbury School we are lucky to provide outstanding education to children all the way up to Year 8, and for good reason. We believe our pupils who continue with us for senior education benefit extensively in ways they could not in a senior school. We have much to offer our Year 7s and 8s, with opportunities in academics, arts or sport, there is truly something for everyone. Take a look at some of these reasons in more detail below:
Amesbury Head, Jon Whybrow has a plethora of experience in the independent sector and has seen many children through their prep school journey. He shares his views with us why he believes staying for the final two years at Amesbury can reap great rewards:
“When you look at it historically, preparatory schools have traditionally catered for children until the age of 13 to prepare them fully for their transition to senior schools. It benefits them not only academically but also socially. We believe it is important for their development as young adults to be in a familiar and nurturing environment. Amesbury is fortunate that majority of senior schools in the area are wholly supportive of our families joining at 13 and they happily collaborate with us to make this transition as smooth as possible.
With an intimate cohort compared to many senior schools, our pupils have tailored education in their final years. Consequently, the Year 7s and 8s are well known throughout the school by teachers and pupils alike. We recognise and value their maturity through various opportunities within the faculties including leadership roles, lead performance roles, as well as our Head Boy and Head Girl positions.
We invest greatly in our oldest years, particularly in experiences they cannot get inside our school grounds. Our Year 8s recently returned from Snowdonia with a great sense of accomplishment and many stories to tell and this is complemented by ‘The Amesbury Award’. This is a Duke of Edinburgh style challenge which continually through the final two years.
We are proud to offer multiple opportunities for proactive learning through the Amesbury Award and Pre-Senior Baccalaureate. Our awards promote fundamental skills of collaboration, research and creativity, where our pupils are in control of their own learning. This enables them to foster a natural love for learning and curiosity to take with them wherever they may go in life.”
Mr J Whybrow Head“
For many of our pupils Years 7 and 8 are the most wonderful time in their educational lives. Our Amesbury pupils leave us as mature, confident and compassionate young adults, who are prepared for their future endeavours and have the skills to tackle such opportunities with great courage.”
From a developmental aspect, the ages of 11-13 are crucial. Most children will be in the beginning stages of puberty. During this stage of life, they will be going through a myriad of changes and will likely be experiencing feelings of doubt and insecurity. When you add in the change from being the eldest and most mature in the school, to the bottom of senior school, it can become a very daunting transition. Those who choose to stay until Year 8 are given the opportunity to bridge this gap and can go on to senior schools with more confidence in themselves and higher resilience to dealing with change.
We believe going through this uncertain time in their lives in an environment that is comfortable and familiar can be hugely beneficial. A senior school Head recently cited this period as a key time to be in a less pressured and familiar environment, so children can flourish at the top end of the school and transition to senior school as confident and happy learners.
We firmly believe having an extra two years allows for fantastic social and emotional development. The children truly get to benefit from being a ‘big fish in a small pond’, allowing them to flourish at their own rate without feeling they need to grow up so quickly. This rains particularly true for less self-assured pupils, staying in our intimate, nurturing environment can help dramatically with confidence building. We believe the children that leave us in Year 8, leave as well educated and happy young people, with great confidence to tackle anything thrown at them.
A final thought if you are a parent. When moving to senior school, part of childhood ends. Unfortunately, you will never feel the same sense of community and belonging as you do in a prep school. In senior schools, your input and involvement with the school diminishes. This is not due to the school, just the nature of the age group. Your child will want you to take a step away from their education as they grow more independent. By using the opportunity to stay in preparatory school, you and your child can savour those precious last years of childhood before embarking on their senior journey.
The Arts are a vital part of our life here at Amesbury. We recognise the importance performing arts plays in the social and academic development for our pupils, which is particularly true in our Year 7 and 8 cohort.
From the moment pupils’ step through our doors there is opportunity to be involved in the Arts. However, our older pupils truly reap the benefits of being at the top of the school, with access to opportunities not available to younger years.
There are opportunities throughout the year for pupils to be involved in many different events, including, but not limited to: Charity Day, Speech Day and annual performances. Alternatively, if they wish, pupils can showcase their talent to the wider community and have ample opportunity to perform outside of our school walls. A highlight for many last year was the on-stage performance at Disneyland Paris! As the most mature and experienced performers in our cohort, opportunities are also ample in Year 7 and 8 for lead roles and solo performances.
Don’t just take it from us though, here are some stories of our previous Year 7 and 8 pupils. They explain what benefits they received from staying at Amesbury from their final years:
Lucy was the head our second Soprano in the chapel choir and played the role of Mrs Darling in our ‘Peter Pan’ production. She went on to receive a Performing Arts scholarship from Bryanston School. One of Lucy’s first tasks in Year 9 was to create a presentation for the class. Only Lucy and one other pupil had experience of public speaking, which put her in good stead above her peers.
Izzy was a keen dancer here at Amesbury, she took part in many of our productions and performances. With the help of her weekly scholarship sessions and 1:1 sessions, Izzy attained a Dance scholarship for Seaford College. She cites the support she received from Amesbury as a large factor to her success.
Chris, a talented saxophonist, began his love for music at Amesbury. While at Amesbury, Chris received a place to join Junior Trinity, and more recently, has accepted a role in the Guildhall Conservatoire. Chris has fond memories of the musical opportunities he received in his final years at Amesbury. His favourite was in Year 7, playing at the famous London Jazz Club ‘Ronnie Scott’s’. Chris went on to receive a Music Scholarship for Seaton College. He believes the opportunities he received at Amesbury were crucial for the development of his musical career.
These are a fraction of the incredible success stories we have here at Amesbury. We pride ourselves in our ability to nurture our pupils into the confident, talented and professional performers they leave Amesbury as. We are incredibly lucky to have supportive and talented teachers who truly care about our pupil’s journey and are always on hand to support them, no matter what their goals may be. We wish all our PA pupils every success in their futures.
At Amesbury, sport is a large part of our school. Throughout the years at Amesbury, children have access to a wide range of activities and sports that promote physical ability, confidence and teamwork. It is our goal by the end of Year 8 that each pupil will have explored all available options with the intention of discovering something they truly love. We believe when children are able to develop their passions in an environment they are comfortable with and the teachers know and recognise their talents, they can be supported to reach their goals. This may be through one-to-one coaching or competition entry. We use the final two years at Amesbury to encourage the exploration of interests so when it comes to the time our children leave us for pastures new, they have a clearer understanding of where their passions lie, along with an ingrained love for sport and for keeping healthy.
Only open to Year 7 and 8, our pupils can take part in sports including health related fitness, Tchoukball, trampolining, lacrosse and athletics. Year 7s have access to our unique ‘health and fitness’ module, which develops into the ‘strength and conditioning’ module in Year 8. These modules are excellent development points for our Amesbury athletes wanting to take their knowledge of fitness to the next level. Within these modules they gain great understanding of their bodies and analysis of body movements within sport. This knowledge comes particularly useful to our pupils aiming for sports scholarships, putting them above the competition with their knowledge of sport. We are continually investing in our PE curriculum and have recently purchased rowing machines for our eldest pupils to use in their health and fitness and strength and conditioning classes.
In Year 8, those particularly passionate about sport have the opportunity to be Team Captain in their chosen sport, for one term of the year. Within this role they will support the teacher in regular tournaments and assist with writing match reports. It is a role with much responsibility and equips our pupils with excellent leadership skills.
As a school, we are continually developing our curriculum to make it as enriching as possible for our children. Even those not wishing to pursue team captain can still gain valuable leadership skills in the Lent term, through their ‘leadership’ module in Year 8. Our pupils assist PE teachers in delivering the PE curriculum to our younger years. This is an aspect of the Year 8 curriculum our pupils particularly enjoy, allowing them to develop compassion, communication and leadership. This module summarises in a project putting all their new skills into practice. This coming year the pupils will assist in hosting an open morning football tournament. The valuable skills learnt in this module also greatly benefit our pupils in their journey towards their ‘Amesbury Award’, which you can discover more about here.
Following the death of Prince Phillip in April 2021, conversations with Mr Whybrow began about the creation of a similar venture to the Duke of Edinburgh Award to honour the noble work of Prince Phillip, with an Amesbury twist to it.
The Amesbury Award is available to our Year 7 and 8 pupils, and while it is without a doubt accessible to all, it is designed to be a marathon, not a sprint. The award is based on life skills that are fundamental to our school and the wider world, it is designed to encourage key skills that cannot be taught in the classroom, such as teamwork, resilience, compassion, and a love for adventure. The timing of the Amesbury Award is perfect preparation for those interested in pursuing The Duke of Edinburgh award which commences from age 14 in senior schools.
Throughout the year pupils will be involved in six different topics: teambuilding, community, the environment, mindfulness, pre-prep and presentation. Each topic will involve teamwork, challenges, communication and trust.
As part of the topics, pupils will go into the community and take part in projects. We are very happy to be partnering with Liphook Foodbank as part of our community work. The pupils will visit the foodbank and develop a greater understanding of their need and influence on the local community, they will then develop a strategy of how they can help support the food bank through the award, such as fundraising in order to bring in more food.
In the Trinity Term, the children will then take part in planning and executing an expedition in the South Downs Way, the Year 7s for one day and the Year 8s for two days and one night. They will be fully involved with the expedition and will work together to make important decisions such as the equipment needed, the route taken and what food is taken.
This year will be the first year of the award being in full swing and is therefore an exciting time in Amesbury’s history to join something amazing that will set your child up beautifully for their senior school adventures, with skills other children have not acquired.
The skills learnt from the Amesbury Award are skills we cannot teach in the classroom, our pupils will complete the award as confident, independent and conscious learners with skills that will benefit them long after they complete their Amesbury journey with us.
This award is something that is unique to Amesbury, it enables our pupils to develop much more than their academic ability, ready for wherever they decide to go following their time here.
Alongside our Amesbury Award, our curriculum is also enriched by our PreSenior Baccalaureate award, an inspiring programme of study lasting for two years. It combines various aspects of the curriculum while allowing freedom to choose an area of interest.
The PSB is a fantastic opportunity to develop vital skills of independent learning, effective use of technology, critical thinking and analysis. The programme allows our pupils to lead their own learning, equipping them extremely well for their entry into senior school.
Through these programmes our pupils gain skills that equip them brilliantly for their senior school journey and beyond.
Life in Years 7 and 8 at Amesbury provides great opportunities for young people to take on leadership roles such as Head Boy and Head Girl, Head Chorister. With all pupils being given more responsibility and opportunity to demonstrate leadership and independence in making decisions. Pupils are also encouraged to take time to mentor younger pupils.
The time is also well used in preparing for each individuals chosen senior school, parents, pupils and teachers working together to help guide and prepare pupils for scholarship applications and to meet the requirements of their chosen destination school.
www.amesburyschool.co.uk Hazel Grove, Hindhead, Surrey, GU26 6BL, 01428 604322
