The Curriculum

We provide information about your son’s curriculum and the subjects studied on the Parent Portal. Revision guides can also be found here. We additionally run ‘At Home’ events at the start of the Autumn Term for parents of boys in Nursery to Year 7 where an outline of the curriculum is explained. Nursery and Reception parents also receive a weekly Early Years Newsletter detailing topics to be covered the next week. If you are unsure where to find the information about your son’s curriculum and the topics he is covering, please ask his Class Teacher or Form Tutor.

Sustainable Learning The future holds many challenges for young people, such as climate change, the rise of obesity and global poverty. It is clear that the world’s current model of development and use of resources is placing an increasing burden on the planet and we need to make a decisive move to sustainable development.

The Beacon Eco Club endeavours to raise awareness of sustainability amongst the boys, parents, staff and the local community. It does this by being embedded throughout the curriculum in all subjects and in all year groups.

Learning Support Centre The Learning Support Centre at The Beacon is an additional resource for those boys who need extra support or have a learning difficulty. We work with boys to help them develop the skills they need to succeed, equipping them to become independent learners. These skills can include literacy, numeracy, organisation, study and revision skills. We aim to help boys with any barriers to learning and achievement, and support all teaching staff to put in place effective measures to help boys achieve their personal best. We work in partnership with the boys, their parents, teachers and other professionals such as Speech and Language Therapy, Educational Psychology and Occupational Therapy. Support may include individual or group teaching programmes, in-class support and advice to teachers, liaison with and support for parents.

Trips The Beacon runs a full range of day and residential trips to support the curriculum and enhance the boys’ personal development. These include academic trips such as visits to museums, cultural trips such as visits to the theatre and visits to develop understanding of different faiths. You will be sent information in advance of a school trip and they are listed in the website calendar.

In Years 1 - 8, we do not require permission from you for a day trip, but your permission will be sought for residential trips which take place in Year 4 and above and for all Nursery and Reception trips. The cost of all curriculum trips, both day and residential, is included in your termly fee.

Example trips include: our Year 4 boys enjoy a twonight trip away in the Chilterns. Year 5 boys enjoy a three-night trip to Windmill Hill in Sussex. Year 6 have have a week-long multi-activity trip to Newquay, Year 7 enjoy a residential team-building trip in September and a multi-activity, residential trip in the Summer. Year 8 enjoy a challenging week of outdoor activities at Cornbury Park. In October, our Year 8 boys visit the war graves of The Somme, which is linked to their History and English curriculum. Safety is the primary concern on all trips, and they are comprehensively planned and monitored with full risk assessments carried out for travel, activities and residential facilities. There are also opportunities for the boys as they progress through the school to join optional sports tours, choir, language and ski trips abroad.

Sport For All Every boy in Years 3 to 8 plays a full part in the sports programme which involves inter-school fixtures in all the major sports, including rugby, football, cricket, hockey, swimming, athletics, tennis and cross country, as well as house matches and other non-competitive sporting activities. Many of these take place using our excellent sporting facilities, including the indoor Swimming Pool, Sports Hall, AstroTurf and Willsfield. If you have any queries regarding sport, please contact the Director of Sport, David Robinson, at games@beaconschool.co.uk.

We use SOCS to communicate details of sports fixtures and team lists. These can be accessed through our Sports Website and also through the SOCS Sport App that can be downloaded to your mobile phone. You will be provided with a password to view team lists. Boys are expected to be available when selected for a fixture unless prior notice of at least a week has been sent to the Director of Sport and the Teacher in charge of the team. Parents are very welcome at all fixtures to support the boys.

If your son is ‘off Games’ please email our Sports Department on games@beaconschool.co.uk stating the reason they are ‘off Games’ (for example illness or injury) and the date they are expected to return to sport. It is essential that you notify us if your son has sustained any sort of head injury. This email is received by the School Medical Team, the Director of Sport and the Head of PE. Please also email your son’s Class Teacher or Form Tutor.

Boys will generally watch their group if they are ‘off Games’ in order to observe and learn skills. However, when the weather is inclement, alternative arrangements will be made to look after him in a suitable area of the school. Alternative arrangements can be made for boys who are ‘off Games’ for long periods. Please notify the Director of Sport if you anticipate your son being ‘off Games’ for a period of more than two weeks.

Performing Arts Music Music is an integral part of school life and all boys from Nursery up to Year 4 have two curriculum lessons a week. In Years 5 and 6, a double lesson for Performing Arts rotates half-termly between Drama and Music. Years 7 and 8 have a triple rotation each term between Music, Drama and Music Technology. Many boys are involved in a variety of extracurricular activities on offer. The department has its own Music Technology suite where the boys are able to create music through Logic Software on Apple Mac computers.

Individual music tuition is provided by 20 visiting Music Teachers, all specialist musicians, and there are numerous ensembles, choirs and music clubs taking place each week. Singing at the school is really strong and choirs from each year group rehearse every week and are open to all. Many music scholarships are achieved by leaving boys each year, reflecting the high quality of music provision. For further information, please contact Gavin Lockley, our Head of Music, at performingarts@beaconschool.co.uk.

Drama Drama is central to all boys’ personal development at The Beacon. From Reception to Year 4, every pupil has at least one period of curriculum Drama per week, then in Years 5 to 8, we operate a ‘Performing Arts’ rotation, which is a double lesson of either Drama or Music. Years 4, 6 & 8 have a performance opportunity during the school year. The current format is that Nursery, Reception and Year 1 have a Christmas play, Year 2 have a musical performance end of year, Year 3 have an outside provider come in to perform/lead a workshop, Year 4 perform in a class production, Year 5 work with an outside provider on a ‘Macbeth’ workshop, Year 6 perform in a major musical production and Year 8 perform in a major musical production in the Summer Term.

School has, on a biennial basis, also taken a production to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, earning five-star reviews and playing to sold-out audiences, an achievement of which we are very proud. In addition to the above, boys in Years 1 and 2 study for LAMDA Introductory Exams and Entry Level exams in after school sessions. Thereafter, boys in Years 4 and 5 can sign up for group LAMDA tuition at Grade 1 and Grade 2 level and LAMDA tuition is also offered to Years 6, 7 & 8, working on Grade 3+ during the School week. LAMDA tuition is provided by professional visiting teachers who also work as directors and actors in the industry.

Finally, Drama clubs are offered in every section of the school and are very popular. As a subject it enjoys a high profile and excellent reputation and is well supported by the whole community. For more information, please contact Zenelle Oosthuizen our Head of Drama, at performingarts@beaconschool.co.uk.