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Headmaster's Introduction The move from Lower School to Middle School marks the end of one stage of education and the beginning of the next. GCSEs are our boys’ first experience of national examinations, and one of our aims at this stage is to encourage them to take more responsibility for their own development and learning. We regularly monitor pupils’ progress, supporting and encouraging them to aim high and achieve their goals. We also expect all of the boys to play a full role in the co-curricular life of the school, whether it be on the sports pitch, in the concert hall or on the stage. There are so many wonderful opportunities on offer at Merchant Taylors’ and experience shows that those boys who continue to throw themselves into the life of the school are those who derive the most benefit. This booklet provides an introduction to the Middle School curriculum at Merchant Taylors’. It covers the main subjects studied along with information about the core curriculum. Classes are taught by subject specialists and class sizes are usually around 20, although in some subjects they may be smaller. The core GCSE curriculum comprises: - English, English Literature, Mathematics and Science - A language (modern foreign language or classical) and a humanities subject - PSHE, Games and activities – our enrichment programme In addition, boys choose further options from the other subjects that are outlined in this booklet. This means that most of the fortnightly timetable is devised using the pupil’s own subject choices, whereas in the past most of a pupil’s timetable has been prescribed. This is part of the process of boys taking more responsibility for their own learning. At the same time, through our option choices, we have maintained some academic breadth, which we feel remains important at this stage of a pupil’s career.
