Teaching and Learning
Start strong in Junior School Maria Hodges Head of Junior School Left: Year 1 Joseph Edwards and Yanni Papamatheos
Research shows that early education is pivotal in a child’s long-term academic, social, and personal development. It’s a time when they learn some of life’s most important skills, like critical thinking, literacy, and numeracy. Building strong foundations sets children on the path for future success. Getting off to a strong start is a once in a lifetime opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked. Maria Hodges, Head of Junior School, explains why starting early is key. In your view, what are the benefits of starting the Scotch journey early?
Children need a warm and inclusive atmosphere where they feel valued, inspired, and supported. Starting the Scotch journey early allows our students to develop a sense of belonging within our school community and build strong relationships with their peers and teachers. In the Junior School we have a positive and caring environment which helps them to flourish academically and emotionally, instilling in them a lifelong love for learning from a very early age. It is at this early age that we can ignite the passion and drive to learn, and this is integral to what we do. Starting at Scotch in the younger years also provides students with a seamless transition into the subsequent stages of their education. Our Junior School curriculum aligns seamlessly with our Middle and Senior School programmes, ensuring a smooth progression and continuity in their learning journey. We find that boys who start at Scotch early are familiar with the school’s values, expectations, and routines, and experience less stress and anxiety when transitioning to the higher year levels.
What does the early years curriculum look like?
Our Junior School curriculum is carefully designed to cater to the specific needs and developmental stages of young learners by combining traditional methods of explicit teaching with modern approaches to education such as inquiry learning via the International Baccalaureate framework. Immersion in a well-structured and stimulating curriculum from the early years, provides young learners with essential skills and knowledge while fostering a curiosity and eagerness to explore the world around them. This is an essential component for engaging boys in their learning and caters for their specific needs to learn and strive for their personal best. Do the boys miss-out on co-educational opportunities by joining Scotch in Junior School?
Prior to coming to Scotch, our boys often have been in classrooms where disengagement is high, and they are either overlooked or not provided with opportunities which impacts their learning and enjoyment of school. We focus on what boys need in the classrooms and playgrounds to best motivate, excite, and enrich their experience of school, enabling them to be the best they can be. While catering for boys’ specific learning styles and interests we also offer opportunities for co-educational collaboration. Partnerships with local girls’ schools promote joint learning initiatives, collaborative projects, and extracurricular activities. Our boys do not miss out on building friendships with girls as well as using these experiences to promote personal growth and cultivate understandings. These partnerships promote a spirit of co-operation, mutual respect, and a shared vision for
nurturing young minds, preparing them to become confident, responsible, and wellrounded global individuals. Our co-educational programmes include our fortnightly Year 1 and 2 Beach and River School Programme with PLC and our Year 4 and 5 Ignite Leadership Programme with St Hilda’s where boys and girls come together to learn and develop leadership skills. Our boys get the best of both worlds! Vibrant environments and advanced resources are key to creating rich learning experiences. Would you agree?
Absolutely. Our commitment to innovation ensures our students have access to the latest educational tools and platforms, preparing them for the rapidly evolving world they will inherit. Our classrooms are designed to promote collaboration and active engagement, creating an optimal setting for interactive learning, engaging them with hands-on, exciting, and stimulating ways to learn. We focus on developing essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. These are skills which, if learnt from a young age, will become a natural and effortless part of a student’s life toolkit. What values are core to the Junior School?
Instilling a strong sense of values, ethics, and social responsibility is key. From an early age, we foster a culture of respect, integrity, compassion, and resilience, guiding our students to become ethical and responsible global citizens. By starting early, our young learners have more time to internalise these values and develop a strong moral compass that will guide them throughout their lives.
