Prep (age 7-11 years)

"Pupils have very good mathematical skills throughout the school and are able to confidently apply these to curriculum areas outside the realm of mathematics." (ISI Report, 2023)

Throughout Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 our children's horizons and opportunities broaden.

With care and support, each child’s progress in all areas of school life develops in leaps and bounds. Learning remains ‘hands on’ as teachers combine the best of traditional teaching methods with the most effective modern techniques, ensuring that each child grows in ability, self-belief and independence.

The structure of the curriculum becomes more formal at this stage and the opportunities become more and more diverse. All children are involved in school performances and many are also involved in school choirs and orchestral groups. The level of sport becomes more competitive, with regular fixtures against local schools and the opportunity to represent the School.

Years 3 and 4 are the oldest year groups to be based in the Prep School building.  The children in Years 5 and 6 are based in the Practical Centre, nearby the Prep School, but with slightly more independence, preparing them for their transition to the Senior School. 

When the children transition to Key Stage 2, in Years 3 and 4, they are with their teacher for Maths, English, RS, PSHEE, Geography and Science but have specialist teaching for History, ICT, SPW, French, Music and Drama. The children are encouraged to use the skills they have developed in Key Stage 1. They will continue to use the Lab and Hive, timetabled for extending periods of time to allow for maximum creativity and discovery. An appropriate balance between an IDEAS approach (Introduce, Demonstrate, Explain, Activity repeat of D and E as appropriate and Summary) and guided play is encouraged still.

In Years 5 and 6, when the number of specialist teachers grows again, now encompassing Art, DT , Spanish and Science, the children experience the full Wellington School Campus provision, using the Senior School Science labs with their full range of equipment. The curriculum for Wellington Prep School is mapped with that of the Senior School, which results in a seamless transition from age 3 to 18. Staff regularly meet to discuss subject content and the published curriculum plan is a working document, published on our website.

Subject leads at Wellington Prep School liaise directly with Heads of Department at Wellington Senior School through the year. There is much emphasis and recognition of the development of skills. Wellington School’s ACES program has evolved into being embedded within day to day teaching. The inclusion of the language appropriate to and acknowledgement of these skills enables the children to recognise when and how they are developing and embedding these into their natural application to learning: planning, reading, problem solving, practical skills, digital skills, responsibility, creativity, resilience, designing, presenting, taking the initiative, commitment, leadership, organisation, reflection and evaluation, self-motivation, independence and explaining. Children regularly reflect and evaluate, completing age-appropriate forms after every reporting cycle.