Upper School – Years 5 and 6

Scaling the heights…

In Year 5 our children develop and hone key skills in readiness for the 11+ and senior school examinations. Mental agility, pace and reasoning are emphasised. Children sit mock examinations and may supplement their learning in 11+ Club and by attending Extra Tuition sessions on a Saturday and during the summer holiday for no extra charge. However, care is taken to ensure that they continue to pursue a rich and diverse curriculum which broadens their horizons, enhances their social development and provides ample opportunity for creative expression. By this stage they are confident and capable learners with well-rounded characters, and they relish a challenge.

Entrance examinations for secondary schools take place early in Year 6. The majority of the following academic year is spent extending and enriching our children’s academic, personal and cultural development, ensuring that they are fully prepared for the next stage of their education. The curriculum incorporates the teaching of life and business skills, and there are many opportunities for children to assume additional responsibilities in school life, such as serving as a Monitor, Prefect or House Captain. Service to the community is an important aspect of life throughout the school, and in Year 6 the children play a leading role in charitable initiatives and devote time to supporting vulnerable members of society. We wish our children to leave us as confident, skilled and responsible individuals with a keen sense of right and wrong and a well-developed social conscience. After spending some time at their new secondary schools, we invite leavers to return to Norfolk House to pass on their experience and wisdom to current pupils.

Sport and extra curricular activities remain key parts of life in Years 5 and 6. Children rapidly develop talent in pursuits which interest and excite them, and we do all we can to encourage that process. Not only are such pursuits valuable in their own right, they provide an important counterbalance to the hard work which takes place in the classroom. It is not uncommon for some of our older children to be selected to play for clubs and counties in their chosen sport. In addition to an array of after school clubs and activities, our Years 5 and 6 children have the opportunity to attend a residential Bushcraft course which lasts for several days, and take part in many activities which are both educational and fun, such as the Year 6 Enterprise Fair at the end of the year which puts their imaginations and entrepreneurial skills to the test.