The Prep School (7-11yrs)
Emphasis on the Individual Child
In St. James' Preparatory School, the children are taught in small classes by dedicated and enthusiastic staff. By placing the emphasis on the individual child we believe that we can discover his or her talents and encourage them to fulfil their true potential. At St. James', we celebrate each and every success of each and every pupil; whether that success is academic, sporting, an activity outside of school, behaviour, or a number of these, the children are made to feel proud of their achievements. This makes the Prep School a very happy and successful environment for the children to be in.
The children, from Year 3 upwards, begin tuition for Grammar School 11+ entrance examinations. This is not done as an extra lessons, but as part of the curriculum. Our results speak for themselves with another 100% pass rate again in 2011. The academic standards are very high; although the School does not participate in the SATs externally as we feel that, whilst it would be a possible benefit to the School to be highlighted as a high achieving school (in terms of SATs), we feel that it does not benefit the children to be put under any further pressure. Parents are kept fully informed as to the achievements and academic progress of their children at all times and therefore do not need to see them in the national league tables amongst the other schools who are still taking part. 
A Superb Setting
The Prep School itself is surrounded by beautiful gardens, with superb views from every window. The children benefit from numerous outdoor play areas; the playground, the lawn, the Orchard, the Paddock and the Pre Prep gardens. Soon we will be launching our new Forest Schools area, which will be used by all children from age 2 to 11 years.
With almost 10 acres of green space and a 20 acre campus in total, the children are able to take part in all sports, safely and securely, in our own private grounds. The 'Paddock' (pictured below) is one of our smaller fields, but is ideal for games practice and play times. It is fully enclosed and located in the heart of the school campus.
In addition, despite being a town centre location, parents have full use of our own private car park which is right outside of the school, which is accessed from Bargate along a lovely long gravel drive (seen below covered in snow last winter).
The Development of the Whole Child
We offer a broad balanced all-round education with the emphasis on development of the whole child. Children are encouraged to achieve excellence not only in their academic studies but also in the fields of sport, drama, music, creative studies, leadership and service.
Pupils, Parents and Teachers in Partnership
Excellent pupil, parent and teacher relationships mean that there is a unique partnership promoting the development of each individual. Parental involvement in the educating process is vital. Staff and parents meet informally every day.
Visits, Trips and Extra-Curricular Activities
Regular educational visits take place throughout the year to places of interest. The children are able to take part in a variety of trips to museums, the theatre and historic buildings, along with the popular annual ski trip.
Academic Profiling in St. James' Preparatory School
Three years ago we introduced a variety of formative tests for our current children; these are very much kept low key and are part of the internal assessment and monitoring that now takes place for every child in the Prep School. Subsequently, further tests have been introduced, again kept low key, for the benefit of the children. They include reading, spelling, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, optional SATs, core-subject assessments, end of year exams/tests and cognitive ability tests. Taken individually, any test means little but taken together they help us formulate ideas about ensuring that the best practices of teaching take place and also help show how we can accommodate every childs requirements in learning. More than this, it is what one does with the results that is most important. Thus far, every child's progress has been discussed (formally, at a designated meeting) with all Prep staff each term (and sometimes twice per term) as well as informally on a day to day basis. I now wish to take this a stage further so that we can use the information, together with this feedback, to create individual learning profiles for every child.
The National Curriculum Literacy and Numeracy frameworks form a basis for the teaching of English and Mathematics. Year 6 pupils take the National Curriculum SATs at the end of the year and Common Entrance examinations are on offer if required.
S.H.E.E.P: Prep School Philosophy
Click here to view the 2011/2012 Curriculum Policies
Click here for a direct link to St. James' Independent School full ISI Report
