Welcome to Middle School and the move into Year 5 or 6. In year 5 pupils will have a class tutor who teaches most lessons but they will also discover the delights of the Science labs in the Senior School, and have lessons outside their main classrooms in Art, Music and French. In Year 6 pupils start to move more around the school, with class tutors teaching less but helping just as much as pupils start to move to subject areas rather having most lessons in their classrooms.
For some pupils, year 6 is a time when they start to look to transfer to other schools – we do of course prepare them for this but we would also love for them to stay on and choose Cheltenham College as their Senior School. We prepare them for pre-assessment to the Senior School in January - the work does get a little harder but good teaching helps pupils improve and they also get many more opportunities in Middle School to find and develop their strengths. Many more matches are played, there is the chance to join orchestra, or ensemble music groups as well as the Junior Choir.
Evening and Saturday activities also provide a great opportunity for fun in Middle School. Pupils can try out different sports such as badminton and climbing as well as the more established ones such as rugby or hockey. There are activities such as cookery, watercolour painting or scouts; there may even be the chance in the summer to go kayaking or sailing! At the start of the year we present pupils with some Team Building challenges, whether in the school grounds in Year 5 or at South Cerney Water Sports Centre. Here pupils can Dragon Boat race or raft build in Year 6.
Although we have some lessons on Saturdays there is also time designed to enhance the curriculum. Year 5 pupils may dress up in the clothes of the Sixties having tie-dyed their shirts to follow the History curriculum (Watch out for Mr Lewis - he’s been a Hippy and Elvis - what is he planning for this year?), they may be involved in an orchestral day or there might be a puzzle morning. Perhaps there will be a French activity where pupils make their own croissants or a medieval theme where pupils build medieval siege weapons or weave wattle and daub panels…. It’s even possible that pupils will be writing poems, debating or going on a hike to the Black Mountains to be “rescued” by the Mountain Rescue Dogs on the hillside.