Our team of dedicated subject specialist Teachers and Teaching Assistants enable and encourage pupils at The Prep to explore the diverse and wonderful world of English. As an academic subject, English is arguably the most multi-faceted lesson on the entire curriculum, embracing the three different disciplines of reading, writing, and speaking and listening, as well as an extensive programme of curricular and extra-curricular opportunities. 

Reading underpins everything we do in English here at The Prep; all pupils are encouraged to read widely in school as well as in their own time, in order to further develop their reading fluency and comprehension skills. Our fantastic and very popular Acheson Library provides pupils with access to several thousand fiction and non-fiction books, including the very latest must-reads, with regular high-profile author visits and trips to the Cheltenham Literature Festival forming an integral part of our calendar. 

Pupils learn how to write with increasing confidence in a wide range of styles, and for many different purposes and audiences. Examples of this include our penpal letter-writing projects involving counterparts in Japan and Tokyo, or submitting imaginative and creative entries for our annual in-house 500 Word Story Competition. Special focus is given to developing pupils’ command of spelling, punctuation and grammar too, whereas Upper School pupils spend time preparing for the different writing and reading tasks as part of the Common Entrance syllabus. 

Opportunities to develop confidence in speaking and listening skills are a daily occurrence in the English department, for example using drama-based techniques such as ‘hotseating’ to bring characters from our wide range of class reading texts to life, or writing and performing ‘Dragon’s Den’ persuasive speeches to deliver to an audience of guest ‘Dragons’. Furthermore, we strive to give every pupil a trip to the theatre every year to see a live performance, and we are indeed fortunate to have both the Everyman Theatre and the Cheltenham Playhouse right on our doorstep. 

Whether it is the tranquil buzz and gentle flutter of pages in our weekly Library lessons, the excitement of a visiting author, the thrill of a West End theatre experience, or preparing costume ideas for World Book Day, there is always something going on in the English department to engage, enthuse and enrich our pupils. 

Mathematics is more than just a subject – it is a way of thinking. The creative and highly interconnected discipline of Mathematics equips pupils with a uniquely powerful set of tools to utilise in their day-to-day experiences. We encourage children to make sense of the world around them through developing an ability to calculate, to reason and to solve problems. 

Pupils are given an experience of Mathematics based on three core principles: understanding, enjoyment and challenge. Key ideas are revisited and built on, year after year, giving children the opportunity to refresh their understanding and draw connections between different topics. Real-world applications are key – our aim within lessons is to inspire pupils and encourage their curiosity, showing them examples of where their Mathematics skills will come in useful both in other subjects such as Science and Computing, and beyond their time at The Prep. 

Working with specialist teachers in class with a maximum of 18 pupils, children are encouraged to work individually, in small groups, or as a whole class. We have a Special Support Teacher who works within all our year groups, providing additional support within the class or in one-to-one clinics. Additionally, support and extension sessions run throughout the school to enable all children to reach their potential. 

Science is certainly a subject with no boundaries. There are so many incredible topics to learn and that unlimited potential is what makes Science at The Prep such an exciting subject. 

Here at the prep our excellent team of specialist teachers nurture students curiosity, encourage scientific thinking and develop scientific literacy.  

Our recently modernised Prep Science labs provide the perfect environment for carrying out a huge range of practical experiments enabling pupils to find answers to questions through exploration.  Class discussion is coupled with data analysis, visits, and presentations from external speakers to make the subject accessible and relevant.   

When asked what they enjoy in Science, our pupils always mention the Chemistry experiments, the screaming jelly baby and the collapsing can are two favourites.  Popping over to the College Science department is always helpful when we are studying elements, the building blocks of Chemistry. A visit to the huge interactive periodic table is always a huge hit with the pupils and really brings Science to life for them. During Biology lessons, we can often be find out by the school lake studying habitats, in forest school hunting for invertebrates or out in the school fields measuring biodiversity.  The Physics team often use the spiral stair case to launch parachutes and the school field comes in useful when measuring the speed of pupils or even the speed of sound! Back in the lab pupils can be found building electrical circuits and we all enjoy getting the Van der Graaf generator out and investigating current. 

We aim to ensure that our pupils are making links to natural events and the science ideas underlying them. We help students develop exploratory questions and hypotheses to explain such events, and encourage them to test and refine their explanations based on scientific evidence.  

Today, more than ever before, pupils must be able to think critically and dynamically apply science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to solve complex problems. We aim to give pupils opportunities to immerse themselves into projects and activities throughout the year, that compel them to develop 21st century skills and an innovative mindset. 

You can hear music in every corner of the school! Music is taught by specialist staff from Nursery School all the way through until Year 8. We have a wide range of resources, both traditional and modern (iMacs, keyboards, recording sequencers, a recording studio, a loop station, etc) to entice and spark a creative flair and love of music in our pupils.

Class music consists of a mixture of skills and knowledge taught through topic-based work, ranging from The Tudors, through to Film Music and Soundtracks and The Planets. Pupils focus on the core skills of listening, performing and composing, and around 70% of our pupils take individual tuition on one or more instruments. Class music is supplemented by a rich extra-curricular music programme, where pupils in all sections of the school have the opportunity to sing or play in choirs, orchestras and ensembles.

There are regular performance opportunities for our pupils, designed to put their knowledge and skills to good use in front of their peers and wider audiences! Performing is a key part of our offering and helps pupils to grow in confidence and gain the ability to stand in front of an audience and perform – something that can help with many areas of life beyond The Prep. 

Embarking on journeys around the world, back in time and between cultures, the pupils at The Prep dive into learning through the humanities subjects of History, Geography and TPE.  Developing a robust and diverse understanding of the world around them through investigation, debate and reflection, our pupils are immersed in the world in and beyond Cheltenham.

Taught by specialists, the History team work with pupils to develop their understanding of what has come before. Exploring wide and varied topics including the World Wars and The Battle of Hastings, pupils become skilled at analysing sources, asking probing questions, and evaluating causes and consequences of the actions of the past. Don’t be surprised if you see battle re-enactment on the sports fields or lively debate over the ‘Princes in the Tower who-dunnit’!

In Geography, staff draw on wide ranging resources to enable the pupils to take ownership of their learning and develop their understanding of our world today.  From earthquakes and volcanoes, to population and development, pupils at The Prep are fluent in the intricacies of our world today, where they fit in, and their responsibilities as citizens of the 21st century.  Designing and building earthquake-proof structures to protect an egg is a great example of the type of hands on activities that make Geography such an exciting topic.

Theology, Philosophy and Ethics (TPE) provides a platform for comparing and understanding people, their beliefs and their actions.  Developing within the children a sense of identity, respect and a strong moral compass is a commitment we make both in and out of the classroom, but TPE provides the perfect arena within which to explore these is real detail. Introducing diversity to the knowledge pupils hold, an ability to articulate opinion and listen to otherss goes hand in hand with developing a bank of information about each of the TPE elements. Lively debate is coupled with detailed analysis, visits, and presentations from external speakers to make the subject accessible and relevant.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela 

All pupils at Cheltenham College Prep are taught French beginning in Nursery School with the possibility to learn Spanish in our Clubs & Activities for older children after school, as we believe that languages are an essential life skill. 

The Modern Foreign Language department is staffed by a combination of native speakers and highly dedicated and enthused teachers, focusing on the four key elements of language learning: speaking, listening, reading and writing. 

As well as ensuring our pupils acquire excellent language proficiency, our aim is for them to develop a love of language and culture. Do not be surprised to hear conversations within our classrooms akin to the ‘Café de Paris’ – “un chocolat chaud, s’il vous plaît” as well as scenes from a busy ‘Gare du Nord’ ticket office,- “un aller retour pour deux personnes… Tchou- tchou!”

In Year 7, the pupils also have the opportunity to experience la vie française with an immersive château experience. Their language learning journey starts in the Nursery School where they will be acting out rhymes and singing simple songs focusing on pronunciation, and leads them towards more reading and writing as they progress through the school. Many of our pupils go on to apply for language scholarships and we help all of our pupils to prepare for Common Entrance in Year 8.

All pupils in The Prep from Year 6 to Year 8 study some element of Classics, from Heroes to Hieroglyphics. Broadly speaking, Classics is the study of the lives, languages and cultures of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. We cater for all pupils, and work on different skills such as investigation, creativity and teamwork. Many pupils come to us as complete beginners in Year 7 as they join The Prep, and it’s great to see them progress to potentially becoming Year 8 Scholars who get the chance to study some Ancient Greek post examinations. We aim to provide an enriching, enlivening and exciting taste of the whole breadth and width of the lives of the Greeks and Romans, and aim to offer an all-inclusive curriculum. 

The real joy in Classics can be found in the flexibility of our subject and therefore what we are able to offer the children. Some of the topics covered include Year 6 studying Latin vocabulary for animals and family, investigating Pompeii was excavated and the life and times of an Ancient Roman. Year 7 are taught about what it takes to be a true hero in the eyes of the Romans and Ancient Greeks, and learn just how much we depend today on what came before us from those ancient cultures. Year 8 also discover what the wealthy Romans enjoyed eating (pickled flamingo, anyone… or jellyfish brains?) and the social and political impact of a life spent lived largely in the army and the Roman Forum.

In Computing, we aim to foster skill, creativity and engagement with the key technologies which underpin 21st century life. Pupils learn how to use the Office 365 suite of programs effectively and how to best present their work. These skills are embedded through use of technology across the whole school curriculum. Pupils are taught how to boost their searching skills for online research, to use the internet safely with lessons on safety and cybersecurity, and how their computers work by exploring binary numbers, ASCII codes, RAM, CPUs and networking. Creativity with Computing is a key theme of lessons. Pupils begin learning to code in Lower School with ‘CrumbleBots’ and ‘Scratch’. In Upper School, pupils progress to ‘Python’ and website coding. These are applied to physical computing with ‘Raspberry Pi’ – pupils even send their code into space! 

Drama at The Prep provides each child with the opportunity to be the best performers they can be. There is no greater tool for acting that the human body, and through exciting lessons and drama activities the children learn how to understand their potential, hone their skills, and apply their abilities to putting on shows, giving speeches, and expressing themselves in captivating ways. Units across Years 3 to 6 include Physical Theatre, Voicework, Improvisation, Character Creation, Monologuing, Stagecraft, Comedy and Tragedy, and even Puppeteering. Throughout the year, the children engage with how their widening theatrical and physical vocabulary can be applied to their everyday world and, provided they put in all the effort and concentration they can muster, they will constantly surprise themselves with how spectacularly they can perform. 

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject here at The Prep. Through the application of creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Pupils acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as Mathematics, Science, Engineering, Computing and Art. For example, Year 7 pupils apply mathematical concepts and computing knowledge to manufacture personalised 3D printed bangles and scientific theory relating to healthy eating and food groups to design and manufacture educational resources. Developing their understanding of the ever-changing world around them through product handling and analysis, designing and making products, pupils are learning how to take risks, and to become resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.   

Inspiring artwork leaps from every wall at The Prep; a celebration of the creativity, risk taking and curiosity fostered in our fabulous Art Studio and amazing grounds, supported by our charismatic Art specialists.  Art at The Prep is all about building confidence in each child’s ability to be creative, to make independent decisions and ultimately to control the direction of their work so that they own the result and have satisfaction in a piece of artwork well made and confidently completed. Pupils progressively learn painting skills using watercolours and acrylics, building their skills systematically in wide and varied contexts and styles. They will challenge themselves to a variety of printing techniques including collagraph and reduction printing using our industry quality printing presses to create imaginative responses. Working in 3D, sculpting in clay gives opportunities to learn structural techniques as well as how to apply glazes and a variety of decorative details. Every project starts with observational drawing, a skill which underpins all the art produced at The Prep. We include and react to social and world events, devising interesting cross-curricular projects and working hand in hand with the other creative arts. Pupils have access to technology such as iPads so they are able to record, analyse and support their learning in the visual arts.