Key Stage 2

Ms Field, Head of Middle School, writes…..

 I am delighted to have been offered the opportunity to write to you about the Middle School department.  In Long Close the Middle School is Years 3 to 6, Key Stage 2.

 Key Stage 2 is where I have most teaching experience; although since beginning my career in 1992 I have been fortunate to have class taught every year group from Years 1 to 7.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience and my enthusiasm for teaching further increased when I had children of my own; and I began to view education from both the perspective of a teacher and a parent!

 For this reason I have particularly valued the family atmosphere here at Long Close.  I feel passionately that we should offer good pastoral care and I am pleased that this continues to be a strength of my department and the whole school.  Because Long Close is a small school the staff know the pupils well, and it is a delight to see them grow and thrive. As they enter the Middle School the young pupils in the Pre-Prep Department already know many of the staff; and they can confidently develop in maturity as they go through this stage of their education.

 The emphasis in the Middle School is to develop the pupils independence; both in terms of them gradually taking more responsibility for themselves, as well developing their thinking skills.  It is in this phase that the pupils become fully confident readers and this then supports their independent writing skills; which will become increasingly more advanced.  To help them along with this it is important to encourage the children to read widely and to try texts which will challenge them. 

 The 11+ examination in Year 6 also becomes a focus for many families and we fully empathise with the importance of it, and the decisions you must make regarding you children’s future schooling.  Providing extra support for this examination has been in place for many years.  Nonetheless I recognised that there were areas we could improve in; and when I took up the position of Head of Middle School I looked strategically at our results, the needs of our pupils and how we could help them with this examination.  I am very proud of our results and we have consistently achieved a pass rate of 70% or higher for some years. Our overall pass mark this year is 73%.

 We begin additional activities in Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning from Year 3.  We use published teaching aids, as well as additional classroom activities and especially tailored resources aimed at developing thinking skills and widening the pupils’ vocabulary.  Having a mature and widely developed vocabulary is a real asset in these types of examinations.  Whilst reading obviously supports this, discussion and providing a broad curriculum also helps to develop the pupils’ wider knowledge and understanding of the world.  It is the breadth of our curriculum that is tailored to enhance this.  At home, I would always recommend to parents the value of day trips and real life experiences, which you can then talk about and elaborate on together, as it gives the children a visual image and understanding of the world.

 We hold a ‘Future Schools’ meeting at the end of the Spring Term for parents in Years 3 to 5 to inform parents of the choices available beyond Year 6, and in the Summer Term a meeting specific to Year 5 on the application process for the 11+.   I look forward to meeting with you further at these, but please do see me about any matter regarding your children.  

Ms S. Field