Beaconverse Episode 12 - Lower School

In this month’s episode of Beaconverse, we are joined by our Head of Lower School, Jemima Elcomb, and Deputy Head of Lower School, Wendy Phillips, to talk about the benefits and provisions we offer here at The Beacon in Years 3 and 4. 
 
 If you are thinking about sending your son to an Independent Prep School from Year 3, have a listen to find out more about these vital two years of learning and the opportunities available to boys in Lower School at The Beacon. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 0:01

Hello and welcome to Beaconverse, the Beacon School monthly podcast where we endeavour to inspire you with educational topics as well as giving new insight into Beacon life. Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoy. We are delighted to welcome Jemima Elcombe, Head of Lower School, and Wendy Phillips, Deputy Head of Lower School, to this month's episode of Beaconverse.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

We will be discussing life in Lower School at the Beacon from entry into Year 3 to the curriculum in years three and four. Welcome both of you. Hello. Hello. Can you begin by telling us a small bit about yourselves and your roles at the school?

SPEAKER_02 0:34

I'm Jemima Elcombe, so I'm obviously head of three and four, but also a year three class teacher, so I'm kind of responsible for the pastoral academic welfare of boys in those two year groups, and I've been at the Beacon for seven years now.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Hello, I'm Wendy Phillips. As mentioned, I'm Deputy Head of Year Three and Four working alongside Jemima. I'm also a year four teacher and I have a role of director of studies, so that's thinking about when boys are looking to their future schools and their academics in that sense, and I've been at the Beacon this is my fifth year. Very nice.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

So what do you think the main benefits of the Beacon Lower School are?

SPEAKER_02 1:13

So with our small class sizes, we've got kind of the supportive and natural environment that's really key for us. It's important the boys feel supported with the room to grow but also have that little bit of challenge in the curriculum.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Yes, as they come into year three and through to year four, the curriculum options become more broad. We have more specialist teaching, particularly in year four. The boys get to experience working with different teachers and in rooms that are set up especially for those lessons.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

And it just means that actually altogether these boys really have um real breadth of opportunities, but still that nurture, that support to kind of make the progress that they can. So they start the integration to the rest of the school in year two years.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

That's a perfect introduction, really. Um can you tell us a bit about the curriculum in the lower school? So the languages, performing arts, sports, what the boys get up to?

SPEAKER_02 2:07

So our kind of our core subject, so maths and English in year three, maths and English are taught by the class teacher along with humanities in year four. We do actually set for maths, so there's a little bit more movement there.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Um there's a lot more sport when it comes to year three with uh games lessons happening and matches happening off site as well, all taught by our specialist staff. They have sport four times a week, and they have matches both at home and away in football, rugby and cricket, as well as their into-to-house matches and things like cross-country, and we have very much a focus on sport for all where everybody gets to take part and they think about both their physical and mental well-being alongside these activities.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

So, in year three, the specialist lessons we have are kind of computing, music, drama, international studies, outdoor learning and science as well, taught by a specialist or by the class teacher.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

And as they move into year four, they then additionally have specialist teaching in art, in DT, which is resistant materials, and cooking and nutrition. The international studies changes to be a sort of a modern foreign languages focus of either French or Spanish. The boys get a chance to try out both languages for half of the year each before they then think about which language they'd like to continue with. And another wonderful thing is the in year four they get to take part in a drama performance as well, which the parents are invited in to see.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Busy boys. How do you prepare the boys for moving up in the school in a non-eduction way?

SPEAKER_02 3:40

So for us, really, it's about the little things at first, so it's building those skills of independence. We know as they go up through the school they're going to need to be able to do things for themselves. We know in year three they're very little, we acknowledge that, and so we start with the small things. So starting off is doing their ties, shoelaces, top buttons, so looking, you know, keeping themselves kind of presentable, also their belongings. So, of course, we always lose things to start with. The first couple of terms are a bit of a testing ground for making sure things are named. Um, but you know, it's it's a small thing. Also, the homework again starts off with kind of relatively light touch, and they start to learn how to balance kind of their free time with also a little bit of work from school. So it's those small steps to start with.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Throughout the lower school, we're also looking at core learning skills. These are skills that are part of being a good learner. So alongside learning their academics, their maths and their English, they want to learn skills of resilience, how to work with each other, how to proof, read, and edit their own work. And they also get opportunities in performance areas. So boys can be taken, uh choose to take lounder, uh, drama, performance, they get to do music lessons, they take part in class concerts or orchestras and choirs, and so there's lots of other exciting opportunities they can take part in within the school day and in clubs after school. So they can really flourish in those two years.

SPEAKER_03 5:08

Is there any advice you would give to parents who are curious about moving their son into year three at an independent school but are deliberating the benefits versus state school?

SPEAKER_02 5:17

So for us, really, it's the small class sizes, so the adult to kind of pupil ratio for us. I've mentioned the nurturing piece, but actually, because we've got that breadth of the curriculum, we give every boy the opportunity to kind of discover what they're good at but also support them in the areas that they might find more challenging. For us, Leber School is you know making sure that those years are about growth for them, whether it's with their confidence, their organisation, and their academic abilities as well. Um, again, that ties hand in hand with that broad curriculum. Um, we also want to really foster that curiosity for learning. You know, we are an all-boys school, we know how boys tick, we know what they need to help them learn and you know strive and succeed. So, actually, that is why I would say you know, this school is the perfect setting for them.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

For our busy parents, after school provision is so vital. What do we offer here at the Beacon for the lower school boys?

SPEAKER_01 6:09

So there's a wide variety of after school clubs here, which include both ones that are run by the teaching staff and external people. We have art clubs, sports clubs, there's stem provision, and these are all alongside the more formal prep sessions and provisions that we have where we can invite boys to come and they can work on their prep within the school setting. And all of these really help with the boys' progression up through the school. The prep particularly encourages them to take ownership of their own learning and managing their time with that.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

And after those clubs, we then have kind of raparanco with the late stay as well afterwards. So the boys are taken care of, we know at late stay they need a bit more downtime, so we have that hour of clubs or prep, and then they have that time afterwards if they choose to stay, which is a bit more open, a bit more free-play involved.

SPEAKER_03 6:59

So I guess that's another reason why the independent school centre is potentially better than stakes because we do offer the after school provisions. Yes. And then lastly, what's the transition like from pre-prep into lower school? Is the workload increased dramatically and what support do the boys receive?

SPEAKER_02 7:16

So for us, that transition is managed really carefully. So we do have lots of boys that come up from the pre-prep, but we also have a great number of boys that join us in year three. It's kind of a key entry point. Um so for those boys that do join us, it's really important that that is a smooth transition, but it's also important that those boys that are coming into the school at year three that actually it's not so alien, it's not too different from what they're used to. Um, so those boys that come from the pre-prep, we do have a moving up morning, so actually it's really lovely. They find out their new classes, they meet their new class teacher at the end of that summer term in year two. Um, we also have our new joiners visiting for that day as well, so it really gives them a chance to kind of do some get-to-know your activity games and things to familiarize themselves with the area. For our pre-prep boys, it's unlikely that they'll spend much time in kind of the lower school area of the school anyway. So you know it's about familiarisation, getting them to know the layer of the land. Um, with regards to workload, again, we want that smooth transition. We're not going to suddenly change the workload dramatically. We are trying to encourage them to become more independent so they will get a little bit more homework just so we can help them start to learn how to manage their time productively. Um, with regards to kind of support in general, you know, at the beginning of September, we're lucky we have a team of fantastically experienced TAs that work across years three and four, and actually, they're around at the beginning of term to help alongside the class teachers get the boys from A to B so they know where they're going, they know what they're required. Um I would say for me it's always patience in September from all the staff because we do the same thing each year, and you know, this is my seventh year now. September is always really difficult, even for those boys joining us from pre-prep because you know it's new routines and also a lot more clothing. So lots and lots of ones in the form ties as well. So actually, for for us, it's you know balanced. You know, we do communicate with the teachers in in in pre-prep to make sure that we have all the information for the boys meeting up. Um, but for us, it's actually in September, you know, teaching the children where they need to go, what they need to do, and actually we know that mistakes are made at the beginning, and actually that's part of it, it's that learning process. So we we really are that bridge between kind of the pre-prep and the prep part of the school, given you know, three and four we get them set up for the rest of their time at prep school.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Thank you very much, ladies. That was really insightful. Thank you for having us in talking about. Thank you, we enjoyed ourselves.