The Upper School

At 08:30, the US pupils are greeted, on entry to the school, by a senior member of staff. They make their way to their form rooms where they meet with their form teachers who will then register his/her pupils. The pupils hand in their Prep Diaries and there is time to generally organise themselves for the day ahead. Each pupil has a Prep Diary into which she writes her Prep on a daily basis and this is counter-signed by her parent.

At 08:50, the US pupils with the LS pupils attend school assemblies and these are held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and there is a Hymn Practice on Friday mornings for the US.

The first part of the morning's lessons starts at 09:10 with 3 lessons until 11:10 then a morning break until 11:35. There are then two lessons from 11:35 till 12:15 and the next one until 12: 55.

Lunch is served and immediately followed by a break from 13:25 until 14:00.

The girls are supervised in the playground, some girls will be scheduled to practise netball shooting in the basement and other girls will use this time to change their library books or possibly have a music lesson.

Afternoon lessons start at 14:00 and finish at 15:55 for dismissal at 16:00.

We aim, where possible, to teach the Core Curriculum subjects in the morning.

The girls are dismissed from the front door at 16:00 when they shake hands with the member of staff on duty and the girls are then passed over to the adult nominated to collect them.

From 16:00, the school runs many different clubs which the girls can join and most of these finish at 17:00 though a few slightly later.

The Curriculum

At Glendower, we aim to deliver a wide, well structured and balanced curriculum.

In the US, we build on the strong foundations laid in the Lower School but we now also extend the range of educational and recreational opportunities too. All of these experiences should help our girls to learn new skills, experience enjoyment and fulfilment and a heightened awareness of the number of growing and exciting possibilities for the future.

From Y3 upwards, the year group is usually divided into 2 forms which will stay together all the way through, unless, in very rare circumstances, we re-shuffle the group. Each form has a form teacher whose responsibility is the pastoral care of each girl. In addition, the girls will be taught by subject specialists.

In Y3, the girls spend much of the day-apart from specialist subject teaching-with their form teachers who will teach them English, Maths and Science (with input from the Science Coordinator), History, Geog, RE and ICT. Drama, Music, French, PE, Swimming and Netball will all be taught by subject specialists though often assisted by the Y3 form teachers.

There is a similar pattern of teaching in Y4 but with an increase in subject specialists for Art, History, Geography, RE, Science and ICT.

In Y5 and Y6, the girls are taught English, Maths and Science by the three Core Curriculum Coordinators and this year marks the start of the serious preparation for entrance exams in Y6.

In Y5 the girls will be placed in sets for Maths and they are also taught English in these groups. This allows the work to be tailored to the needs of the individual. There are other subject specific staff who will work alongside so that pupils can benefit from working in a 1:1 basis or in a very small group to consolidate or extend their work.

This support is offered to the girls in English and Maths and English also for girls for whom English is not their mother tongue.

Y6 is essentially the final preparation year for entrance exams. The Y6 pupils will have regular (most likely fortnightly) formal practice of papers in the autumn term leading up to their exams in January.

Once the exam period is over, the Y6 pupils spend the rest of the year engaged in a more relaxed approach to the curriculum allowing for a more varied and more pupil centred and directed approach to their learning. For example, they engage in a Public Speaking Competition and experience a day of Young Enterprise delivery.

In the summer term, the Y6s are exposed to a series of workshops specifically aimed at raising their interest and awareness to the outside world in terms of, for example, the many varied career prospects that lie ahead for them.

We have robust systems of internal assessment and tracking procedures and these ensure that our teaching is informed. Differentiation within the lessons either formally, for those girls who have an Individual Education Plan recommended by Educational Psychologists, or informally, is the norm. Formal assessment results are shared with parents and regular methods of reporting to parents are firmly in place and we keep these under regular review.

From Y3 upwards, the pupils have regular formal and informal assessments. We never read out marks in class as we would not wish any girls to suffer from loss of self esteem. We wish at all times to encourage, praise, and celebrate because we know that children feel secure and achieve best in such a positive and rewarding atmosphere.

Please refer to our subject specific information where you will gain a more in-depth analysis of what is taught in the different subjects-and of the progress and continuity in these subject areas.