Lower School is for children aged 6 -11 years.
The Class 1 child is eager to learn and express themselves through reading and writing. Teaching is pictorial and imaginative: the aim being to stimulate the intellect through activity, rhythm and imagination. Time is spent laying down good habits of classroom life and work, cultivating reverence for nature, respect for others, and learning to connect with and care for the children’s environment.
Examples of curriculum content – introducing Numbers, Letters, and Fairy tales
In Class 2 the children are growing increasingly aware of themselves and each other. The Curriculum includes fables where the characters encounter problems with others when their boastfulness, cunning or pride cloud the right judgement. They are balanced by hearing legends of the saints, who use their skills and gifts to aid others.
Examples of curriculum content – Fables, Saints, Mental maths, Number bonds, Geometrical form drawing.
Class 3 sees the child’s awareness move further out into the world, so they study farming, building and trade to learn an appreciation for how the things we need for a comfortable life are produced for us by the hard work and effort of others. This can be accompanied by practical projects involving growing vegetables, weaving baskets, grinding flour and baking bread.
Examples of curriculum content – Old Testament stories, Multiplication and Division, Money, Measurement.
In Class 4 the children are ready for more of an academic challenge, so they engage with fractions and the relationship of human beings to the animal kingdom. The aim is to meet the children’s growing interest in the world and to provide more opportunities for independence in their work.
Examples of curriculum content – Norse Myths, Local Geography, Local History, Man and Animal – detailed study of animals and human beings.
By the time the child reaches Class 5 they have achieved an elegant balance in the proportions of their body and the ripeness of their intellect.
Examples of curriculum content – Early History (India, Persia, Babylonia and Egypt, Classical Greece), the British Isles, Botany, Decimals and Percentages.
8:15 - 8:30 - Arrive at school, settle into class with class teacher.
8:30 - 10:30 - Main Lesson blocks of 3 or 4 weeks on a topic or subject.
10:30 - 10:45 - Snack time
10:45 - 11:05 - Outdoor play
11:05 - 11:25 - Practice time on area focus dependent on class
11:25 - 12:45 - Subject lessons
12:45 - 13:35 - Lunch time
13:35 - 15:00 - Subject lessons