The children in Years 3 and 4 are taught most of their subjects in their own form rooms. There are usually three classes in each year group and the children are taught several subjects by their form teacher or other teachers in the year group. The classes are mixed ability and the children are set for Maths, and English (from Year 4). We feel that the children benefit from having regular contact with their class teacher who is also their tutor. As a result we try to supervise our own classes during prep times, giving us the opportunity to help them with their work and listen to them read.
We like to give the children the chance to try out a variety of activities throughout the year. These take place on Wednesday afternoons and include cookery, woodwork and swimming. Most of the children in Years 3 and 4 are in the Junior Choir, and this gives them the opportunity to sing in assemblies and concerts. Recently we made a recording on CD which was sold to a number of parents. Many children also have music lessons – sometimes learning more than one instrument. From September 2011, children in Year 3 will all learn the violin, and Year 4 children will learn the recorder, as one of their class music lessons each week.
We are a very happy department, with teachers who work closely together in a strong team. We work together on assemblies and performances, usually producing a concert or play each year. Our most recent production was, “The Nativity: A very respectful comedy!” which involved all the children in Years 3 and 4 as actors, singers or dancers. We have close links with the Pre-Prep department, they are invited to watch our productions and we enjoy watching theirs!
