Academic Matters
Form Structure
Each pupil is allocated to a Form and a Form Room. In this Form and Form Room their Form Tutor will register pupils each morning and afternoon except for Wednesday and Saturday afternoons when the whole School register in the Sports Hall. The Form Tutor is also responsible for the day-to-day pastoral welfare of each of their pupils. Form Tutors will also closely monitor their pupils' overall academic progress. A pupil's Form Tutor should be the first point of contact for parents who have concerns about their child's progress at school. Form Tutors deliver the PSHE programme to the Form.
Setting
The school understands that pupils may have specific strengths and weaknesses across the curriculum. To enable the potential of each pupil to be developed, for pupils to be taught at a level most appropriate to their ability and for pupils to be best prepared for their chosen senior school, they are placed in sets according to their ability in the core subjects. Pupils may for example find themselves in Set 1 for English yet Set 3 for Mathematics, when this best suits their individual needs. The choice of the most appropriate set for each pupil in each core subject is regularly reviewed. Teaching groups for all other subjects are determined by the core subject teaching sets. These subjects are therefore not ‘set' in relation to the child's ability in those subjects. The teaching in these subjects is appropriately differentiated to ensure all children work at the pace that is appropriate to them. Subjects that dictate the grouping of other subjects may change from year to year.
Pupils in Year 4 are taught largely in mixed ability groups where work is differentiated in the classroom to cater for the wide range of pupil ability and individual needs. Work in Mathematics and English may be taught in ability groups when appropriate.
Specialist Teaching
Although the Form Teacher in Year 4 will be responsible for the teaching of many of the curriculum subjects to their form, teaching by specialist teachers in specialist subject rooms is introduced as early as possible to maximise the pupils' achievement and progress. In Year 4, pupils will enjoy specialist teaching in French, Art and Design, Music, IT and PE. From Year 5 to Year 8 pupils will receive specialist teaching in all subjects.
Curriculum Content
The Curriculum is designed to be both broad and balanced, introducing pupils to a wide range of subject areas. The broad curriculum allows us to identify pupils' strengths and weaknesses and enables pupils to realise their potential across as many curriculum areas as possible. The schemes of work are designed to prepare pupils fully for entrance to their chosen senior school at either 11+ or 13+ via Entrance Examination, Common Entrance or Scholarship Examination. Pupils are are also prepared for their respective senior school Entrance Examination at 12+ if required.
The Common Entrance Examination
Many Highfield children take the 13+ Common Entrance Examination, set and administered by the Independent Schools Examination Board. These exams take place in June and the children take them in Year 8. Highfield also prepares a number of pupils for the 11+ Common Entrance Examination or Entrance Examination, which are usually taken in January or February of Year 6, to pass into their first choice Senior school. No child has failed at either 11+ 12+ or 13+ for many many years. The Common Entrance Examinations are marked by the schools at which the children are registered. They can only be registered for one school when they take the examination. Most Senior Schools will tell you that their pass mark is a 55% average. However, academic standards at Senior Schools vary and one school's 55% may be closer to another school's 65% and vice versa. One of the responsibilities of the Headmaster in advising parents on Senior School choice is to ensure that the pupil is steered towards a school that is academically appropriate. It is important to ensure that a pupil is sent on to a school that is neither too demanding academically; nor where a pupil is likely to coast academically. It is also important to choose a school where the ethos, style and feel will suit the child. The Common Entrance Examination is challenging and demanding, whether at 11+ or 13+, and pupils sitting Common Entrance in Year 6 or Year 8 will need to spend time in the Christmas holidays and Easter holidays revising.
Choice of Senior Schools
Choosing the right Senior School for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make, and is an issue parents should begin to consider no later than the time their children enter Year 5. They should make an appointment with the Headmaster to seek preliminary guidance and advice before visiting a selection of Senior Schools. It is also advisable that children are registered early at those schools in which parents are especially interested. A number of very popular Senior Schools, particularly co-ed Senior Schools, are heavily over-subscribed and there are often waiting lists for places six or seven years in the future. The process of consultation between parents and school on the choice of Senior School is ongoing, and the Headmaster may well have a series of meetings with parents until final decisions are reached. It is the aim of the Headmaster to ensure that children from Highfield go to Senior Schools that are appropriate for them and are schools where the children will thrive. Ideally, the final choice should have been made before the end of Year 7 so that pupil, parents and staff know the target for which they are aiming.
Policy on Academic Scholarship Candidates & Candidates for other Open Awards to Senior Schools
Highfield School is committed to supporting and promoting the interests of all genuinely strong candidates for Academic Scholarships and other Open Awards available to pupils at their chosen Senior Schools. However, the school will not support the application of candidates who, in the opinion of the Headmaster and his colleagues, are not appropriate candidates for such awards. The school does not support the use of the Scholarship route simply as a means of securing Common Entrance exemption. Only candidates of genuine Scholarship potential should be entered for such examinations.
In the event of such a candidate being unsuccessful, but being granted Common Entrance exemption, the candidate will continue to receive Common Entrance teaching in those subjects in which the syllabus has not been completed. This will ensure that the candidate is in the strongest possible academic position relative to their peers when they join their Senior Schools. In subjects where the syllabus has been completed, appropriately challenging work will be set; likewise, where a pupil has outgrown the academic demands of Common Entrance, appropriately challenging work will be set instead.
It is the school's experience that pupils entered for Academic Scholarships inappropriately gain little from the experience, and the granting of Common Entrance exemption can be genuinely counter-productive. The pupils lose motivation once the Common Entrance target is removed and can drift during the period between their Scholarship examination and the end of the academic year, which can range from three to six months. Highfield continues to expect all candidates, who are offered unconditional places on the strength of their performance in Scholarship or other Award assessments, to sit Common Entrance for setting purposes. Pupils who are successful in their scholarship examinations will continue to study alongside the CE candidates, but will not sit Common Entrance unless the Senior School requires it. This ensures that pupils remain focused and Common Entrance syllabuses are completed: this is undoubtedly in the best interests of the pupil. During Common Entrance examination week, scholars are taken on a Scholars' Trip from Monday to Thursday.
The process of determining whether a pupil should go forward to attempt an Award at their Senior School should involve close consultation between the pupil's parents and the School via the Master in charge of Scholars, Mr Lewis Hayward. The final decision should take full account of the demands and expectations of the Senior School, the abilities of the pupil and the realistic prospects of the pupil being successful. Above all, parents should be guided by the advice of the school. The school will, through the Master in charge of Scholars, approach parents to determine whether they wish to support an Award attempt by their child if, in the opinion of the school, their child has a strong chance of success.
Parents are at liberty to approach the Teacher in charge of Scholars to determine whether their child has a realistic chance of success in securing an Award. However, they should be guided by the advice they receive. Parents can, of course, choose to ignore the advice of the school and enter their children for Open Awards. In these circumstances, the Headmaster reserves the right to make clear to the Senior School his opposition to the candidate's application. Unrealistic applications are damaging to the child and seriously undermine the credibility of the school and its staff.
Internal Examinations and Assessment
Internal examination and assessment occurs on a regular basis for all pupils. Continuous assessment of pupils' achievement and effort is essential if the school is to monitor pupils' progress and for teachers to monitor the effectiveness of their teaching. Pupils need to acquire study skills and examination techniques to
prepare them for the important entrance examinations that they will sit for their senior schools. There is strong emphasis on the teaching of these skills and in encouraging the development of strong independent working habits.
Lower down the school, assessment may be very informal but more formal assessments will be gradually introduced as the pupils develop in confidence and skills. In specific subject areas assessment may be introduced in the classroom as short memory tests, end of topic tests or practical assessments. Written and practical work will be continually marked and assessed by subject teachers providing pupils with regular feedback on their progress and ways to improve further the standard of their work. Parents are encouraged to look at their children's class work and their class tests to help inform them of their child's progress. As children progress through the school, more formal examinations are held, where pupils will sit examination papers either devised by subject departments or past Common Entrance papers and scholarship questions. These will give a broader overview of pupil's progress in different subject areas and their preparation for external examination at 11+, 12+ or 13+. Pupils will always be well prepared for these main school examinations and taught revision and study skills in advance. Parents are informed by letter of all main school examination results.
Grades
Subject teachers award Effort and Attainment Grades to pupils twice a term. This is essentially an internal monitoring system to enable the school to help identify those children who may be having problems or those that deserve special recognition for their good effort or attainment. Parents are informed of these grades every half term. Regular meetings are held between staff to discuss individual pupil's progress, both to determine strategies and set targets for improvement where necessary.
Plusses
An individual piece of excellent work with respect to the pupil's ability, or a consistently high level of achievement may be rewarded by the subject teacher with a Plus. These are added up each week. When pupils reach 50 Plusses he or she receives a £5 book token.
Work that is completed over an extended period of time may be awarded more than one plus if this is felt to be appropriate. Plusses may also be given for oral contributions.
Unsatisfactory Work
The subject teacher concerned will deal with work that is below an acceptable standard. He or she may decide to see a child individually to redo poor work or to complete extra work if required. A formal "catch up" session is supervised by a member of staff twice each week.
Reporting to Parents
Regular communication with parents about their child's academic progress is essential to assist children's education. There are Parents' Evenings for each year group once a year where parents are invited to meet their child's teachers to discuss progress and any concerns. There are Parents' Meetings twice a year for parents of children in the Junior Department (Year 4). Written reports are sent home to parents at the end of every term. A shorter report is sent home at the end of the term when there has been a Parents' Evening for that Year Group.
Work Reports / Organisation Reports
Pupils who are not performing to an acceptable standard might well be put on a work report. A poor set of Grades or comments during a Grades Meeting are the usual catalysts for a Work Report, which is seen daily by the Form Tutor. Their work report is signed and graded or commented upon by the teacher of each lesson. This helps the child to understand how they can improve, it also helps to focus their minds during lessons. Two to three weeks is the usual length of time that a child spends on a Work Report.
Prep
Completing work and self-study in a pupil's own time is a valuable education in self-discipline and is a skill that should be developed before they move on to their Senior Schools. Valuable extension and support of work covered in class is also undertaken during Prep time. Pupils are encouraged to develop Prep skills from Year 4 onwards. In Year 4, Preps may be as simple as learning some spellings or completing a worksheet in Mathematics. By Year 8, however, all pupils will be completing a weekly Prep in all subjects that will be assessed by the subject teacher. For Boarders a Prep time is allocated in the evening from 5.40pm to 6.20pm . Preps are always carried out in a quiet and studious environment supervised by a member of staff.