Development Association Stonyhurst College

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Curriculum

Nomenclature of classes at St Mary’s Hall

The Curriculum

Pupils at SMH enjoy long, stimulating and productive days at school. Lessons run from 8.45am in the morning throughout to 3.50pm for Key Stages 1 and 2 and 4.40pm for Key Stage 3. Lunch and recreation time (“recs”), together with Games and P.E. are strategically placed within the school day in order to provide a degree of balance. Copies of the Curriculum Plan, detailing subject allocations and School Day are available in both the Family and Staff Handbooks.

Hodder House (Foundation and Key Stage 1)

Pupils in Hodder House are taught in classes by a Class Teacher. The school day follows a creative curriculum model and consists of Literacy and Numeracy, together with topic work including RE, Science, History and Geography, French, Music, swimming and PE, ICT and PSHCE. Nursery pupils receive subject specific teaching in French, Art, and Drama. Reception, Pre-Prep 1 and Pre-Prep 2 additionally receive subject specific teaching in Drama, Art, French, PE and Swimming. The curriculum is based on the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 curriculum and children in Pre-Prep 2 are prepared for external Key Stage 1 NFER Assessment.

Prep and Elements (Key Stage 2)

Pupils in Lower Prep and Upper Prep are taught in classes by the Class Teacher with the input of a number of subject specific teachers as they move through to Lower Elements. The curriculum consists of RE, Literacy, Maths, Science, French, Spanish, History, Geography, ICT, PSHCE, Art, Music, Drama, PE and Games. Most subjects follow the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 and pupils are prepared for external NFER Key Stage 2 external tests in Upper Elements.

Pupils in Upper Elements are also invited to join the 11+ Scholarship Programme, consisting of two twilight sessions per week. This programme runs from September until January each year and is specifically designed to prepare internal candidates for the 11+ scholarship examination in January each year.

Figures and Rudiments (Key Stage 3)

The curriculum offered in Figures and Rudiments follows the ISEB 13+ Common Entrance syllabi in the majority of subjects and is as follows: RE, English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, Spanish, Latin, History, Geography, ICT, Art/ Design & Technology, Music, Drama, PE, and Games.. All subjects are taught by specialist teachers including some staff from Stonyhurst College. PSHCE is delivered by tutors during one of the two tutor periods each week

A small number of pupils also study the ISEB 13+ CASE which occurs in February and June each year. These pupils attend additional classes each week in order to prepare them for the examination.

The children are prepared for the ISEB 13+ Entrance examination and/or the ISEB 13+ Scholarship examination, both of which are taken in the final term of Rudiments.

Whole School Project Week

Immediately after the public and internal exams season historically during the first weeks of June each year, the whole school embarks upon ‘Project Week’. Pupils and staff alike embrace learning opportunities and life skills beyond the traditional confines of the classroom. Residential trips depart for the Somme battlefields of northern France, adventure trips also leave for northern France and rural Wales and North Yorkshire. Meanwhile in school a whole host of activities takes place ranging from ‘Tolkien day’ celebrating the school’s link with the Tolkien family to ‘Africa Day’. In addition to the above, Rudiments have a programme of events which prepare them for the next stage in their life as they prepare for senior school.

Project Week is one of the highlights of the year at SMH and is very much in tune with our mission celebrating the whole person and the talents they have.

Throughout the key stages during the year and with project week, the curriculum thus gives pupils experience in religious, spiritual, linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, and aesthetic and creative education.

The Class Teacher/ Personal Tutor

Children in Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are allocated to a particular class with a designated Class Teacher. The Class Teacher/Personal Tutor is responsible for the general pastoral and academic welfare of the children in their class.

Studies

There are two formal studies sessions within school every day for pupils who choose to stay in school beyond the end of lessons. Elements studies occurs between 5.30pm and 6.00pm each day with Figures and Rudiments studies taking place between 6pm and 7pm. Studies take place in the Tolkien Library for Elements and Key Stage 3 day pupils, and in classrooms for Key Stage 3 boarders. Each studies session is supervised by an academic member of staff and there is also an EAL studies session each evening, supervised by a member of the EAL department or in some cases one of our Spanish-speaking gap students, when in residence.

Work for Figures and Rudiments should be set according to the published studies timetable. The work should last for approximately 25/30 minutes per subject.

Pupils in Upper Prep and Elements should be set two written studies of 20 minutes each with the remaining 20 minutes time being devoted to reading and learning spellings and times tables. Pupils in Lower Preparatory should be set one 30 minute piece of written work with an additional remaining fifteen minutes each day being used for reading and learning spellings and times tables.

The Pupil’s Academic Diary

The importance of the academic diary at SMH should not be underestimated. The purpose of the diary is to record studies thoroughly and comprehensively. The reasoning behind this is that when pupils revisit their set studies later that day or later in the week then they are in receipt of all of the information required to successfully attempt the piece of work. For day pupils, the accurate recording of studies in diaries also allows parents to monitor the studies which come home each evening. Parents of day pupils and weekly boarders are asked to check and sign off the diary of their child every week and to note any comments in the section above the signature.

Each week, either in a class period in Key Stage 2, or a tutor period in Key Stage 3, academic diaries are checked by the class teacher or tutor. This process involves a presence check and should the diary not be forthcoming then a sanction is enforced.

Presentation of Pupils’ Work

Each piece of work should include A.M.D.G. (Ad Maiorem De Gloriam – for the greater glory of God) and the date at the top. L.D.S. (Laus Deo Semper – Praise God Always) should be placed at the bottom.

Acceptable work

The Jesuit philosophy is that through our work we give greater glory to God. Jesuits have always aimed at excellence in education and learning. Stonyhurst has a long tradition of success in scholarship. However, it is important to recognise that even the smallest steps along the road towards excellence should be acknowledged and rewarded. 

Teachers should make judicious use of the Line Points Rewards System and Headmaster’s Commendations. This, in addition to a daily regime of reward (and penalty where appropriate) in the classroom, should create the atmosphere likely to foster excellence. If pupils develop ingrained habits of producing consistently high quality work, public exam success should come as a by-product of repeating this process in the exam hall. Heads of Department/Key Stage Co-ordinators/HPP should be kept informed of pupils performing poorly. Teachers should review pupil’s notes/ exercise books regularly.

Whole School Assessments

Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall uses internal examination/test results, reading and spelling assessments, NFER and CATs for assessing and tracking individual pupils’ progress. From the Spring Term of Lower Prep upwards CATs scores are used. In addition to this, from Preparatory upwards, all children are assessed using the NFER Reading tests for their reading age. There is also an assessment of pupils’ spelling ages from Prep upwards.

The data from these assessments is made available to all staff to assist with differentiation within the class and it is also used to establish any children who are ‘underperforming’ so that their progress can be closely monitored by the appropriate person.

 

Examinations/Tests

School Examinations

CATs                                                                          September

Rudiments                                                                February

Figures                                                                      November and June

Upper Elements                                                       June

Lower and Upper Prep                                            June

Public Examinations

Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall Entrance 11+             January

Stonyhurst Scholarship                                          February/early May

ISEB 13+ Common Entrance                                Early June

Key Stage 2 NFER                                                  June

Key Stage 1 NFER                                                  May/June

Communication with Parents

Reporting to parents takes place using written reports and parents’ consultation meetings. The communication of academic information to parents occurs normally at the end of each term (or in line with the publication of examination results) and is done via email.

Subject Synopses

At the beginning of every term we also send out to parents subject synopses detailing in advance the topics that their child will be taught that particular term. 

Recording and reporting to parents

At SMH we use a variety of reporting formats to provide information for parents, ranging from Records of Achievement in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, to report cards and end-of-term reports in Key Stages 2 and 3. We endeavour not to ‘over-report’ but instead use the combination of synopses, reports and parental consultations to inform our parents. Due to the national and international make-up of our pupils, all of our reports (with the exception of ROA) are emailed to parents.

Parents consultations for each year-group are strategically sequenced and take place throughout the year to coincide with a time of year when a major assessment is imminent or has just taken place. In addition to this we hold two boarding parents consultations at Christmas and in June each year. Staff are expected to be available to meet parents on these occasions and to be able to give more detailed feedback on pupil progress, expectations, ways of improving etc.

Subject Synopses 

Rather than writing a retrospective common statement or summary of the work covered at the end of term, we prefer instead to release what we are teaching in advance to parents at the beginning of each term. This way, the parents can become involved in their child’s learning in a practical way.