Life in the Pre-Prep

The Pre-Prep School Day

Entering the Pre-Prep School each morning is a happy time and children join their Form Teacher in their own classroom for a form period from 8.35am onwards with registration at 8.50am. A typical Pre-Prep day follows the timetable below:

 

Day Begins 8.50am Registration
Assembly/Session 1 8.50am – 10.10am
Snack 10.10am
Morning Break 10.20am – 10.40am
Teaching Session 2 10.40am – 11.40am
Tidy and Prepare for Lunch 11.40am
Lunch 11.45am – 12.20pm
Lunch Break/Extras 12.25pm – 12.50pm
Teaching Session 3 12.55pm – 2.15pm
Snack 2.15pm
Afternoon Break 2.20pm – 2.35pm
Teaching Session 4 2.35pm – 3.20pm
End of school day 3.20pm
Extras 3.20pm – 4.00pm
After School Club until 5.25pm

One afternoon each week is a dedicated Forest School session, led by one of our three qualified practitioners and takes place onsite within our natural woodlands and gardens.  Irrespective of the weather, our spirits are never dampened – with appropriate clothing and footwear the outdoors bring exciting opportunities for adventure. 

Our weekly programme includes art, drama, French, swimming, Games/PE and music lessons.  All of these lessons are taught by specialist teachers, utilising our exceptional onsite facilities.  All children have a weekly swimming lesson which, for busy parents, means that their children have the opportunity to become proficient swimmers without the need to organise additional classes outside school.

Assemblies

Assemblies take place three times a week. One focuses on singing practice, another looks at a weekly news round up and the final assembly of the week celebrates the pupils’ achievements. Certificates are awarded to pupils for their good work and/or their good behaviour and this is a great opportunity to reinforce our much valued golden rules.

Lunch

A hearty two course school lunch is served in the main school Dining Room. Here the children are seated at tables with a form teacher or teaching assistant who serves all the children from the head of the table.  Before and after eating, the children say Grace.

The Dining Room is at the heart of S. Anselm’s and whilst every mealtime is special, Harvest, Halloween, Christmas and Easter are particularly celebrated and meals are set against the backdrop of magnificent seasonal decorations that the children adore.  The weekly roast dinner each Tuesday is also a firm favourite!

Before break times healthy snacks are also provided for the children, as well as the option of milk or water to drink. In the morning this might be humous and vegetable sticks, or cheese, tomatoes and crackers. In the afternoon a wide selection of prepared fruit is also on offer.

After School Clubs and Extras

There are a number of after school activities (Extras), which are mainly run for children in Year 1 and 2.  Parents can select which Extras they would like their children to join, although some do have limited places or are only offered to Year 2 pupils.  Recent Extras have included gardening, athletics, choir, ICT, Lego, hockey and Rugger Eds.  A few optional activities such as pottery and netball club also run during the lunch playtime.

In addition to this there is also an After School Club which runs until 5.25pm each day, for which an additional charge is made.  The children are offered a drink and snack at the start of club and those children staying for the second hour are given a sandwich, fruit and a drink. The children are supervised in the Pre-Prep Assembly room by two of our teaching assistants. Parents are asked to collect their child from After School Club room.  This is a particularly useful facility for working parents and families who have older siblings with later collection times in the Prep School.