Repton School

Repton School in Dubai offers a curriculum closely modelled on the tradition of excellence established at Repton UK and its prep school Foremarke Hall.

In keeping with tradition, at the heart of our curriculum are the three ‘R’s’ - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. It is genuine competence and dexterity in these subject areas that underpin all other areas of learning. Our curriculum however, is broad. We spend time cultivating questioning and enquiring minds through specialist teaching of the Sciences and ensure that children are equipped to deal with the pace of technological advances through our comprehensive IT programme.

As you would expect in an international school, languages feature strongly. Our pupils are exposed to three languages in the Junior School: Arabic, French and Spanish and, by the time they move to Senior School, one of these should be developing into a secure second language.

Sport has long been at the heart of quality UK independent schools and this is no different at Repton. The children participate in games and swimming during their normal timetable and are able to access a wealth of choice in our comprehensive after school activity programme. We believe in playing competitive sport and Repton teams compete at all age levels in most of the major sports.

Music and the performing arts are also vital components in the development of a rounded child. The children enjoy specialist music and drama lessons and a host of musical instrument lessons through peripatetic teaching staff. Children, from as young as four, are encouraged to speak and perform in front of increasingly large audiences comprising peers and parents in assemblies and regular shows. Here, they gain the important self confidence they will carry with them throughout the rest of their lives.

Finally, we teach the ‘hidden curriculum’. By this we mean the skills that children need to be pleasant, successful and socially competent. Good manners, social skills, leadership, compassion and consideration for others. It is our aim that every Repton child is identified by their basic good manners.

The Curriculum in More Detail

Early Years (Reception and Nursery)

The Early Years curriculum is similar to almost all schools in the UK and the majority of English speaking schools in the UAE. The curriculum is founded on the Early Learning goals of the UK Foundation stage. The children work in small classes with experienced teachers supported by teaching assistants. In addition, there is extra support available from a pool of caring classroom assistants. As one would expect, the children spend the majority of time with their class teacher but the children do benefit from specialist teaching in swimming, music and Languages.

Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2)

Building on the secure foundations established in Early Years, our children begin to follow a more structured day that, eventually, establishes itself in a timetable similar to that followed in through Key Stage 2 and on, into the Senior School. As the children progress through Key Stage 1, they are expected to sit and ‘work’ for greater periods of time with greater independence. There is a strong emphasis on reading, phonics and handwriting. A cursive script is introduced to all pupils at Y1 and the children will begin to bring spellings home to learn on a weekly basis; these will be tested. In addition, the children are taught the basics of number leading to addition and subtraction in both mental and written forms. The children will begin to learn multiplication tables and these too, will be tested. Alongside the work of the excellent class teachers, the children also benefit from specialist teaching in Music, PE, Swimming, Languages and Art.

Key Stage 2 (Year 3 to Y6)

Academic pace increases in Key Stage 2 as we head for the all important Senior School Entrance Examinations. The children are gently ‘pushed’ to make sure that they are achieving to their potential and not just ‘marking time’. We place no ceilings on our children’s learning and, as soon as children are ready to receive and understand new topics and skills, they will be taught. Our Key Stage 2 curriculum still focuses very much on doing the basics well. English, Maths and Science lie at the heart of the curriculum but independent research skills are developed through a range of topic work.

In Key Stage 2, there is an increased input from specialist teachers. While the form teacher generally teaches Maths, English and Humanities the other subjects are specialist taught. These subjects are:

• * Science
• * Languages (Arabic, French and Spanish)
• * Information Technology
• * Art
• * Music
• * Physical Education

Homework

Homework is an important part of a Repton education. From our very youngest children, homework is set daily. It contains mainly learning and reading tasks for the younger children but builds to include all subjects as the children progress through the school. Generally speaking, homework is set overnight and it is expected to be returned the following day. All homework is marked and returned allowing parents to track the progress of their children. From Y3 upwards it is possible for the children to do their homework at school in ’prep’. Prep runs four nights a week after activities.

Assessment

Assessment at Repton is continual and comes in many forms. The children will be given weekly tests in multiplication tables and spellings – these results are communicated to the parents. In addition, we have half-termly and termly assessments that keep the teachers informed as to a child’s progress. Our assessments have been carefully developed to help us make sure that the children are on target for the academic level required to enter the Senior School.

Extra Curricular Programme

Fundamental to the Repton Curriculum, is our extensive range of after school activities. Activities take place at the school using our own facilities or may involve travel off-site.

Activities generally run for an hour after school each day, except Thursday. The activities are led by our own staff with support in specialist areas provided where necessary.

All children from the Reception classes upwards have an activity programme. Activities are not compulsory but the range and quality mean that the vast majority of our children make the most of the opportunities given to them.

School Trips

We believe in the value of educational visits to enhance the learning experience for our children. Class and Year Group trips are common to support topic work and we also bring outside agencies into the school to support the work of the teachers.

Residential trips are also an important part of the school. Y3 and Y4 children attend an outdoor activities camp in the spring, while Y5 and Y6 children may travel overseas to visit areas of archaeological interest such as Egypt or Jordan. Sporting exchanges with overseas schools may involve travel to other Gulf Region schools, schools in the UK or even in the Far East. Our annual ski trip is always very popular.

Reporting

Through our communication books and homework diaries, the parents are kept fully informed as to their child’s progress. Teachers are generally available before school for ‘housekeeping issues’ but, because of staff involvement in activities after school, it is always best to make an appointment if you would like to discuss anything in more detail. Parent Meetings are held twice a year – usually October and March and written reports are published at the end of the Autumn and Summer Terms.