Children start in our Lower School in the nursery when they’re 3 years old. Our nursery is located in Charles Dickens’ Orchard, with two vibrant classrooms and an abundance of outdoor space to explore. We develop independent, confident children through our One Curriculum, supporting and preparing them for their journey through Gad’s Hill School, commencing with their important transition from pre-school to full time education in the Kindergarten, Juniors and finally the Upper School when they turn 11.
Our Lower School is principally located in a large, modern building that has been designed carefully with a tailored learning space for each transition, and classrooms are bright and airy.
Established and consistent phonics and maths programmes in the Lower School ensure that attainment in these core areas is significantly above national average. However, we genuinely value the importance of every subject within our One Curriculum, making sure that our pupils are taught by an increasing number of subject specialists as they move up through the school years. We believe that it is right to celebrate the development of skills in areas such as Computer Science, Art, Sport and Drama every bit as much as in Maths and English. In this way, not only do we prepare our Lower School pupils for success in assessments such as Key Stage 2 SATs, the Gad’s Hill Charles Dickens Scholarship Award and the grammar school selective tests (in which our pupils regularly excel), but we also – more importantly – prepare them for the wider challenges of secondary education and their transition into the Upper School.
