Beyond the Classroom
When children enter Junior School, they are allocated one of our three houses; Potter, Simpkin and Tailor. These houses are all linked to Beatrix Potter and have links to Gloucester. If children have siblings in one of the houses already, they are then allocated the same house. The houses compete against each other in a range of areas including merits, poetry, a variety of sports and also music.
There is always great team spirit and support within each house. Each term, a member of Upper Shell is elected as House Captain. These House Captains run their house meetings and share suggestions with their peers. Within the house meetings, the children decide upon charities that we might donate to but also give motivation to strive to do the very best for their house and themselves.
Keystones
The Keystones programme is a fun and rewarding enrichment activity which encourages our Junior School pupils to undertake a series of Academic, Pastoral and Co-Curricular challenges above and beyond what they achieve in School. The activities are tailored to each Class and are completely voluntary, but enable our pupils to gain many valuable experiences, typically working towards one Keystone each week.
Transition Classes Keystone Leaflet
Shell Classes Keystone Leaflet
Co-Curricular Activities
We offer an exciting range of co-curricular activities to help children learn about themselves as well as the world.
In line with our aim to instil a love of learning, we offer a wonderfully rich and varied co-curricular programme that enables pupils to discover and explore their personal talents and interests. This is hugely beneficial. Not only do children have fun, they gain a powerful sense of curiosity to find out more about the world around them.
Being situated in the beautiful Cotswolds allows us to regularly take our children out into the countryside to experience nature first hand. For example, trips to Over Farm allow children to learn about where their food comes from and gives them the opportunity to interact with animals.
Music-related activities abound with Junior School Orchestra practice, Recorder Club, and Chorister Theory sessions. Theatre is well represented with a weekly Drama Club and many opportunities to perform on stage. We also offer LAMDA lessons to pupils and a wide range of peripatetic music lessons.
Sporting clubs are hugely popular in Junior School and include a variety of lunchtime and after-school activities such as mixed football, High Five Netball and Zumba Kids. For those who are interested in the creative, we offer craft clubs, poetry competitions and cookery classes to name a few.
A co-curricular highlight for many children is the annual Year 6 residential trip, which is run at the end of the Summer Term. The trip offers a chance for our pupils who have reached the end of their time in Junior School to experience a new environment and get a taste for the residential trips that are to come in Senior School.
Every student has talents and strengths to be nurtured. Consequently, our teachers tailor their methods, providing more support or more challenge, depending on individual need – a core principle of our unique ‘Keystones’ approach.
