Transition to the Middle Department

When children move into the Middle Department from the Junior Department, we want it to be as seamless a transition as possible. We build on familiar activities and themes which are already in place to support the children as they move into Year 3.

Your child is at an exciting stage of their education. As they join our Prep School and develop their independence there will be many new opportunities ahead. I hope you will find the information contained within this section useful, and that it will give you a better insight into life in this very busy, and happy, part of the school.

As they enter the Middle Department, the children also have many new experiences to look forward to: new routines and procedures, new friends and teachers, a wider variety of After School Activities and sporting fixtures against other schools. Before they arrive in Year 3, pupils are already familiar with many staff, and are also already familiar with many areas and facilities of the main school: dining rooms, performance hall, computer suites, surgery, sports hall, swimming pool etc. and the school grounds which are used extensively in the Junior Department.

Many of the PE, Music, Drama and French specialist teachers from the main school will already have taught the Junior Department children on a weekly basis. The transition process gathers pace during the Lent and Summer Terms in Year 2, when Year 2 pupils may do the following:

• Join Year 3 assemblies;
• Spend time with their Year 3 Form Teacher;
• Watch the school production;
• Pay visits to the Library and other parts of the main school building;
• Have music lessons in the Music Department;
• Visits to the Year 3 classrooms;
• Receive a copy of ‘My Guide to Year 3’;
• Meet the Year 3 teachers in Forest School.