Year 9 Entry into Bales Private Secondary School London

Students commonly enter Bales Independent School at Year 9, the normal prep-school finishing age, although this is not an exclusive reason for entrance at this time. As the final year of a student’s Key Stage 3 education, Year 9 is an important and formative year both academically and developmentally. Mr Flatley is Head of Lower School and oversees all of KS3 in both an academic and pastoral capacity, offering personal guidance in conjunction with other experienced members of staff.

Some students come from prep schools that finish at Year 8, and some transfer from local secondary schools to reap the benefits a more academically focused and supportive environment offers. With class sizes typically less than 14 students, we continue our theme of small tutorial style teaching, with a strong focus on the performance and development of each pupil.

This enables us to organise a full programme of practical work with many relevant teacher demonstrations. These enhance the quality of the overall science courses.

Homework and assessment

Regular homework is set in all subjects in accordance with a timetable, and progress is measured by fortnightly class tests. Each subject is given two pieces of homework per week, on a set day. This way parents know what work their children should be doing on any given night. A homework diary system is in place, where parents sign the diary each week to state that they are aware of each pupil’s set work.

At Bales,  every student from year 9 through to A2, takes two series of formalised trial examinations each academic year, one in December, the other in March. Hence a student who joins in year 9 will experience six cycles of these by the time GCSEs are taken, and thus becomes highly accustomed to the preparation and pressure of the examination process. This is in addition to the fortnightly class tests.

Progress Reports

Progress reports are sent out to all parents/guardians at the end of every term, and additional informal reports may be requested at any time. Bales has always been proud of its accessibility and openness – any parent/guardian may telephone at any time to arrange a visit to the school to discuss the child’s progress. Parents have a direct line and Bales College email contact for the Head of Lower School, Mr Flatley. Any day-to-day questions and informal feedback queries should be directed to him or can be discussed with a member of Senior Managment.

Sports

Exercise is very important for young children and as such we aim to promote physical health and well being. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, for sessions of 90 minutes, the classes are taken to a newly refurbished local sports centre for supervised physical education and games. Students learn about the practical application of injury prevention while being taken through a thorough warm-up session, followed by either football, basketball, table tennis and/or badminton among others.

School Trips

Students have the opportunity to go on a number of organised trips with Bales College – whether day trips to, for example, Hampton Court Palace or residential trips in the UK and Europe.

For academic year 2010-11, confirmed Year 9 school trips include:

• 4 day residential Geography and History trip to Norfolk in Autumn Term 2010
• 7 day  trip to rural France in Summer term 2011

We find that school trips, particularly residential trips, give children an excellent social and personal learning experience, from being away from their family and experiencing a new culture, to bonding more with their fellow students and seeing teachers in a different setting to the classroom.