Curriculum

We offer a diverse curriculum and develop a personal learning plan for each pupil. At Tockington your child will be encouraged to do their best and discover their own personal interests, guided by inspirational teachers with a passion for their subject. We introduce French from Nursery, Spanish and Physical Education from Reception, and Geography, History and Science as separate subjects from Year 1. Children start to learn Latin from Year 5 and all subjects are taught by specialist teachers. Please click on the sections below for more information on each area.

Nursery

We are very pleased to be able to welcome children aged 2 to 4 years to our Nursery, at the start of their learning journey. Your child will learn the necessary skills to enable a confident transition to Reception whilst developing a love of learning that will last a lifetime, in line with Our Ethos. The children are grouped by academic age into Woodpeckers 1 & 2 or Owls, and follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. Our amazing countryside setting allows us to place a strong emphasis on outdoor learning, our approach is to give all children access to the outdoors – whatever the weather.

Learn through play

Around the Nursery a secure ‘cottage’ garden is filled with equipment such as bikes, cars, scooters, sand and water, enabling the children to learn through exploratory play. We also encourage den building so that children can develop their creativity and extend their learning. In the Nursery garden the children experience each season as it changes. They cultivate and grow, tend and nurture flowers and vegetables whilst investigating numerous varieties of ‘mini beast’ along the way. Read all about our newly refurbished Nursery Garden here.

Extensive facilities

Our Nursery children are also able to enjoy the facilities of the whole school:

taking welly walks spotting wildlife through our 28-acre site,
collecting leaves in the Arboretum
climbing on our woodland play area
using the hall for indoor exercise and performances
swimming once a week in our heated indoor swimming pool
enjoying lunch in the main school dining hall.

Indoor activities

There are many activities for our children to enjoy inside our converted barn Nursery, consisting of a number of interconnected rooms and spaces.

cookery classes
arts and crafts
music lessons
French is taught by our wonderful Modern Foreign Languages teachers

A ‘Learning Journey’ is created for every child, it provides a detailed personal record of their achievements, whilst ensuring needs are identified and progression enabled, and becomes an invaluable memento of their early development.

See A Day in the Life of a Tockington Manor Nursery child here

Reception

Our broad and balanced curriculum combines collaborative work, structured play and practical activities. At this stage children become increasingly independent and active participants in their education.

Small, Nurturing Classes and Specialist Teachers

Classes are small and children benefit from excellent teaching which focuses on helping them to become readers and writers, confident in early numeracy and with well-developed social skills. Our children also enjoy specialist teaching in French, Spanish, Music, Games (PE) and Swimming. The pupils are also able to get an early introduction to subjects like Science with visits to our Science Lab for fun and engaging learning related to their topics and hands-on learning with computers.

EYFS Curriculum Development Stages

In the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, there are seven areas of learning and development that shape educational programmes in the Reception year. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected:

Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

Year 1 & 2

In Year 1 and Year 2 children are taught specific subjects to further their social, emotional, physical and intellectual development.

English
Mathematics
Science
Geography
History
Religious Education
Personal Social Health and Economic Education

A Flexible Approach To Learning

Although we follow national guidelines we are able to be flexible with our approach to the National Curriculum. We foster curious minds and develop confidence in all our children, through offering a multitude of different experiences so the children can identify where their interests and talents lie.

Specialist Teaching

The children also enjoy specialist teaching in:

French and Spanish
Music
Art & Design Technology
Swimming
PE (or Games) and Gymnastics.

Prep School

We base our planning on the National Curriculum but extend it in all subjects enabling our children to work at greater depth. With specialist subject teachers in English, Maths, Science, French, Spanish, Latin, Humanities, Music, ICT, Art and DT, PE and Games, we are able to provide bespoke teaching in each subject. Small classes allow us to identify any misconceptions in learning at an early stage and provide a tailored amount of ‘stretch’ for those who would benefit from it.

Small classes for bespoke learning

With a maximum of 32 children in each Year group (16 per class) each child is given as much individual support as they need to flourish. Years 3 and 4 have a class teacher but are taught by specialist subject teachers for many lessons. Years 5 to 8 are taught by specialist subject teachers in all subjects but are overseen by their Form Teacher. They are expected to follow a time table and move between subject classrooms for their lessons.

Working towards a goal

We work towards the Common Entrance Exam in Year 8. Some children also sit exams that are particular to the independent schools they wish to move on to for Year 9.

Year 7 & 8

We all want the best for our children and choosing a senior school can often be a more daunting decision than choosing their first school. We have created an Upper Prep Guide to help parents and pupils discover the many benefits of your child staying at, or joining, our Upper Prep (Year 7 and 8). Our Registrar will be very happy to share this with you – please request via email. Additionally, our Pathway Programme offers Upper Prep pupils with a particular strength or talent extra support and experiences to help them prepare for scholarship applications.

I feel very grateful that my son was able to spend Year 7 & 8 in such a lovely school and receive the encouragement and help that he’s needed. When the time came, he was sad to leave.
K. Francis, Parent of an Old Tockingtonian

An excellent record of success

Many of our pupils display outstanding ability in academic subjects, sport and the visual and performing arts and are encouraged to work toward scholarships to a wide range of schools. We are very proud of our high success rate in this area. Read more about our Leavers’ Destinations, Scholarships and Old Tockingtonian achievements here.

Recognition and reward

There are so many opportunities for children to be recognised for their hard work and good behaviour at Tockington, From Reception, children are rewarded with stars for academic and other achievements and these contribute to House Points. Children in Years 3 – 8 receive effort marks from their teachers every few weeks. These are awarded based on each individual’s performance and any significant personal improvement is recognised with a certificate in assembly. Our end-of-term prize-giving culminates in a fancy ceremony in our Rose Garden on the traditional last day of the school year in Summer. It is one of Tockington’s most loved traditions.

A challenging curriculum made fun

High standards of teaching and learning are the basis for our success and our curriculum is challenging. However, delivered by our passionate and dedicated teachers, the children come to develop a love of learning to last a lifetime – in line with Our Ethos. A wide variety of clubs and extracurricular activities are available to complement what is being taught in the classroom.

For insight on our extraordinary approach to teaching and some of the unique facets of our curriculum, ask about any of these when you come to Visit Us on a Tour or Open Day:

What is Prep?

Prep is, put simply, homework! However, we know that getting children to complete their work at home can be an arduous task, therefore we encourage children to stay with us after the school day has finished (from 4pm) and do their prep in school. Children are expected to work on their own in silence and without interruption as it is vital that they acquire the habit of studying by themselves. Help, however, is always on hand from the supervising teacher.

Children are expected to receive, understand and act upon instructions given in their lesson. Years 3 and 4 have half an hour of prep each night, Year 5 a little more and in Year 6, 7 and 8 the expectations continue to rise. They are required to do what they can within the given time frame, however, if they are unable to complete all the allotted work in that time, they may occasionally be expected to finish this at home. This helps them learn to focus and work effectively.