Under Fives

Children at School in England and Wales currently must attend full time school from the term following their fifth birthday. However, recent research into the area of early learning has proved beyond any doubt that the years before the age of 5 have a crucial and irreplaceable part to play in the education of all children. At the Cathedral School, therefore, the continuous process of education begins with a structured course to develop a solid foundation of academic and social skills from the moment a boy or girl becomes a member of the School

Pupils may enter our Nursery Class in the term of their third birthday or at any time after that according to the development of the individual child. At this stage the vast majority of pupils will be part time, most attending for between three and six sessions. Children who stay for the whole of a day bring a packed lunch so that there is a little bit of home present at school in the middle of the day. Some pupils will attend full time in the Nursery Class. Children normally progress to the Reception Class in the September prior to their fifth birthday. At this stage they will generally become full time pupils

Pre Fives

The curriculum followed by our pre-five pupils addresses all those facets of the Foundation Stage curriculum identified by the Department for Education and Skills.

By careful planning, part time as well as full time pupils are given access to a broad and balanced curriculum encompassing early literacy and numeracy skills, knowledge and understanding of the world, acquisition of personal and social skills and a suitable emphasis on the development of physical and creative aspects of school life as well. From these foundation targets arise the programmes of study at Key Stage 1 of the Cathedral School curriculum, a curriculum which encompasses all of the National Curriculum and begins to extend and broaden it in all the ways in which Independent Schools are traditionally strong.

In addition to a firm basis of language, literacy and numeracy, our children profit from Physical Education lessons in the School Gymnasium and, in the Reception Class, weekly swimming lessons. One of the School's specialist music staff teaches music to this age group. In all education there is no substitute for good teaching and a high proportion of teacher-pupil contact time but for children of this age it is more important than ever. The term ‘class size’ has no real meaning at this stage but our pupil-teacher ratio at the Cathedral School means that pre-fives are generally taught in groups of between four and six with a good proportion of individual, one-to-one contact being built into the week..

Exeter Cathedral School is registered with the Department for Education and Employment as a provider of Early Years Education and as such is inspected every two years by the DfES.

All rising 4 and 4 year old pupils are eligible for the Devon Early Years Grant. Younger pupils who are 3 or above may be eligible for the same grant which is postcode dependant. Any parent wishing to make enquiries about these grants should contact the Bursar, who will be happy to help.

Click here  for details of fees.

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