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Junior School (Years 3 to 6)
Susan Braud is the Head of our Junior School, which occupies a beautiful Victorian building, Howard House, in extensive grounds. In the Junior School we offer an environment which will excite, challenge and support girls in the 7 to 11 age range.
Girls enter the Junior School from a wide selection of feeder schools, both maintained and independent, at a range of entry points, sitting entrance assessments in the January prior to the year of entry at 7+, 8+, 9+ or 10+. The Junior School is the perfect starting point for their career at Dame Alice Harpur School. Its special atmosphere and stimulating, yet secure, environment provides all girls with an excellent foundation upon which to build in future years. Girls from Year 6 transfer seamlessly to Year 7 in the Senior School, having developed during their time in the Junior School the confidence to take on even greater challenges in the Senior School. Parents and friends of the school always comment on the relaxed but purposeful atmosphere in the Junior School which retains a very special place in the hearts of former pupils for many years.
Each form of usually no more than 20 pupils is taught by their Form Tutor. However, we introduce regular contact with the Senior School and a level of subject specialisation from Year 3, for example in the teaching of Music, Drama and Physical Education. All girls in the Junior School study French from Year 3, and they also have the opportunity to sample lessons in German and Spanish during their time with us. The girls benefit greatly from being able to use the impressive facilities on both sides of the campus. Further specialisation is introduced in Year 6 where the teaching of Science, Design Technology, Food Technology and Textiles is split between the Junior School and Senior School sites, preparing girls for transition and ensuring continuity in the curriculum. Our Junior School teaching staff, together with our own administrative and support team, ensure that all girls leave us having been suitably challenged yet fully supported to achieve their potential.
The curriculum which all girls follow is based on the National Curriculum but is further enriched by an extensive programme of extra-curricular activities which are built into the school day, either in the form of lunchtime or after school clubs, or as part of the 'Activities' slot. Access to this wider curriculum enriches the girls' performance in the classroom and supports their personal development and confidence. Girls choose from an increasingly wide selection of activities such as 'Groovy Greenfingers' Gardening Club, Adventure Pursuits and Maths Brain Teasers. In addition, girls may be invited to join sports teams after school and there are optional extras available to all girls such as Ballet, Jazz Dance, Speech and Drama and individual instrumental lessons in Music. Homework habits are established from Year 3 and we positively encourage parents to support and take an active part in their daughters' learning.
We are proud of the Junior School's considerable links with the community through the programme of charity work and involvement in local community initiatives such as St Paul's Church Christmas Tree Festival, Children's University, Destination Imagination and Operation Christmas Child. Girls also organise their own fund-raising events and Charities Afternoon. Visits from guests speakers, the Young Shakespeare Company, Anglo-Saxon Day and the Year 6 Victorian experience support classroom learning and help to make the Junior School a very special and enjoyable place to be.