St Edward's Prep School, situated on the west side of Reading, Berkshire, is an independent day preparatory school for boys aged 4 to 13, founded in 1947. Boys are admitted to the pre-prep in their reception year.

St Edward's is in an educational trust, and together with our sister school, 'The Highlands School', is jointly administered by a board of governors and benefits from charitable status.

Close contact is maintained between the two schools, with regular consultations taking place over curriculum development and teacher exchanges.

The two schools, where possible, share the same term dates, as many boys at St. Edward's have a younger brother or sister at the Highlands.

The headmaster is a member of I.A.P.S, a body which ensures and monitors high standards of performance in prep schools.

As well as high standards of education, the school promotes sound and clearly defined moral values which include tolerance, consideration for others, kindness and trust. The school is a non-denominational foundation, but has Christian beliefs at its core. The school is happy to accept boys of all religious backgrounds.

Dates for the Autumn Term, 2007

Dates for the Spring Term, 2008

Dates for the Summer Term, 2008

*  Please note Pre-prep finish at 12 noon and Prep at 12.30 p.m.

A visit from the Mayoress of Reading.

Pre-Prep

Boys generally enter the Pre-Prep the September after their fourth birthday. In the Pre-Prep there is normally one intake per year. however job relocations mean that places sometimes become vacant during a year.

Prep School

Boys usually join the Prep School at 7 in year three. There are, however, sometimes places in other year groups vacated by families relocating because of job moves.

Prospective pupils visit the school for part of a morning to undertake a series of short tests which enable us to ensure that pupil and school are compatible.

Academic scholarships are offered at year 3 and 7. In addition, new pupils entering the school between these age groups may also be eligible for an award.

Admission Policy

Pupils are admitted to St. Edward's School without prejudice as to race, colour or creed. One of the senior staff will interview the child prior to entry. This may take the form of a visit to the school and/or some short tests in order that the school may ensure that there is a good 'fit' between child and school.

The Headmaster will then decide whether or not to offer a place.

ARTS, MUSIC, DRAMA

Music at St. Edward's Drama Drama is a popular activity and there are a number of productions each year, ranging from workshops through to the annual school play, which is frequently a musical. Drama also features regularly in whole school assemblies. An external Drama co-ordinator teaches Drama in the curriculum as well as offering LAMDA tuition and exams. Music All boys learn to play the recorder in years 3 and 4, and boys perform regularly in assemblies both playing instruments and singing.The Director of Music leads our worship in the Harvest Festival and Carol Services. Each year there is a concert and the orchestra entertains parents at Speech Day. Over 30 boys take individual instrumental lessons from visiting teachers each week. These lessons take place after 4pm or during lunch, thus avoiding clashes with academic lessons. In addition, Music is taught throughout the school as part of the normal curriculum, and considerable emphasis is placed on its appreciation and the learning of notation. Art Winners of the Tilehurst Eisteddfodd. Art is an integral part of the curriculum, and there are also opportunities to develop skills and interests further in the Art and Craft clubs. Many pupils have won awards in the local Eisteddfod and a number gain art awards to senior schools.

ASSESSMENT AND HOMEWORK

On a Geography field trip. Assessment The School operates a grading system enabling parents to be made aware of how their son is progressing. The boys are graded every two weeks by effort on the scale A to E and by achievement on a scale from 1 to 20. The boys also have a full written report at the end of the Christmas and Summer terms, and parents have the opportunity to respond on the parent reply form which accompanies each report. There are opportunities for parents to discuss their son's progress at parents' evenings held in the January term as well as by appointment at any time during the year. Homework During their time in Year 3 the boys are given a small amount of homework in Maths and English. Emphasis is placed upon reading and Maths and we encourage parents to take an active role in this area. In Years 4, 5 and above the boys are set homework in two subjects per night. This is increased in Years 6, 7 and 8 as appropriate. Details of the homework set are recorded each day in the boys' Homework Diaries, which parents are asked to sign each evening, to indicate that homework has been successfully completed. Each homework should take approximately thirty minutes. Homework is a vital part of the learning process, and we aim to enable pupils to leave St. Edwards fully prepared to tackle the challenges set at senior schools. Many parents choose to encourage their sons to stay on for day boarding. This enables them to have a 45 minute activity period followed by an hour's supervised prep. This means that boys may leave school at 6pm with their prep completed. DAYBOARDING On the annual Ridgeway Challenge Day boarding takes place each day after 4pm. There is a choice of activities following tea. These may include Chess, Art, Brazilian football, Drama, Table Tennis, Softball Tennis as well as a seasonal sport. Between 5pm and 6pm prep takes place, and is held in silence under the supervision of a member of staff. Dayboarding may be booked on a termly basis, 1-5 days per week or on an ad hoc basis by telephoning the school secretary. OUTINGS There are regular outings related to individual subjects which include geography field trips, theatre visits, the Historic Ships at Portsmouth, the Globe Theatre, the National Gallery, interactive science museums, places of worship for religious studies, Lords and other sporting venues. There are also longer trips away including an annual activity holiday to Osmington Bay on the south coast, and a long weekend team building in the New Forest. International trips to South Africa, Swaziland, France, Italy and the USA have also taken place recently.   Visiting the Bayeux Tapestry Year 3's visit to Bath P.T.A. / P.T.A NEWS The St. Edward's PTA The P.T.A. is run by a committee which helps to fund small capital projects at the school and also to make donations to local charities. There is a wide variety of social functions each year and as all the parents are automatically members of the association, they are warmly welcomed at PTA events. Role and Purpose of the PTA: You can read about the role and purpose of the St Edward's PTA here Full PTA minutes are available for the following recent meetings: October 2006 - PTA AGM May 2006 February 2006 October 2005 THE SCHOOL DAY Building a Maths Tower. The school officially opens with full supervision from 8.15am. Boys arriving earlier use the IT facility and library. Boys are expected to arrive by 8.30 a.m in order to get organised for the day. There are nine 35-minute lesson periods split into three sets of three lessons, separated by two breaks. All boys have school lunches and our caterers offer a varied menu including vegetarian, halal and wheat free food. There are no lessons on Saturdays, but very occasionally there are sports fixtures arranged for Saturday mornings. SPORT Watching the Cricket at Lords There is ample provision of physical activity, with the boys being coached in the skills of playing soccer and rugby during the two winter terms, with cricket and athletics during the Summer term. The Astroturf pitch at the School External professional coaches are employed to ensure that each child gets good coaching. Rugby at St Edward's There are matches throughout the year against other schools in all age groups, from the Under 8s through to the Under 13s, allowing a large percentage of the boys a chance to represent the School. Climbing at Osmington Bay The school uses sports pitches, tennis courts and changing facilities at Prospect Park, a short distance along the Tilehurst Road. Minibuses transport the pupils. Many parents choose to pick up their sons at 4 pm from Prospect Park on games days. Each Year also has PE lessons every week on site, during which the skills and techniques of gymnastics, basketball, hockey etc. are taught. The Pre-prep and three junior years also attend Reading Central Pool for a weekly swimming lesson taught by ASA coaches and leading to ASA swimming awards. Leadership skills and outdoor pursuits are a part of the curriculum in years 7 and 8. UNIFORM In the Pre-Prep In our Games Kit In the Classroom (click on the images to see the bigger pictures) The school uniform is kept as simple and practical as possible and can be obtained from the school outfitters, Jackson's of Reading. The PTA operates a second hand shop and the school stocks the games bags and waterproofs. CURRICULUM In the Computer Room The Prep School's curriculum is broadly based and incorporates the best of the National Curriculum, but we seek to offer more, and in greater depth. Boys study English, Maths, Science, French, History, Geography, R.S., Music, Art, Design Technology, P.S.E. and P.E. Drama, Study skills and Latin are optiona, depending on year groups. On entry to the prep school at 7+, the boys are taught for the bulk of the time by one teacher, with specialist teaching for Mathematics, Information Technology, Music, P.E. and Sport. In subsequent years the boys are taught exclusively by subject specialists, and are placed in one of two sets within the year group for the core curriculum subjects. Acknowledging the increasing future importance of foreign languages, spoken French is introduced straight away at age 4. Information Technology The curriculum also includes Information and Communications Technology which is taught as a skill in its own right. The school computers which are networked together with permanent internet access are in regular daily use across the curriculum for tasks such as word processing in English, mental arithmetic work in Maths, and using databases for the Humanities. The use of the internet has increased dramatically over recent times and there is an active Individual Needs Department, catering for bright boys with learning difficulties as well as offering an extra dimension to more gifted pupils. The computer equipment was upgraded in September 2002. Examinations and Scholarships The boys are prepared for 13+ entrance to Independent Senior Schools, either by the Common Entrance Exam, or by Scholarship. The school has had a fine record of winning Scholarships throughout its history, including success at Reading Grammar School. In addition, some boys leave at 11 to go to the selective Grammar School in Reading. The exams at the end of a boy's career at St.Edward's should not be viewed as the final goal, more as a test of the foundations laid and are part of an ongoing process to GCSE, "A" levels and beyond. In the Reading and surrounding area, there is a wide choice of Senior Schools and the Headmaster is very happy to offer parents advice on future schooling.