Fees From September 2007 - August 2008 Full-time fee for all pupils: £2623 per term Fees for learning support: Determined by individual need. Early Years Unit fee: Full day session £44 Early Years Funding is available for pupils aged 3 and 4 years. Our OFSTED registration for child care also entitles parents to pay holiday care and Early Years fees through the Child Care Voucher Benefit Scheme. Our fees include: Text books and materials Lunches Before and after-school care/homework 8.00 - 6.00pm After-school clubs Day trips and overnight UK trips Personal accident insurance Additional extras which are not compulsory: Holiday Care, School Fees Protection Insurance, peripatetic music, Yr 6 foreign trip.

Hours Children are welcomed to school from 8am. Registration is at 8.40am with the first lesson beginning at 9am. The school day ends at 3.30pm for Reception to Year 4 and at 3.45pm for Years 5-7. Although Clubs and Homework run until 4.30pm and 5pm respectively, there is provision for children up to 6pm every day.

Sports

The Gateway School Physical Education Department provides the children with a positive experience of PE, whilst offering a broad and full range of activities. We seek competition in all major sports, where we have success both locally and nationally. We realise that not every child can perform to a high standard but we encourage them to set realistic, attainable goals encouraged by the PE staff. PE activities at Gateway include gymnastics, dance, ball-skills, hockey, health related fitness, team building activities and swimming.

The PE staff aim to ensure that by year 6, all children will have the ability to evaluate and recognise their own success in PE, and have a positive view of physical activity. They will be able to make informed choices about sports in later life, appreciating the benefits regular exercise can have on their quality of life.

Gateway School PE department regards every child as an individual, differentiating for every ability level. This includes adapting, modifying and changing activities to enable each child to make progress, carefully managing their physical regime to allow for specific medical conditions.

Fixtures in all sports are arranged against other state and independent schools at a variety of levels. This gives as many children as possible the chance of representing the school. House matches also allow competitive fixtures for a large number of children. In recent years Gateway has had a great deal of success in local, regional and national competitions, regularly providing district and county players in a number of sports. Our sport includes football, rugby, netball, cricket, cross-country, athletics and table tennis.

Sport is an area in which the children at Gateway participate with enthusiasm and much success. Over 80% of children in Years 4 to 6 competed for the school in 2006 and this is an area we will continue to build on as the development of new sports gives greater fixture opportunities. Notable achievements in this area have included representing Buckinghamshire at the Lords Taverners eight-a side National Hardball Cricket Finals, County Cricket Cup champions, and U10 and girls South Bucks football tournament winners. Children from Gateway have also been victorious in the National IAPS golf championships, the schools county tennis competition, the ISA regional and national swimming finals and various cross-country events.

Performing Arts

Music, dance and drama play a very important role in the life of the school. All children from Reception to Year 7 are involved in two musical productions each year, at Christmas and during the spring or summer terms. All children in Year 6 are involved in a large scale production at the end of the summer term. Those not performing on stage are responsible for stage management and props. Recent productions include Shake, Ripple and Roll (2003), The Factory Children (2004) and Bugsy Malone (2005).



There are many opportunities to go to the theatre and to concerts. Recent visits include a Classical Spectacular concert at the Royal Albert Hall and Great Expectations at the RSC in Stratford.

Visiting music teachers offer individual instrumental tuition to many children on a weekly basis. Specialist tuition is offered on the following instruments at the school:
violin and cello
flute, clarinet and saxophone.
trumpet, cornet, trombone, and French horn.
guitar
singing
piano

Children who have been learning an orchestral instrument and have reached Grade 1 standard are invited to join the school orchestra which performs at school assemblies and concerts. There are also opportunities for accomplished musicians to take part in small ensembles. The tea time concert at the end of each term provides an opportunity for these ensembles and individual performers to demonstrate their talents.

The choir meets once a week at lunchtime and performs regularly within the school and the community. The choir recently performed in front of an audience of 1000 people at the Ian Rennie Gala Prom at RAF Halton.

Other after school clubs include ballet, modern dance, drama and recorder.

Clubs

A variety of clubs is offered every evening after school, to extend and to deepen children’s interests and to give opportunity for team coaching in sports.

We aim to offer a club for each age group each evening. Clubs are run by our dedicated teaching staff, occasionally outside specialists, drawing on their expertise and enthusiasms.

Children enjoy art, drama, cookery, dance, judo, board games, war hammer, gardening, jigsaws, computers, verse-speaking, chess, soccer, rugby, hockey, cricket, table tennis, netball and fitness clubs.

Clubs take place daily between 3.45pm and 4.30pm; chess continues until 5pm and 5.30pm, as do sports, according to the season.

Music clubs take place during lunch times; these include: choir, orchestra and various ensembles.

The Foundation Stage School life can begin at the age of 2 years at Gateway. Children are welcomed into a stimulating, sympathetic environment by experienced Early Years staff. They are nurtured and introduced to a rich variety of experiences in a gentle atmosphere where learning becomes an extension of life at home, building on previous experiences. The Early years Unit, based on Montessori principles and practice, is an integral part of the school. Children attend on a timescale suiting the individual child and his/her family. Nursery vouchers are accepted. Continuity in learning is assured as all children automatically feed into Reception within the main school, as rising five year olds. Learning progresses naturally from the Foundation Stage to the National Curriculum. Popular activities include regular visits to the local library, a mini beast safari in the school grounds, recording weather patterns on the computer and sessions in the school gymnasium. A purpose built outdoor play area enhances the opportunities for play. In Reception children are taught in class groups by their form teacher for core curriculum subjects and humanities. There are a number of assistants assigned to the Key Stage 1 area. They are also taught by subject specialists in all other areas of the curriculum. Termly day trips begin in Reception and children are welcome to join in after-school clubs and activities. The extended day offers care for Early Years children until 5.30pm and until 6.00pm from Reception. In 2004 all the children in the Foundation Stage were involved in a sponsored ‘Bounce-a-thon’ for a disabled children’s charity, one of their first steps in social awareness.

Juniors - Years 1 to Year 4

Children move smoothly from the Foundation Stage into Key Stage 1 and then 2. They are taught in small classes by their form teachers for core curriculum subjects and humanities, supported by a classroom assistant in many cases. We aim to offer a broad and balanced curriculum in line with the National Curriculum, as well as providing a wealth of opportunities to enrich the children’s experiences. School trips are organised each term and from Year 3 children take part in overnight trips which extend and reinforce their learning. This is an enjoyable first experience away from home for many children.

The children begin the day in their classrooms with Brain Gym, introduced in 2003. This involves a range of exercises which are designed to enable pupils to focus on tasks and work with sustained concentration.

From an early age in their school career, the children move around the school to designated areas and benefit from specialist teaching in the following areas:

French is taught by a French national, concentrating on the acquisition of every day vocabulary and conversation, with emphasis on correct pronunciation. Learning through singing and role play develops their confidence.

ICT is taught by a specialist in our newly equipped ICT suite, though ICT is incorporated in the curriculum in classrooms with the advantage of projectors, interactive whiteboards and laptops.

Children enjoy Technology in small groups of 7 or 8 and, like other specialist subjects, is linked to topics in humanities and science.

Creative and enthusiastic Art lessons take place in a spacious room and provide opportunities for a range of activities using a variety of media. This year much creative work was inspired by the National Gallery’s Take One Picture initiative.

Music plays an important role in the life of the school and children from Reception perform twice a year in a presentation to their parents. The children have music lessons as a class group where they develop basic skills in reading music, composition and listening, and a weekly singing lesson as a year group. Many children from Year 4 choose to learn instruments and these individual lessons are organised within school time.

PE and Swimming Our enthusiastic and dynamic sports department provides excellent sporting opportunities for the children. Our facilities include a sprung floor gymnasium and an astro-turf court. In Years 3 and 4, children enjoy a weekly games afternoon. Swimming lessons take place at Chesham Leisure Centre.

Seniors - Year 5 to Year 7

Children in Years 5 and 6 enjoy the advantages of belonging to a tutor group. Pupils are under the pastoral care of a tutor who is also responsible for at least one area of their curriculum. This pastoral structure allows natural interaction between the two year groups and ensures continuity and individual care over a two year period. A weekly tutorial provides the opportunity for lively discussion. Current affairs, the quotation of the week, issues relevant for the school council and planning for assemblies, are discussed.

Year 7 pupils are cared for within one tutor group where their individual needs are met and where they are encouraged to take a responsible role within the school community.

Pupils in Years 5, 6 and 7 are taught in small classes, within their year group, with the opportunity to participate in a large group for games and music/drama productions. They are taught by specialist teachers, many of whom have taught them from Reception. Morning lessons begin with Brain Gym activities; careful lesson planning ensures that the learning styles of the children are met.

Children move around the school to lessons and are encouraged to be responsible for their own equipment. This practice develops the organisational skills and independence necessary for secondary education.

Children continue to enjoy a variety of subject based activities and trips throughout the year. In Year 5 the children benefit from an overnight trip to Ironbridge where the focus is on history, geography and science based activities. Year 6 spend five nights in France and participate in a variety of educational and social activities where they are encouraged to speak French.

A strong special needs team, which includes an educational therapist, is responsible for identifying and making provision, within the school resources, for pupils with disabilities.  The Gifted and Talented co-ordinator works directly with pupils and teachers and has published some of her Gateway programmes.  Whatever their abilities and talents, children are encouraged to achieve their best, with curiosity and enthusiasm, as they move towards secondary education.