Welcome from the Headmaster

What do you want for your son or daughter?

Most parents tell me that, above all else, they want their children to be happy and healthy. They also want their child to have an education that will give them the opportunities to become confident, sociable, well balanced people.

That is why most parents who visit our school and meet our friendly pupils and caring, committed staff decide that St Edmund's School is the right place for their child.

We know that academic success for your child is important to you and if you take a look at our exam results you will see that our pupils do very well. However, we also understand that you want more than academic success for your child: you want them to realise their potential wherever their talents lie. This is why we provide a broad curriculum throughout the whole school. We are particularly renowned for music, drama and art and are proud to educate the choristers of Canterbury Cathedral. We also have a strong sporting record and offer many extra curricular activities including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and the Combined Cadet Force (CCF).

Our Junior School and Senior School are located on the same campus and, with no qualifying exam to pass from Junior to Senior School, the transfer is an enjoyable experience

At St Edmund's School it is very important to us that all parents, pupils and staff feel valued by one another and are proud to be at the school, confident that they have made the right choice.

We hope that you will wish to visit us in the near future to find out what makes our school such a very special place for every single child.

The school is located in beautiful grounds, overlooking the historic cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent and is easily accessible from London and London airports by rail or road.

Staff and pupils are passionate about our school and we look forward to meeting you in due course.

Jeremy Gladwin
Headmaster

Educating children from ages 3 - 13

At St Edmund's Junior School we aim to provide children with a happy and positive experience of childhood and a lively all-round education.

The attention and care we offer each child is made possible by small class sizes, the close links we foster with parents and the pastoral care we provide.

Our School is housed in separate buildings from the Senior School but offers a continuity for your child as he or she progresses from nursery and pre-prep years right through to A Levels.

Pupils aged 3 to 7 will attend our pre-prep department, Abingdon House, before moving into the Lower School between ages 7 to 10, and finally the Upper School, from age 10 to 13.

Although we share the same campus as the Senior School, the Junior School has an identity and experience very much of its own and we are proud of our reputation as a friendly school with a family atmosphere.

We know our boys and girls very well and we enjoy their company. In the classroom and beyond our pupils are encouraged to discover and explore whatever aptitudes and interests they may have and this encourages the development of confidence and a sense of self-worth and personal achievement.

We hope you will visit our school to find out what makes St Edmund's Junior School such a special place.

Robert Bacon

Master of the Junior School

Years 3, 4 and 5

In the Lower School pupils between the ages of 7 and 10 continue to benefit from small class sizes and an excellent staff-pupil ratio, ensuring that the close attention and support they experienced at Abingdon House continues. We aim to make our pupils' stay with us enjoyable, but also have high expectations for them: our aim is to turn out independent learners who are confident, motivated, and have a healthy belief in their own abilities and potential.

The Lower School occupies its own purpose-built wing, together with a dedicated playground, and pupils also have access to the other facilities on the St Edmund's campus, including the theatre, music school, chapel, swimming pool and sports hall, as well as extensive playing fields.

Our curriculum centres on the National Curriculum for Years 3 to 5, and whilst we place a particular emphasis on English, Maths and Science, we also make time for our pupils to focus on subjects such as French, History, Geography, Music and Art. We also introduce Latin as a subject in Year 5. Most of the teaching in the Lower School is carried out by the pupils' Form Teacher, allowing us to offer close support to your children in the core areas of literacy and numeracy. Alongside this, certain subjects are taught by specialist teachers, in particular French, Latin, Music, Games and PE. We believe this combination offers the best balance for our pupils' continued development. In Years 4 and 5 Maths is taught by ability group, as is English where appropriate; other subjects are taught in mixed ability groups, though work is differentiated according to our individual pupils' needs.

Pupils in the Lower School are encouraged to take part in an extensive range of extra-curricular activities, not only as an opportunity to explore their own interests and skills, but as part of their broader experience of learning about themselves and each other. Activities take place at lunchtimes, after school and in the holidays, and can be enormously varied. A typical sample includes: adventurous training, art and craft, the choir, construction toys, dance (both jazz and modern), drama, fencing, football, horse riding, ICT, kite making, Morris dancing, music, needlework, origami, peg-weaving, photography, squash, and trampolining.

Years 6, 7 and 8

The Upper School at St Edmund's educates pupils who are in the 10-13 age range. We have a significant intake of new pupils in Year 7 and they are quickly made to feel part of the school family. Of course, for many pupils, Years 7 and 8 would be at the bottom of the secondary school; our pupils find themselves instead at the top of their school, and therefore benefiting from the leadership roles they can enjoy within the house system and in sports, music and drama, and also in a broader context as responsible young citizens. Pupils with particular aptitudes can even find themselves participating in Senior School sports teams or musical ensembles.

Teaching in the Upper School is entirely conducted by subject specialists, helping to prepare our pupils for their senior schooling through not only academic skills, but also by developing their confidence and independence. In Year 6 pupils work towards the Key Stage 2 SATs for the core subjects within the National Curriculum. In Years 7 and 8 they prepare for the 13+ Common Entrance Examination. Teaching for English, Maths, French and Latin is by ability group, and Senior School staff teach Technology and Art (from Year 6) and Science (from Year 7). In this way, we find that our pupils are very familiar with the Senior School by the end of their time in Year 8, thus making the transition to the Senior School in Year 9 a less traumatic, and more enjoyable experience.

We prepare full academic reports for our pupils' parents at the end of each term, with additional interim reports, and we invite parents to a formal consultation evening every year. In addition, we welcome our parents on any occasion they wish to discuss their children's progress, either with their Form Tutor or any of their specialist subject teachers.

In keeping with the ethos throughout the Junior School, we encourage our children to take part in extra-curricular activities, giving them the opportunity to continue to learn about themselves, discovering skills or characteristics they may not have previously explored. We therefore offer a wide range of activities at lunchtimes, after school or during the holidays: adventurous training, art, craft, cross-country, dance (jazz and modern), drama, the equestrian team, fencing, 5-a-side football, golf, hockey, mountain biking, a wide range of musical activities, photography, squash, swimming, trampolining, etc.

Whilst most of our boys and girls are day pupils, at St Edmund's Junior School we do retain a strong boarding tradition, both in School House and also in Choir House, the home of the choristers of Canterbury Cathedral. From experience, we know the advantages of boarding in encouraging personal skills such as independence and self-reliance, along with interpersonal skills such as tolerance of others and team-working, all of which will serve our pupils well in later life. But boarding is not only about developing skills and self-confidence. It's also fun, an environment where there is always someone to play with, always something to do!

School House

School House occupies a wing of the original school building. Recently refurbished, it offers comfortable and enjoyable accommodation for boys and girls aged 8 to 13. The boarding community is a close-knit one, overseen by the resident Housemaster and assisted by the resident matron and tutors. Children at this age enjoy the nature of communal life, and so they share dormitories and a common room, TV room and games room, whilst also having access to the academic and recreational facilities of the wider school.

Some pupils board full time at School House. However, we also offer weekly boarding (for five or six nights a week), and we can also accommodate pupils on a flexi-boarding regime, where they stay with us for a smaller number of nights per week, or perhaps a temporary visit.

Choir House

Choir House is reserved for the choristers of Canterbury Cathedral, and is a delightful and historic building within the Cathedral Precincts. It is again overseen by resident house parents, assisted by a resident matron and tutors.

Boarding is full time for the choristers of the "XVI", in keeping with their commitments as part of the Cathedral Choir, whilst probationer choristers can have the option of weekly boarding.

Educating pupils from ages 13 - 18

The Senior School prepares our pupils for and guides them through the challenges of both GCSE and A Level.

In the Lower Fifth Form our pupils largely shadow the requirements of Key Stage 3, whilst the Middle and Upper Fifth Form takes them through the process of preparing for and sitting their GCSEs. Finally, in the Sixth Form pupils take AS and A2 Level examinations.

As well as academic work, we encourage the development of broader personal and social skills. Individual interests are nurtured alongside the capacity for good interpersonal relationships, and these are all underpinned by the school's Christian ethos. Our House system encourages not only a sense of community and loyalty towards House, but also a healthy rivalry between the Houses, particularly on the sporting field.

Our aim is to realise in your son or daughter not only their academic potential, but also a mature awareness of the spiritual and ethical aspects of life; a self-confidence based upon sound principles of self-knowledge and self-discipline; assured social skills and the understanding of the concepts of duty, loyalty and responsibility; good physical capabilities and an awareness of the importance of team work; and a broad cultural awareness, particularly through experience of music, art and drama.

The Lower Fifth: The Right Start

Most of our pupils join St Edmund's Senior School at age 13 in the Lower Fifth Form (Year 9), although some come to us at age 14, or enter directly into the Sixth Form. For those joining us from the Junior School, the Senior School will already be a familiar place; not only do we share the same campus, but many of the lessons in the final two years of Junior School are taught by Senior School staff, using Senior School facilities. This familiarity helps make the transition between the schools a more relaxing, less daunting one.

The Lower Fifth is a time when pupils lay the foundations for their GCSE and A Level years ahead. Whilst we shadow Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum, and we adhere to the Curriculum's principles of balance and breadth of education, as an independent school we are not limited by the Curriculum, and can offer our pupils a wider range of subjects and experience. Also we have the flexibility to tailor our curriculum to meet the individual abilities and potential of each of our pupils. Each of our subject departments offers a study programme which stimulates, engages and enthuses our pupils, whilst helping prepare them for the GCSE years ahead.

Lower Fifth Form pupils study a wide range of subjects, and their curriculum covers: Art, English, French, Geography, History, Information Technology, Mathematics, Music, PE, Personal, Social and Health Education, Religious Studies, Science, and Technology. Pupils can also select optional subjects, choosing to study either Spanish or Drama, and substituting Latin for Technology.

Upon joining the Senior School, pupils become members of one of the School Houses: each House is a mixture of boys and girls, and boarders and day pupils, to ensure that it is representative of the school as a whole. The House is an extended family to the pupil, offering a sense of belonging. Our pupils are encouraged to show loyalty to their House - and, naturally, there is a healthy rivalry between the Houses. At the same time, our pupils also have broader loyalties and friendships across the School as a whole. The House system, we believe, provides opportunities for leadership for our older pupils, whilst in turn the younger pupils can find inspiration in their House leaders.

The curriculum is, of course, not the only element of life at St Edmund's. We expect and encourage our pupils to take part in a wide range of extra-curricular Activities, to ensure their development as well-rounded, mature individuals.

The Middle and Upper Fifth Forms - The Right Course

The Middle and Upper Fifth Forms mark the important GCSE years for our pupils, and at St Edmund's we are both proud of our pupils' exam successes, and also mindful of our responsibility to ensure that each new entrant to the Middle Fifth Form embarks upon the "right course" for him or her. In this way we can be sure of planning the most suitable way forward for your child, tailored to his or her individual needs, abilities and potential.

Our GCSE programme consists of a group of core subjects, supplemented by a wide range of optional subjects from which pupils can choose. Core GCSE subjects are English (Language and Literature), a Modern Language (French or Spanish), Mathematics, and Science. Each of the three science disciplines - Biology, Chemistry, and Physics - is taught by specialist staff, and depending on the pupil's individual situation, he or she may be entered into the GCSEs for Science, Additional Science, or for each of the three subjects separately.

Optional GCSE subjects are grouped into three "Blocks", and a pupil will choose one subject from each block. Block "A" consists of: Art (Drawing and Painting), Drama, Food Technology, History, Latin, and Resistant Materials. Block "B" comprises: Graphics, Music, Art (Drawing and Painting), Geography, and History; and finally, Block "C" offers the choice between Ceramics, Drama, Spanish, Geography, and Religious Studies.

Alongside their GCSE studies, we ensure that our pupils are developing in a way which benefits their cultural, spiritual, social and physical development. All pupils have set periods of Physical Education and Games, and also Physical, Social and Health Education; we also require and encourage our pupils to take part in a wide range of extra-curricular Activities, to support their development as well-rounded and mature members of society.

The Sixth Form

Being a Sixth Former offers a very different experience from the earlier years of a pupil's education. The week is less timetabled, and pupils have greater periods of personal study time: learning to manage one's own time and workloads is an essential part of Sixth Form life. The nature of the work changes also with A Level study: our pupils will tackle their chosen subjects in far more depth and detail, and will produce long, researched pieces of work as part of their learning programme. All of this encourages an independence of thought and personal working practice, which stands our pupils in good stead, whether their next step after St Edmund's is at university or in the working world.

At St Edmund's our Sixth Formers also take on leadership roles within the school, reinforcing their preparation for social responsibility in the outside world. Not only do the Sixth Form pupils benefit from this confidence-building experience, but so do our younger pupils, as they look up to their older colleagues. In fact, it's true to say that our Sixth Form makes a valuable and vital contribution to the well-being of the whole school family.

The A Level years are demanding ones, and entry into the Sixth Form (Years 12-13) is dependent on appropriate success levels at GCSE: the typical minimum entry requirements into the St Edmund's Sixth Form is six GCSEs at grade C or above, with a grade A*, A or B in the subjects chosen for A Level*.

A Levels are a modular form of study, with AS modules undertaken in the Lower Sixth, and A2 modules taken in the Upper Sixth. We normally expect our pupils to study 4 subjects at AS level, dropping to 3 in the A2 level year.

We offer a wide range of options for our AS and A2 level study, with pupils choosing one subject each from 4 "Blocks" of options. These subjects include: Art and Design (ceramics), Art and Design (drawing and painting), Art and Design (photography), Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Design and Technology, English, Film Studies, French, Geography, History, Latin, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Music, Music Technology, Physical Education, Physics, Psychology, Spanish, Theatre Studies, and Theology and Moral Philosophy (Religious Studies).

In addition to their A Level choices, Lower Sixth pupils also attend Study Skills and General Studies classes.

The Sixth Form offers a wide range of societies, clubs, lectures, debates and trips to complement the A Level Study itself, and we expect our pupils to participate enthusiastically in these Activities, as an opportunity to broaden and deepen their experience. The best Sixth Form is one where the right balance of academic work and enjoyment is established, and we hope that all our pupils will open their minds to the opportunities, and embrace all that St Edmund's can offer them at this important stage in their lives.

Our boarding community is small and friendly and approximately one-quarter of our Senior School pupils board. Our boarders live in the main school building, and therefore have easy access to the library, the sixth form centre and both IT and recreational facilities. Boys and girls live in separate areas of the school, and each have resident staff members overseeing their boarding environment. A range of room sizes is available, from a large dormitory subdivided into cubicles, which proves popular with the younger boys, to rooms of four and two beds, with en-suite facilities. Sixth Formers all live in either double or single rooms.

Boarding can be full time or weekly, with boarders choosing to go home on a Saturday afternoon, and return to school either on Sunday evening or first-thing Monday morning. We also offer a limited number of flexi-boarding places, whereby boarders can choose to stay fewer nights a week, or on an occasional basis.