IN ASSOCIATION WITH
School Bath Why pay for pre-prep?
Mark Hartley, headmaster at Forres Sandle Manor, examines the problem many parents have: if I can only pay for one stage of my child’s education, which should it be? Children learn a huge amount in their first seven years, so should you make it nursery or pre-prep?
one enter the system in time for Common Entrance to get into a good senior school or at A-level to get into a good university? It is a difficult one. Actually, it is not. A child’s true education begins long before
T
exams are even in the picture. Children learn a phenomenal amount in their first three years of life, and the next three are hardly less important. As the Jesuits said: “Give me a boy until he is seven and I will give you the man.” And it is true. The first years of school – in the nursery and the pre-prep,
are vital and it is fundamental that they are of the very highest standard. It is at this time that children learn how to learn; that their curiosity is harnessed through meaningful and purposeful play and that they develop the neural pathways that will serve
Above: Learning about nature; playing with technology; and bringing the future forward at Forres Sandle Manor
HE VALUE of independent education is a frequently aired supper party debate. Is it worth paying for a child’s education and if so, which part? Obviously, exams are important, so does
them for the rest of their lives. It is in these valuable years that a child’s dispositions and attitudes to learning are developed and that children learn to take risks, to persevere, to explore and to ask questions, as well as the social and communication skills which can only develop through being with others. At Forres Sandle Manor we provide an environment which
nurtures and encourages the developing child at this special time in their lives. We do not believe in hot-housing. That is the way to produce rapid, but weak growth. Instead, we allow children the most precious thing of all – time. It is only through sustained, active learning, that a child is able to become absorbed, make connections to past experiences, develop higher order thinking skills and truly learn. So, if I were asked when it was worth spending money on a
child’s education, I would reply: “Come and see FSM for yourself. There’s no time like the present.”
• For more details about Forres Sandle Manor visit the school’s website at
www.fsmschool.com. FSM is based in Fordingbridge.
Single sex schools top league W
HILE IT has become popular for schools to become co-educational, there are many reasons for your child to
attend a single-sex school. These have not changed, despite changing fashions in education. Dr Helen Wright, president of the Girls’ Schools Association
(GSA), says: “Academically, single sex schools top the league tables, despite being in the minority. This does not mean that children in co-ed cannot match the examination performance of those in single sex schools, but that single sex schools punch well above their weight in this respect.” Evidence indicates that boys and girls often benefit from
being taught separately. A greater percentage of pupils from GSA schools continue to higher education than is the
case in other independent schools. Surprisingly, evidence suggests that girls attending girls’ schools are more likely to avoid stereotypical female careers, unlike those at co-ed schools. But it is the choice of school that is important, not one above another. “The best we can do is to give
children and parents confidence and choice in education, and single-sex schools provide this. A healthy society that values choice will always promote the existence of single- sex schools,” concluded Dr Wright.
WILTSHIRE LIFE Schools Supplement October 2011
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