Gifted and Talented
In addition to the whole school events such as Book Week or Science Week, Gifted and Talented pupils at Bede's Prep are presented with a diverse range of learning opportunities.
These include curriculum trips, specialist speakers and input from staff at the Senior School, carefully chosen to inspire and challenge our pupils with higher learning potential. However, the programme is primarily geared around rigour in and outside of the classroom. A combination of extension tasks and effective questioning provide Gifted and Talented pupils with a higher level of challenge than their peers.
Pupils learn in mixed ability groups from Reception to Year 6, with lessons differentiated to support pupils who need it and extend and challenge pupils who are exceeding expectations.
English is set in Years 7 and 8, with the top set working at an accelerated pace and greater depth. As part of this accelerated curriculum the children take part in a number of writing competitions and, in Years 7 and 8, also join the Drama Masterclass which sees them performing a play and at a monologue evening.
In English, we are placing oracy at the heart of our curriculum, exploring the potential for talk to challenge and inspire the most able of our learners. Year 8 enter ‘Performing Shakespeare’, a national competition run by the English Speaking Union. This requires pupils to truly understand a character from their chosen play, performing both a monologue (or duologue) as well as explaining the character’s motivation, the context of the play and the reason for their choice of performance. The best performers move forward to a regional round, with the finalists performing in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at The Globe. In addition, pupils perform TED talks and a selection of our pupils take part in a Model United Nations conference at the Senior School, performing alongside pupils in Years 12 and 13.
In Maths meanwhile, pupils from Year 5 take part in the Junior Maths Challenge and in Years 7 and 8 join the UK Maths Trust Junior Challenge to gain a range of certifications. The most able four Year 8 pupils then represent the school in the UK Maths Trust Team Challenge in the Spring Term.
Our scientists are encouraged to participate in the UK Space Design competition which sees pupils competing against pupils from other prep schools to design the perfect space community. The competition, run by Bede’s Senior School, involves pupils working together in teams before presenting to a panel of experts, including NASA scientists.
Other such programmes also run for Modern Foreign Languages, Classics, History, Geography, Art and Design and Music, all of which ensure that the most able pupils at Bede's Prep are stretched far beyond their contemporaries elsewhere. Pupils regularly perform at the Senior School, helping fuel their future ambitions through the standard set by inspirational role models - many of whom are past pupils at the Prep.
Indeed, we regularly hear from parents of pupils who have long moved on that it was the exposure to GCSE concepts, materials and topics which their children received at Bede's Prep School that made the difference for them at senior school.
Whenever I hear this I am made immeasurably proud, for I can imagine few more worthwhile enterprises than building a passion for learning in young people and providing them with the tools they need to excel.
