Academic: Qualities for learning

Prep School

Learning is a joy at Norwich High Prep School and each day is filled with opportunity and promise. We know that confidence is key and we have seen again and again that when our girls feel comfortable with their teacher and among their friends, not only do they enjoy their learning, they also make the most progress.

Curriculum of confidence

We have designed our curriculum to provide breadth and depth so each girl will encounter something she can excel in, as well as subjects she has to work hard at. As classroom behaviour is good, teachers can be adventurous and creative in the lessons they plan and this makes learning fun and memorable for pupils. In fact, in a survey in May 2023, 96% of pupils said learning at Norwich High School for Girls was interesting.

As you would expect, our curriculum is underpinned by an emphasis on the core skills in English and Maths and a strong foundation in areas such as phonics, reading, comprehension, creative writing, number and calculations are developed in each year group as your daughter moves through the school.

We use a wide variety of activities and techniques to help the girls gain confidence in their literacy and numeracy skills including practical equipment and technology and carefully planned opportunities to revisit concepts regularly helps the girls feel confident about new knowledge.

Specialist teaching

Our girls broaden their knowledge and understanding of the world through specialist teaching.

Geography, History and RE is combined in our relevant and up to date Global Perspectives curriculum.

Creativity is fostered through their work in Art, Music and Drama and our girls benefit from dedicated opportunities throughout the year to express themselves through the arts as well as being involved in a full scale drama production each year. Specialist teachers for subjects like French, Music and Art bring their passion and expertise for their subject to the girls which broadens their learning experience.

An emphasis on quality first teaching as well as the use of technology ensures lessons are designed to meet the needs of all learners. From Year 1, your daughter will be provided with her own school iPad and she will begin to develop her digital literacy skills. Our girls see the iPad as another tool, like their pencil case or books and they use open ended apps across a range of subjects to share their learning, developing impressive competence in their use of technology.

“Huge thanks for everything you and your staff have done for the students this year. My daughter joined the Prep School for the last half term of the academic year and she says Norwich High School for Girls already feels like home. I can’t thank you enough.”

Prep School Parent

STEM

Our newly devised STEM curriculum pulls together learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, allowing our girls to develop problem solving strategies and coding techniques in practical, collaborative sessions. Working out how to make a periscope, steady a building in an earthquake or fire a marshmallow from a catapult develops far more than just the girls’ practical skills.

The approach was recognised in the Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards 2023 where Norwich High School for Girls were Finalists in the Most Dynamic STEM Programme category for our Prep School design engineering process approach to STEM lessons.

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Keeping active

Outdoor learning is very important in all age groups and classes can often be found outside involved in practical tasks. Whether that’s planting and growing their own fruits and vegetables in the polytunnel or making rope swings in a Forest Schools session, the girls develop their confidence and self-esteem through hands-on outdoor learning experiences.

Sport is an integral part of the curriculum and the girls develop their skills in hockey, netball, cricket. With a full size swimming pool on site, the girls enjoy weekly lessons throughout the year as well as clubs and galas. There are plenty of sporting clubs as well as numerous fixtures and tournaments from hockey and cricket to netball and football throughout the year.

Learning to think

We place as much value on teaching our girls how to learn as what they learn. We encourage our girls to think for themselves as learning is an active process in which our girls question, imagine, prioritise, invent, predict and look for alternatives. This shifts the focus of lessons away from purely assimilating facts to being about developing our girls’ thinking, where gaining knowledge is only part of the process.

We see this as preparation for the future where the ability to learn independently, challenge ideas and bring new perspectives will enable our girls to respond positively to whatever their future brings.

Pastoral care and wellbeing

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Opportunities beyond the classroom

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