Preparatory School Guide
Open Day Saturday 5 October 2019
Welcome
from the Head of The Preparatory School On behalf of the Preparatory School, I am delighted to welcome you and your family to our 2019 Open Day. Today is an opportunity to discover more about the varied and exciting life at Haberdashers. You will meet our young gentlemen and dedicated staff and you will have the chance to see our vibrant Preparatory School. Pupils in the Preparatory School are curious, embrace challenge and, most importantly, have fun each day! Whether in coding or climbing club, in football or debating, in the lab or the outdoor classroom, our boys love being part of the Haberdashers community. The wellbeing of our boys is central to our ethos. Our pastoral system is designed to nurture in our pupils the qualities and dispositions to flourish academically and in life and to offer each individual the support he requires. Our boys benefit from learning in our singlesex environment, unencumbered by gender stereotypes, whilst enjoying numerous opportunities to learn with the girls from our sister School. Read more in this Open Day guide about our exceptional pastoral care. We are a small Prep School within a large campus. The Preparatory School is housed in a stand-alone
building which offers a spacious, light and well-resourced learning environment for approximately 54 pupils per year. Our relatively small size means that we get to know your sons well, so we can help them thrive, whilst sharing our site with the Senior School means that our boys are able to enjoy resources unparalleled for a Greater London Prep School. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like throughout the afternoon. Our pupils, the best ambassadors for our School, and our teachers will be happy to answer them. I will be speaking in the Prep Hall and I warmly invite you to attend one of the three sessions, details of which can be found within this Open Day guide.
Matteo Rossetti MA (Oxon) Head of Preparatory School
Open Day Highlights Head of The Preparatory School’s Welcome Prep School Hall • 1.15pm • 2.00pm • 3.00pm Tours Bespoke tours of the Senior School are designed to give you a flavour of what goes on in each department. Pupils will act as guides on all routes and teaching staff will be available to answer any questions in each subject area.
Refreshments Please join us for refreshments in the Prep Hall and enjoy the music being played by the Prep School pupils which will be followed by one of our Headmaster’s Welcome talks.
Sharing the Senior School Campus
The Prep School uses the Senior School’s facilities for physical education, music and swimming. Pupils have their lunch in the Bates Dining Hall at the Senior School.
Tour of the Senior School Should you wish to tour the Senior School during the afternoon, pupils from our Senior School are available. Please go to the Quad (Ref 5 on the map on the back cover of this booklet).
The School Day There are 12 forms in the Prep School (three in each year group). The pupils begin their day at 8.40am and finish at 3.15pm. Year 6 finish at 4.00pm on three afternoons per week and Year 5 on one afternoon a week. We have whole school assemblies on Wednesdays and Fridays.
08:20 – 08:40 Playground Supervision 08:40 – 09:15 Registration 09:15 – 10:00 Lesson 1 10:00 – 10:45 Lesson 2 10:45 – 11:05 Break 11:05 – 11:50 Lesson 3 11:50 – 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 13:45 Lesson 4 13:45 – 14:25 Lesson 5 14:25 – 14:35 Break 14:35 – 15:15 Lesson 6 15:15 – 16:00 Lesson 7 16:00 School Ends
Breakfast Club We offer a Breakfast Club to all our Prep School pupils which takes place from 7.30am - 8.15am and is situated at the Girls’ School. Request forms are sent to parents at the beginning of each term by a member of the Girls’ School for those who wish to book their child into the Club.
Lunches An extensive daily menu, including vegetarian options and sandwiches is available from our dining room. We operate an electronic fingertip recognition system for payment.
After School Care Facility (ASCF) As well as offering many co-curricular activities led by Preparatory School staff, we also have an After School Care Facility every day until 5.30pm (4.15pm on Fridays). Parents may book in their sons, in advance by email, from 3.15pm – 4.15pm and 4.15pm – 5.30pm (includes a light tea). For more information, visit www.habsboys.org.uk or call the Prep School on 020 8266 1889.
Pastoral Care The wellbeing of our boys is central to everything we do at Haberdashers. Our pastoral system is designed to offer each individual the support he requires through membership of one of four Preparatory School Houses: Andrews, Davids, Georges and Patricks. Our House system is unique; it allows us to provide a comprehensive support structure to every pupil. Contact between School and home may involve any of the main pastoral figures, including: Form Teacher, House Leader or Deputy Head (Pastoral). They are always happy to respond to enquiries from parents and encourage parents to make contact whenever they have a concern.
Co-Curricular Activities A huge range of co-curricular activities is on offer to pupils including: board games, bushcraft, chess club, choir, cricket club, coding club, drama club, gymnastics, football, Forest Schools (outdoor classroom), history, judo, orchestra, premier strings, rugby, swimming, thinking skills, table tennis and veggie patch. These clubs offered to your son are generally organised during the lunch break to enable pupils to go home at 3.15pm (unless they have a pre-arranged music lesson), however a selection of clubs is available after school on certain days. Year 3 pupils are assisted by their Form Teacher when making decisions about which clubs to join. Options are sent to parents in the holidays prior to the beginning of term. As they progress through the School into Years 5 and 6, the pupils may choose to attend a club which finishes at 5.00pm.
Coaches The coach service, which is shared between both the Boys’ and the Girls’ Schools, offers a comprehensive transport network covering before- and after-school activities every day. There are over 150 pick-up points. Morning pick-up times vary but regular return services operate daily at: 3.30pm for the Preparatory School, 4.15pm for end of the normal School day and 5.30pm for after-school activities.
We have over 150 stops, including:
Entry Procedure for Preparatory and Pre-Preparatory Schools 5+ entry - assessment dates for 2020 entry are between Monday 24 - Thursday 27 February 2020 There are approximately 36 places available. Year 1 and Year 2 are in our Pre-Preparatory School. This is located at: Hazel Road, Park Street, St Albans AL2 2AH.
Our Pre-Preparatory (5+) Open Day will take place on Saturday 9 November 2019. Booking is essential and places are limited. Please call 020 8266 1950 to reserve your place.
7+ entry - assessment date for 2020 entry is Thursday 9 January 2020 There are approximately 20 places available. Candidates take a written entrance examination in English, Mathematics and Reasoning. Some candidates will be asked to return for an interview later in January. Year 3 to Year 6 are based in the purpose-built Preparatory School, which is located on the same Elstree campus as the Senior School.
There are sample papers on our website for entrance tests at 7+. The closing date for 2019 applications is Saturday 30 November 2019.
Stay connected to Habs
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JS - 27.09.18