Departments
Pre-Nursery School (Age 2-3)
Our little Dragons are the youngest department in the St. George’s family. This is an exciting opportunity for pupils aged 2 to 3 years to explore the world around them and hone their social skills under the caring eye of our enthusiastic staff.
Our primary goal is to provide an environment where children feel safe, loved and stimulated. Our department offers a number of learning opportunities. These include messy activities: arts and crafts, play dough, cornflour and many more. There is a quiet area: including the book corner and mark making table. We also have a home corner, a construction area and a play area. By organising their space this way, we aim for the children’s individual development to evolve without too many structured activities. Your children will develop independence as they explore all the activities on offer.
We aim for your children to leave us with the confidence and skills to help them meet the challenges that lie ahead in Nursery. Our staff will always be available for you as we passionately believe that success at this level relies on a close partnership between you as parents and the Little Dragons Department.
Nursery School at St. George’s (Age 3-4)
The Nursery welcomes children from the age of 3. They usually spend one year in the Nursery, prior to entering the Reception year of school.
The children work in small groups, to a ratio of 1 adult to every 10 children.
The day is carefully planned with direct teaching and organised play. The children are encouraged to play and work together, developing their social and pencil skills as well as the ability to concentrate. Children also enjoy supervised playtime outside where they can grow in awareness of themselves and others by playing together.
Non- German speakers are given German lessons.
The Early Years Department at St. George’s (Age 4-7)
The Early Years Department of St.George’s School, comprising Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (pupils aged 4-7 years) endeavours to create an exciting, secure and comfortable environment where children are fully motivated, stimulated and able to excel. It is the belief of all the staff teaching this age group that learning should be child-centred and, above all, fun. We aim to provide a sound foundation for future learning, working with each child as an individual.
We follow the English National Curriculum, providing the children with the opportunity to acquire literacy and numeracy skills, and to commence the study of Science, Geography, History, PSHE, PE, Music, Art and German as our first foreign language.
The children also enjoy creating dramatic productions performed for their parents and friends.
The pupils have the opportunity to form a close relationship with the form teacher during each year of study. Specialist teachers for German work with each class, throughout Early Years.
Lower School at St. George’s (Age 7-11)
In the Lower School Department, we make a great effort to create a community where the children are encouraged to achieve their best in all they undertake. We aim to ensure the children enjoy the process of growing up, forging friendships with others from different nations and that they approach each step of the academic ladder with a sense of excitement.
Children are expected to behave in a responsible way where polite manners and responding to the needs of others come naturally. We take great pride in the children’s response.
We work extremely hard to ensure each child receives a sound, all-round education. With small class sizes, we are able to ensure that considerable time is devoted to the individual requirements of each child.
A great deal of time and effort goes into the development and maintenance of our curriculum and the level descriptions and objectives as laid down in the English National Curriculum, including the Literacy and Numeracy strategies. Our children also sit a variety of assessments.
Encouragement of our pupils is important. The children perform best when all their efforts, great or small, are noticed and praised. We nurture working methods which we hope will assist the children’s progress in later years.
In addition to the academic aspect, the children enjoy music, dance, sport, group singing and assembly as part of their weekly programme.
The children in the Lower School need little encouragement to involve themselves in some of our Extra Curricular Activities. These include 2 Sports Clubs, Chess, Music, Explorer, Shackelton outdoor pursuits, Dance, Art, Recorder and Choir. In addition to these, historical, geographical, musical and theatrical visits are a part of our academic and social programmes.
We encourage parental involvement as much as possible and we work on an open door policy. We aim to develop a partnership with each parent where the needs of the individual child are considered and the parent’s observations and thoughts are welcomed. To facilitate this, we have parent evenings, a parent’s social evening, school barbecues, art exhibitions and drama productions.
Our happy children are the best ambassadors for our Lower School Department.
Middle School at St. George’s (Age 11-14)
In Middle School, we place great emphasis on ensuring that the children have an enjoyable, secure and supportive environment in which to grow and learn. The dedication of the teachers and promotion of respect between pupils ensures that we have a very positive ethos.
At the same time, we expect and receive high standards of behaviour. The children are naturally well-mannered towards teachers and each other and we take great pride in the courtesy the children show towards visitors.
We regard it as an essential part of our task as educators to cater for the individual needs of all our pupils. With our small class sizes, each subject teacher knows his or her pupils very well and is therefore able to assess and support individual needs. Each Form also has a Form Tutor who offers pastoral care.
In Middle School the subjects, are taught by qualified subject specific teachers. Subjects studied in Middle School are:
KS3 Subjects at St. George’s School
English Language - English Literature
Mathematics - Physics
Chemistry - Biology
History - Geography
French - German
Sport - Music
IT - Art
All subjects follow the English National Curriculum in the three years of Middle School and we monitor the pupils’ attainment according to the National Curriculum Levels. We assess our pupils through examinations in the middle and at the end of the school year. We also have monthly grades in each subject, which are reported to parents and the children are rewarded for their effort and achievement with a school certificate.
The Extra Curricular Activities offered by teachers are varied and extremely popular with the children in Middle School. The clubs include football, cricket, basketball, Drama, various music groups, Science as well as help clinics in each subject and a homework club.
Parents of Middle School children are kept well informed of the academic progress and social integration of their child. Teachers and parents keep in close contact through termly parent evenings and various social events. Additionally, parents are very welcome to discuss any matters with teachers throughout the year.
The Upper School at St.George’s (Age 14-18)
The Upper School at St.George’s aims to provide all pupils with the relevant qualifications to achieve University entrance. Academic excellence is our main priority and we have a proud history of many successful graduate alumni. Striving for academic excellence does not preclude an overall policy of holistic education. Indeed, we feel that setting attainable goals helps bring out the best in pupils’ personality as well as enhancing their academic performance.
Although academic excellence comes high on our list of priorities, pupils at St.George’s are encouraged to participate fully in school life. We particularly welcome pupils who are willing to assume responsibilities and we have a very successful ‘Prefect’ and ‘Head Boy’, ‘Head Girl’ structure. Our Upper School pupils are encouraged to work with our younger pupils and their teachers as part of their social education within the school
We have a very varied Extra Curricular Activities programme and we encourage participation in all after-school clubs. St. George’s actively encourages all Upper School pupils to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and we offer a comprehensive ‘work placement Scheme’ for all pupils over the age of 16.
Academic Structure
Our Upper School incorporates the “I/GCSE” course between the ages of 14-16. Between the ages of 16-18 we offer the A-Level course and the IB Diploma Programme. Pupils usually enter Upper School at the age of 14, but they may enter when personal ability and social development are appropriate. All pupils follow a broad curriculum of I/GCSE subjects. We offer a wide range of subjects.
The I/GCSE Course (14-16)
Pupils progressing from KS3 or upon entering Upper School are given guidance in choosing from the subject areas below. In order to complete the I/GCSE course pupils must study English, Mathematics, Science, one Foreign Language and one Humanities subject. St. George’s Pupils are encouraged to take I/GCSE examinations in at least 10 of the following Subjects
I/GCSE Subjects at St. George’s School
English Language – English Literature
Mathematics – Physics
Chemistry – Biology
History – Geography
French – German
Art – Spanish
IT – Music
Provision is made for option choices in Art, Music, Spanish and IT in combination with History or Geography or French.
St. George’s pupils take final I/GCSE examinations with the (London) Edexcel or (Cambridge) OCR Examination Boards.
The I/GCSE course generally takes two years (Years 10 & 11).
The A-Level and the IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme) courses
At St. George’s, Pupils in Year 11 or upon entering school at age 16 are offered a choice of two programmes of study. The successful completion of either programme leads to University entrance worldwide
St. George’s is very proud of its history of examinations results at A-Level and can offer a wide range of examination subjects, such as:
AS/A-Level Subjects at St. George’s School
English Literature – Mathematics
Physics – Chemistry
Biology – History
Geography – French
German – Spanish
Economics – Drama
Art
Pupils choosing the GCE (A-level) course in Year 12 are encouraged to choose a maximum of five AS-Level subjects. Modular Examinations are set by the London & Cambridge boards in January and June. Pupils generally take the June examinations in four or five subjects at the end of Year 12. Progress to Year 13 is determined by success in year 12. Pupils choose the best of their AS-Level passes and continue to study at least three of them for their final A-Level year.
A-Levels are accepted by universities worldwide (indeed, pupils who successfully complete the A-Level course, may be granted sophomore (2nd year) status upon entrance to a U.S. university).
Generally, Universities in the UK require 5 GCSE grades (Maths, English are compulsory, grades A-C) and 3 A-Levels (grade A-E). These are not usually subject specific.
Entrance to German Universities for German pupils requires an additional compulsory foreign language at GCSE-Level.
The separate German states have their own specific subject requirements at A-Level. Contact with the separate states is necessary to obtain these particular details.
The IB (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme or the ‘IBDP’)
IB Subject Choices at St. George’s School (All available as SL and HL)
English A1 – English A2
German A1 – German A2
German B – French B
Geography – History
Economics – Biology
Physics – Chemistry
Mathematics – Visual Arts
Compulsory Course Components
ToK – CAS
Extended Essay
Pupils choosing to follow the IB programme must choose six specific subject areas in distinct combinations. Three of the subjects are studied at Higher Level and three at Standard Level. There are also three core compulsory subject areas.
Successful completion of the IB programme with a total points score of 24 or higher including the Core Compulsory subjects can lead to University entrance worldwide.
Entrance to German University with the IB requires that either Mathematics or a Science subject (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) has been completed successfully at Higher Level.