SPECIAL REPORT: Preparatory Schooling

Make your child’s transition from primary to secondary school as smooth as possible with this guide to preparatory schooling.

Enrolling your children in a preparatory school may help them move more comfortably from primary into secondary school. Prep schools — a junior school which caters for students from Kindergarten to Year 6 — are increasing in popularity as both parents and children discover the benefits of an easy transition between differing schooling environments. These schools offer a well-rounded education focused on preparing your child for secondary life and beyond.
It is the philosophy of prep schools to target the academic and holistic development of the child on all levels — socially, morally, academically and emotionally. This is very significant to the early development of children. During their primary school years, children develop their intellect, personality and values, which influence the later stages of their life. Prep schools recognise this critical stage in children’s early development and through their curriculum and programs, actively encourage preparation for the years ahead.
In addition to K to Year 12 schools, there are also a few stand-alone primary prep schools for students from pre-school to Year 6.
These schools engage and prepare the child comprehensively and rigorously for ongoing education, giving them tangible foundations for future learning. Prep schools acknowledge that by their very nature, they are to provide a guarantee and a demonstrated ability to add value to a child’s education. This is achieved through the consistency of teaching staff, the employment of specialist staff, extensive co-curricular programs and conscious attention to matters of value, discipline and dress.
Often, the transition from primary school to high school can come as a bit of a shock for children. Primary school typically involves studying all year with one teacher with the same classmates throughout. Classes often spend most of their time in one room with a regular daily schedule. While these circumstances are common in primary schooling, they do differ in structure and environment from a typical high school situation. Prep schooling is an alternative to this situation, with a similar structure and environment pervading the entire school experience.
Historically, they are private and independent schools, so their cost may affect a parent’s decision. There are various preparatory schools around Sydney and NSW that provide a well-rounded education focused on preparing your child for secondary school life and beyond.
 Each school has its advantages. Choosing A School For Your Child has invited a few prep schools to describe, in their own way, their prep schooling experience.

Pymble Ladies College
Pymble Ladies College is a day and boarding school of the Uniting Church and caters for girls aged five to18 years (Kindergarten to Year 12).
Set on 20 hectares of beautiful grounds on Sydney’s upper North Shore, the college offers a pleasant and inspiring learning environment and extensive facilities that are available to all students.
Pymble Ladies College is divided into four schools located in one convenient location. Each school benefits from small class sizes, specialist teaching staff and the use of Pymble’s excellent facilities.
Girls from Kindergarten to Year 2 are based in the purpose-built preparatory school. This offers a friendly, caring and co-operative environment in which all students are encouraged to learn by discovery, develop a love of learning and strive for their personal best in all areas of school life.
The preparatory school was opened in 2000 and, as a purpose-built facility, includes many special features, such as bay window reading areas in each classroom, windows at child height and a lovely natural play area.
Another special feature of the new preparatory school is the music and drama space, which can function as separate facilities or as one large space. Co-curricular activities are provided with specialist teachers, giving your daughter an opportunity to participate in music, speech and drama, library, languages other than English and physical education (including ball games, gymnastics, athletics and swimming).
Care of girls is co-ordinated by head of the preparatory school through class and specialist teachers. All girls are encouraged to contribute to the care of others and quality relationships are developed between staff and students. The school counsellors and chaplain have a special responsibility for the support of students and their families.
Before- and after-school care programs operate daily. Computers are used in each classroom to familiarise girls with information technology and to support classroom teaching. The preparatory school offers programs which extend and challenge students who have talents in particular learning areas.

More Information

For more information on Pymble Ladies College and its preparatory school, or to arrange a tour, please call 9855 7799 or email: enrol@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Newington College Preparatory Schools

Newington College is wholeheartedly committed to nurturing the growth and development of boys. Newington focuses on the educational needs of boys from kindergarten to Year 12, and offers a holistic program that develops learning with the growth of boys to adulthood.
The college aims to motivate boys in every sense of the word by providing a dynamic and inspiring teaching and learning environment, to allow each boy to find fulfilment and enjoyment in his school achievements through the pursuit of academic excellence, co-curricular activities and personal development.
Newington College has two preparatory campuses, Wyvern House at Stanmore and Lindfield Preparatory School. Strong links with the secondary campus at Stanmore ensure the transition to Year 7 is smooth and well supported.
Wyvern House K-6: Located at Stanmore, Wyvern House Preparatory School has approximately 370 boys. Wyvern House is a purpose-built school that was designed with the educational needs of boys fully considered. Facilities include library/resource centre, computer laboratory, specific labs and studios for languages, science, art and music, a large covered rooftop area, a number of sizeable outside recreation spaces including a basketball/tennis court and undercover drive-through pick up/drop off area. 

Lindfield Preparatory School K-6: Newington’s long-established preparatory school at Lindfield caters for boys from Kindergarten to Year 6 and has an excellent reputation for nurturing boys throughout their primary years.
The school’s small size allows boys to develop their individual talents and build close relationships with their teachers, inspiring confidence in learning. The parent body is closely connected to each facet of school life.
Supporting the emphasis on the holistic approach to teaching and learning, the school offers a range of specialist teachers in music, art, German/French, health and physical education, library, learning support and gifted and talented education. This is complemented by an extremely diverse and enriching array of sporting, cultural, creative and performance opportunities.

More Information

Wyvern House: 115 Cambridge Street, Stanmore NSW 2048, Phone (02) 9568 9452, Fax (02) 9560 4921, Email: wyvern@newingtoncollege.nsw.edu.au
Lindfield Preparatory School K-6: 26 Northcote Road, Lindfield NSW 2070, Phone: (02) 9416 4280, Fax: (02) 9416 4167, Email: lind@newingtoncollege.nsw.edu.au

St Andrew’s
St Andrew’s Cathedral School offers a purposeful and creative learning environment for all students. Based in its central city location, St Andrew’s provides a holistic approach to education through its comprehensive curriculum, its connection with the city and its underpinning Christian philosophy and mission.
The school appreciates that the primary years are very special years in a child’s development. St Andrew’s aims to provide a nurturing and stimulating learning environment for students to participate in and grow. The school is committed to small class sizes, recognising this as fundamental to active student participation and effective learning and teaching relationships for measurable student development.
The curriculum is comprehensive and balanced in order to provide for the academic, social, cultural, physical and spiritual development of students as ‘whole people’. The development of sound basic skills is paramount in primary programming.
Perspectives of the city and the cathedral permeate the learning environment and curriculum. The rich curricular and co-curricular programs are the frameworks for the provision of diverse and engaging learning opportunities for students.
The opportunities that the city location offers are complemented by its outdoor education, sporting and excursion and touring programs. Students have a wonderful opportunity to experience an active adventurous lifestyle in the outdoors. They are taught a host of skills while exploring ways in which they can relate to each other well, to mature individually and achieve team goals.
Primary students can attend an after-school study and activity program at St Andrew’s that operates each week day during term. Students enjoy supervised recreation as well as computer games, craft and group activities.

More Information

Contact the Head of Primary or partake in a Head of School Tour, held fortnightly on Wednesdays from 9.30am to 11.00am. To attend a tour, contact the Enrolments Office on (02) 9286 9500.

Wahroonga Preparatory School
Wahroonga Preparatory School has been established since 1926. It offers children education from early childhood through to Year 4.

The early childhood program is designed to enable children to make an easy and comfortable transition to school. WPS provides a friendly, enlightening environment in which they learn through play and a variety of stimulating learning experiences programmed for the children suited to their respective stages of development.

These enjoyable experiences not only teach children their first vital lessons in life, they also teach children how to enjoy the learning experience. The early childhood program aims to provide each child with a happy, balanced and positive start to their education. A school readiness program incorporating pre-reading, number and writing is offered to children in the year prior to Kindergarten enrolment. The program is carefully structured to allow for development of positive self esteem and personal development.

When entering Kindergarten, the children take a progressive and exciting step into the world of life, cultures and knowledge. Children are encouraged to actively seek information and this is achieved by making the learning environment an exciting and stimulating place where lessons are adventurous and fun. The Kindergarten to Year 4 section features excellent teaching facilities, small classes, a high teacher-to-child ratio and a dedicated teaching staff. This enables WPS to conduct a carefully balanced, sequential educational program via key areas of learning and personal development.

WPS encourages children to take an active part in creative and cultural activities including Japanese, music, dance, drama and visual art. Physical education and health are an integral part of the personal development program, including programs in sport and lifestyle. As the school is of the Uniting Church, students participate in a religious education program in class and through regular chapel services.

Highfields School
Highfields School specialises in early childhood education and caters for children from Kindergarten (preschool) to Second Class. It is a small school with big ideas offering a warm, nurturing co-educational environment, where children and teachers alike are challenged by exciting and progressive programming.
Every aspect of the curriculum is developed and refined to reflect the real needs and interests of students, and first-hand experiences are embedded in classroom activities to intrigue, engage and support constructive learning.
Small group activities offer opportunities for children to collaborate, negotiate, question and problem solve as a means of acquiring and refining their skill base, knowledge and understanding. The inviting and well-resourced classroom environments lend themselves to the facilitation of these co-operative and constructive experiences.
A leafy and inviting outdoor environment provides boundless possibilities for exploration and creativity. The lush garden with its rocky creek bed, large sand pit and inspired planting invites children to imagine, discover and investigate, while the outdoor climbing equipment and open spaces allow for more active pursuits.

Kindergarten
The kindergarten provides a two-day preschool program on Mondays and Tuesdays for children who turn three on or before March 31st in the year of entry.
A three-day preschool program, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, is tailored for four-year-olds.
Learning activities are carefully planned and balanced, integrating the beginnings of literacy, numeracy and technology with the liveliness of art, sport, music and play. Confidence in self and ability is nurtured through the provision of stimulating learning experiences, and supported by the caring and insightful Kindergarten team.

Transition to Second Class
The preparatory school consists of two classes in each of Transition, First and Second Classes. Each class has approximately 15 students and enjoys the extra support of a classroom assistant in addition to the class teachers for key learning times.
A tradition of nurturing individual academic excellence across key learning areas of English, mathematics, science and technology, human society and its environment, personal development, health, physical education and creative arts, is something of which Highfields staff are proud. A solid foundation in the ‘basics’ sits comfortably alongside a desire to provide opportunities for in-depth study that stimulate inquiry and investigation.
Beyond the pursuit of academic excellence, everyday experiences are dedicated to nurturing the self-confidence, social awareness and sense of belonging that are so important for the balanced development of each child.

Kambala
Kambala believes education is a social experience through which even the very youngest children begin to learn about themselves, develop interpersonal skills and acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes for life. This experience begins in early childhood and takes on many different forms, but always with the involvement of family and community. Staff of Massie House welcome parents and take time to form relationships that will enhance the learning process.
Kambala believes that education should contribute to every child’s complete development — mind and body, sensitivity, aesthetic appreciation and spirituality, so that each girl can be equipped to develop her own independent and critical way of thinking. It is important for each girl to have a sense of how much Kambala respects and values her as an individual.
Programs are carefully balanced to meet the demands of the NSW Board of Studies syllabus. It is also the school’s role through the curriculum, teaching programs, classroom environment, play times and everything done each day to provide opportunities for girls to explore, learn and communicate.
The programs provide literacy and numeracy development on an individual and group basis. There’s also specialist staff to complement classroom teachers in the areas of music and dance, drama, French, library and information skills, computer technology, learning support and PD/H/PE.
The Massie House classroom environment fosters intellectual curiosity through discovery and problem solving. It aims to provide experiences that teach critical and creative thinking, reasoning, reflection and evaluation. Each girl is valued as an individual and provides for the development of individual talents and positive self image.
Massie House provides a warm, nurturing and stimulating environment where even the very youngest children feel safe and secure. The girls of Massie House are valued in the Kambala school community. Massie House is part of a school that boasts a tradition of more than 100 years of helping girls develop individual ability and strength of character.

Tudor House
or the past 110 years, Tudor House has educated primary-aged boys and since 1902 the school has been part of the Southern Highlands educational picture. The school enjoys a unique environment which has been called a “paradise for little boys”.
The school caters for boys from Kindergarten to Year 3 (Lower School) in a modern, new and purpose-built facility that recognises the needs of young boys starting school.
Upper School (Years 4 to 6) is also in classrooms that allow for space and light, and for the boys to feel involved in their educational activities.
Educating boys is a specialist activity. Boys learn differently from girls and their needs from the staff, the environment and from each other are special. At Tudor House, the long and successful history illustrates that boys are understood.
Boys are given the opportunity to enjoy the traditional pleasures of tree climbing, yabbying, bike riding and plenty of time to explore the great outdoors.
The school prides itself on its comprehensive outdoor education program known as Kahiba. This starts with children in Lower School being encouraged to explore their own wilderness area.
All schools seek to provide something extra to its students’ education. At Tudor House, this ‘added value’ is most significant and only a tour of the school will allow parents to fully comprehend what Tudor House is all about.
The school believes that every boy has skills and talents and it is the staff’s task to uncover these and to build upon them. Tudor House provides an environment for the quiet and the active, for the scholar and the sportsman, for the artist and the musician, the camper and the singer. Every boy from Kindergarten to Year 6 is valued, warmly welcomed and encouraged.
Tudor House is an Anglican boarding and day school for boys, encouraging personal development and developing literate, skilled and resourceful individuals.
Every day at Tudor House is Open Day — visit and see for yourself what makes this a unique boys’ preparatory school.

Mosman Church Of England Preparatory School
osman Prep School (as it is fondly called) was established more than 100 years ago. It is known for its outstanding record of individual and academic excellence, two long-term traditions which continue to the present day. Its slogan, “Educating for Tomorrow, Today” encapsulates a focus on being forward looking in readiness for the complexities of the world in which the boys will live.
With strong foundations in boys’ education, enriched curriculum, personal attention to learning needs and where every boy is known personally, Mosman Preparatory School boasts an excellent staffing ratio of 1:9. The youngest 10 classes each have a teaching assistant every day to personalise learning and assist with grasping new ideas. A community of professional teachers enables Mosman Prep to continue its philosophy of focusing on the individual needs and abilities of the boys and addressing the issues which are a fundamental part of educating thoughtful and capable boys.
Mosman Prep fosters a comprehensive approach to education that emphasises thinking, valuing and doing, and occurs in the context of a personalised, Christian philosophy. This enables the boys to excel in academic and sporting pursuits, and in a wide range of expressive arts. Mosman Preparatory School offers its students a wide range of before-and-after school co-curricular programs.
Mosman Prep has preferred access arrangements with several Greater Public Schools and with other major secondary schools, including The Scots College, The King’s School, Newington College, The Armidale School and St. Andrew’s Cathedral School.
External measures of academic success abound. More than half the senior boys traditionally receive High Distinction, Distinction or Credit awards in the NSW University National English, mathematics, computing and science competitions.

More Information

Contact Mosman Prep at 75 Shadforth Street, Mosman NSW 2088, Phone: (02) 9968 4044, Fax: (02) 9960 1647, Web: www.mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au