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Prep School

Prep pupils playing in a line together

In the Prep-School we continue to help children build their sense of self and their ability to manage their feelings and emotions. Every child is an individual and we want all our pupils to think about who they are, how they feel and how they can be the greatest version of themselves. Kindness and inclusion are St. Paul’s values and are integral to our curriculum and practice.

Our personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) builds on the personal, social and emotional development (PSED) that takes place in the Pre-Prep. Helping children to foster positive relationships and manage their emotions will determine their happiness and success in life more so than any other skill. For this reason, social and emotional learning (SEL) is central in our approach to teaching and learning and our partnership with parents. Our dedicated Prep School team put children’s social and emotional needs at the forefront of learning and our children are confident that they will always be listened to and understood.

Supporting children to grow a positive sense of self and navigate relationships safely guides children to better understand their role in our school as well as helping them to become confident, resilient, and responsible global citizens.

Prep School Curriculum

Our Junior School curriculum embodies the school values of adventure, aspiration and responsibility. Teaching and learning in the Prep School is both rich in securing knowledge and developing skills, combining the rigour of the English and Brazilian National Curricula, within our own uniquely British, Brazilian and International context.

The Prep School curriculum reflects both local and global issues, inspiring children to see their role in the world around them and develop a sense of responsibility and agency as global citizens.

Through teacher assessment and summative diagnostics, we ensure that our curriculum allows pupils to reach standards above UK national averages for English, Maths and Science by the end of the Prep School. This achievement is due to the high quality of our teaching and support staff, the highest expectations that we have for all our pupils and the resources and support that we can provide through our Learning Support Unit (LSU) and our SEL and pastoral team.

Our carefully planned, thematic, spiraled curriculum allows children to build on prior knowledge and develop mastery of skills across the curriculum. Our curriculum aspires to challenge and motivate children so that they are excited and active learners engaged in discussion, comparison, analysis and interpretation of their world and their place in it.

We teach children specific subjects by means of a cross-curricular, broad and balanced approach. This ensures that we integrate subjects to make learning meaningful, challenging and fun. Our broad curricular themes are enhanced by children's trips and experiences out of school that add to the children's enjoyment and deepen their understanding of learning in the classroom. Both day and residential trips are an important thread of the Prep School curriculum. Trips allow our children to be immersed firsthand in a variety of different learning environments that support each half termly theme.

Our thematic curriculum is also enriched by carefully chosen high quality children's literature, in both English and Portuguese. These core texts provide a literature spine to our teaching and learning, creating a language rich environment that helps pupils to develop core literacy skills as well as to explore the different realities that can be experienced through books.

Prep School pupils reading at the library

In the Prep School, we place tremendous importance on the development of the whole child.

Teaching and learning in the Prep school is both rich in securing knowledge and developing skills, combining the rigour of the English and Brazilian National Curricula, within our own uniquely British, Brazilian and International context.

Our carefully planned, thematic, spiraled curriculum allows children to build on prior knowledge and develop mastery of skills across the curriculum.

We teach children specific subjects by means of a cross-curricular, broad and balanced approach. 

Prep School facilities

The Prep School curriculum reflects both local and global issues, inspiring children to see their role in the world around them and develop a sense of responsibility and agency as global citizens.

In the Prep-School we continue to help children build their sense of self and their ability to manage their feelings and emotions.

Helping children to foster positive relationships and manage their emotions will determine their happiness and success in life more so than any other skill.

Commitment to innovate and to learn alongside the children

The leadership and staff of the Junior School are dedicated to teaching each of the pupils here at St Paul's. They are also committed to their own professional learning. Therefore, we are continuously reflecting on our curriculum, the best practice in international education and the most up to date educational research.
This assures us, and you, that the curriculum on offer here for the Junior School pupils at St. Paul’s, remains current, relevant and exciting for each of our pupils.