P5


P5 is a very exciting time because it is the stage at which the pupils who have begun their education at The Academy’s Atholl and Dairsie sites join permanently with those already at Kelvinbridge. This is a chance for the children to mix, make new friends and realise that their new-found friends have been studying exactly the same things for the past few years! P5 also brings the opportunity for everyone to become involved in ‘games’. For the boys, this typically means rugby, athletics and cricket. For the girls, hockey, tennis and athletics are the main sports. There is also the possibility of representing The Academy in fixtures against other schools – all very exciting! A greater number of clubs and other Co-Curricular activities are also on offer to pupils in P5 and above. Topics covered in Environmental Studies include France, Ivan’s Island, A River Study, The Tudors and Stuarts, Earth and Space, and Health. These topics are normally enhanced with visits to The Science Centre, Falkland Palace and Calderglen Country Park. Specialist teaching in French, Music and PE continues and the children spend increasing amounts of time working on the computers. Nightly homework serves to reinforce the wide range of material covered in Maths and Language lessons.

P6

The Maths curriculum in P6 covers a wide range of topics including fractions, decimals, area, volume, scale, symmetry and coordinates. In Language, more complex aspects of punctuation and grammar are covered, including adverbs, speech marks and more complex forms of sentence structure. Regular homework helps to reinforce what has been covered in the classroom. The Environmental Studies topics in P6 are The Victorians, Human Body, Electricity and Habitats. As in previous years, we seek to bring alive these topics by undertaking a number of field visits. These visits have include Scotland Street School Museum, Culzean Castle, Tenement House, Transport Museum, The Science Centre and a bus tour of Glasgow. If, however, you were to ask past P6 pupils about the highlight of the year they would all answer in chorus – Abernethy! This Monday to Friday residential experience allows the children to build friendships and develop teamwork skills while undertaking a range of exciting outdoor activities. As well as continuing to enjoy the specialist teaching for Music, PE, French and Games the children also get their first ‘taste’ of Home Economics.

P7

P7 provides the link between the Prep School and the Senior School. Art and Design is added to the long list of subjects in which the children receive specialist teaching. The Maths and Language curriculum in P7 seeks to build upon the progress of previous years and to prepare the pupils for the challenges they will face in Senior School. To this end, there is close liaison between the staff involved with P7 and the Senior School heads of departments. P7 brings many opportunities to represent the school and to take on responsibility in a wide range of ways. There are two undoubted highlights in P7. The first is the Monday to Friday residential experience in Lochranza on Arran. This is a field studies week around which most of the final term’s work is based. The second highlight of the P7 year is the ‘Prom’ in June. This is a very glamorous evening complete with a full Ceilidh band. All in all, P7 is wonderful way to bring the curtain down on the children’s time in the Prep School.