The Middle and Senior School

Ages 7 to 13 years

The Middle School (7-9 years) is a period of great transition when pupils start to move away from being taught by a class teacher to being taught by subject specialist teachers. As a boy gets older, more opportunities are presented to him which develop his sense of responsibility, leadership and confidence.
Participation in a wide range of sporting, artistic and cultural activities is strongly encouraged and a close eye is kept on his personal and social development.

Class sizes remain small so a very individual approach is maintained to each boy’s education.

The curriculum is broad and sees the explicit introduction of work designed to prepare your son for forthcoming entrance examinations. There is a huge range of extra curricular activities to choose from and important opportunities are presented to every boy in sport , music and drama.

In the Senior school (10-13 years), your son will now be taught entirely by subject specialist teachers with great emphasis placed on developing the skills, knowledge and attitudes of mind which will serve him well in the future. Boys are thoroughly prepared for entrance into the independent senior schools, either at 11 or 13 years of age, and the school has an impressive record in these assessments.

Foreign Languages

In a world in which the ability to communicate in another language is becoming essential, Foreign Languages have an important part in the Ryleys curriculum.

Pupils begin to learn French with specialist teachers in Year 1 and continue through the school until Year 8. Boys may also choose to study Latin or German in addition to French in Years 7 and 8.
The Ryleys has established a link with the Ombrosa School in Lyon and each year in June a group of Year 5 French pupils will stay with Ryleys' families for 3 weeks.

Boys in years 7 and 8 look forward to a week-long residential trip organised every year to Normandy.
Our aim is that when boys leave the school in Year 6 or Year 8, they have a sound understanding of how languages work and a cultural appreciation to form a firm basis from which to progress in the future.

 

Homework

Homework is an essential part of the school life. It helps to consolidate what the boys have been learning in school and encourages them to do work independently. Parents are able to see the progress that their son is making as well as provide the valuable encouragement and support that both the pupil and the school require to maintain a close working partnership that will ultimately benefit each pupil.

The length of work varies across the age groups with tasks taking approximately 30 minutes in Year 3, gradually increasing in difficulty, depth of content and time (50 minutes) towards Y8.

In addition to the scheduled homework timetable, French vocabulary will be set each week for each of the year groups (Y3 > Y8) as well as spelling lists (English) and ‘number tables’ (Maths).

Please see option to view a typical homework schedule for each year group.

Below are options for you to view a typical day at the school and a curriculum timetable for each year group.

The Ryleys School Curriculum Map

	Y8	Y7	Y6	Y5	Y4	Y3
English	6	6	8	8	8	8
Mathematics	6	6	8	8	8	8
Science	4	4	3	3	3	2
French	4	4	3	3	3	2
Art	2	2	2	2	2	2
Technology	1	1	1	1	1
ICT	1	1	1	1	1	1
Geography	2	2	2	2	2	3
History	2	2	2	2	2	3
R.E.	1	1	1	1	1	2
Music	2	2	2	2	2	2
Games	7	7	7	7	7	7
Lat / German	2	2
Total	40	40	40	40	40	40

The Ryleys School Day (Year 3 > Year 8)

Based on 8 x 40 minutes lessons per day
Registration / Tutorial	8.45 a.m.> 9.20 a.m.
Lesson 1	9.20 a.m.>10.00 a.m.
Lesson 2	10.00 a.m.>10.40 a.m.
Morning Break
Lesson 3	11.00 a.m.>11.40 a.m.
Lesson 4	11.40 a.m.>12.20 p.m.
Lunch Break
Lesson 5	1.05 p.m.>1.45 p.m.
Lesson 6	1.45 p.m.>2.25 p.m.
Afternoon Break
Lesson 7	2.40 p.m.>3.20 p.m.
Lesson 8	3.20 p.m.>4.00 p.m.
Activities	4.00 p.m.>4.45 p.m.