The aim of the middle school programme at THSL is to follow a coherent 11–14 curriculum that builds on young people's experiences in the lower school and prepares our youngsters for the challenges and opportunities of upper school. The goal in middle school is to help our young people to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.
Students in the middle school start the day with form time, where they take part in a range of activities throughout the week including social skills activities, class novel reading time, journal writing, topical discussions and debates, personal projects and touch-typing programs all of which work on a range of key skills. Form teachers are responsible for co-coordinating these activities and ensuring that all pupils are happy and ready for their day.
Time at the end of the day is set aside for students to reflect on their day. This is the time to celebrate their successes and address any difficulties that may have arisen.
Students study a rich curriculum which follows the
National Curriculum framework. A broad range of academic subjects are offered including: Literacy, Numeracy, Humanities, Science, PSHE, Drama Art/DT, ICT, Food Technology, Music and PE. Inclusive opportunities at our link school, North London International School are offered, where this is appropriate and relevant to a student’s learning.
Subjects in the middle school are taught by subject specific teachers. Unlike in the class-based lower school, students move around the school for different subjects to make their day as similar to a mainstream experience as possible.
The middle school curriculum follows an Independent life skills program which lends itself to a cross-curricular approach. Independent life skills are taught through various channels, including shopping trips to purchase ingredients for food technology, planning public travel arrangements by train, organising class trips to places of interest around London, organising and running charity events and productions for staff and parents, amongst others. The focus is on developing core skills in order that pupils can operate confidently and successfully in school, college, university, work and life in general. The independent life skills programme also promotes organisational skills, responsibility, self-esteem and independence, and supports our social skills curriculum.
