Overview of Year Groupings
Barfield is a Co–Educational Prep School, with an unusually wide curriculum. We cater for children from the age of 2 to 13.
Our children progress to their senior schools via either school-specific entrance exams or Common Entrance. In the past six years boys and girls have been awarded scholarships to no fewer than 17 different schools, comprising academic, art, dance, drama, music, performing arts and sport. See here for details of scholarships gained.
Children are taught in two parallel classes for all year groups apart from Y7 and Y8 when this is reduced to one class per year. All classes have a maximum number of twenty children and have a form tutor who is responsible for the personal and social welfare of the children. In the Pre-Prep department the majority of the lessons is taught by the class teacher, while in the Prep School, lessons are taught by subject specific teachers.
The school has a well equipped Learning Support Department which helps children of all ages throughout the school.
Barfield children benefit from access to a wide range of facilities including a heated indoor swimming pool, science laboratory, floodlit hard play area, a Multi-Resource Centre, with stage and auditorium, music practice and teaching rooms, art studio, design and technology suit, well-equipped ICT rooms, a purpose built library as well as well as Three Peaks, an on-site outdoor pursuits centre.
Pre–Prep Department
- Owlets - the youngest class in our Nursery Department for children who turn 3 before 1st September.
- Owls - the second of our nursery classes.
- Reception - the final year of the Foundation Stage.
- Year 1 - the start of Key Stage 1
- Year 2 - the children are ‘prepared’ for the Senior School. Some lessons such as music, french and physical education are taught by Senior School staff. The children also have the opportunity to stay for 30 minutes prep each night. The end of Key Stage 1.
Prep School
The Prep School consists of Years 3 to 8. Here lessons become more formal and children are prepared for entrance to their senior schools.
Year 3 children may attend Junior Prep, where they work quietly for 30 minutes and have 30 minutes reading.
For Years 4 to 6 this increases to 60 minutes prep a night (30 on a Friday for Year 4), and in Years 7 and 8 this is 60 minutes Monday to Thursday and 90 minutes on Friday/over the weekend.
Children may arrive at school from 8am and we offer a number of pick-up times to suit your commitments
(4.15pm, 5.00pm, 5.30pm, 6.00pm or 7.00pm).
