Independent Schools Feb 2020

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Newbury Weekly News

Moulsford

In addition to these schools, others to which Moulsford boys progressed this year include Marlborough, Eton, Shiplake and Pangbourne. Moulsford’s reputation for sport, and particularly rugby, remains extremely strong. While sporting glory is always the goal, and often achieved, the primary aim at Moulsford is to achieve opportunity across the ability range with all boys in teams A to F regularly playing competitive matches across the major sports. The Moulsford Extra-Curricular Activities programme is a vital part of school life. The river offers multiple water-based opportunities including sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding and last term we had over 80 boys on the river weekly. Other popular outdoor choices include fishing, photography, gardening, cyclocross and geocaching. At Moulsford there’s something for everyone with the aim of finding that elusive activity that ignites a spark in every child beyond the classroom. Moulsford Prep School is an independent day and boarding school for boys aged four to 13. Set in idyllic grounds of 30 acres beside the Thames near Wallingford, it provides boys with a first-class education and an excellent start in life. A network of bus and minibus routes service the area. Contact the school for details.

MOULSFORD offers boys superb opportunities for learning while having fun. A restructured curriculum has moved away from the traditional Common Entrance preparation, with the focus on not only preparing boys for senior schools, but also ensuring they have the skills for life beyond. By removing the need to do CE, children have the opportunity to take more control of their own learning experience and feel empowered to be more creative in their responses. The new curriculum encourages boys to have a go, take a well-thought out risk and, on occasion, fail. Exploration and enquiry is strongly encouraged and Moulsford life aims to develop boys’ resilience. The World Economic Forum states that creativity is number three on its list of desirable skills in the workplace from 2022 and so key to the Moulsford curriculum is exploring ways for the boys to be more inventive in their work, particularly in humanities. With the constraints of CE removed, Moulsford now has three assessment points over the course of the academic year, rather than just one written exam in May. The aim is to give the boys opportunities to be assessed over a wider variety of skills than just the traditional written examination, allowing boys to play to their own strengths.

learn much more than how to score highly in summative tests and regurgitate learned facts. With more freedom in the curriculum, there can be more breadth in lessons. Enormous value is placed on boys being able to spend as much time as possible outside and in

the fresh air, both at work and at play. With plenty of outside space, teachers are encouraged to use it at every opportunity, in any lesson. One measure of Moulsford’s success is the broad range of scholarships and exhibitions awarded by them each year.

For 2019 at 13+, three boys gained awards to Abingdon School, three to Radley, three to Magdalen College School, two to Cokethorpe, one to Bradfield, one to St Edward’s Oxford, one to Wellington and one to The Oratory, all across a range of academic, sports, music, drama, art, design and technology, and all rounder awards.

Alongside the more formal written material, boys are encouraged to produce spider diagrams, play scripts, models, comic strips, presentations and videos that all fulfil the success criteria of the task at hand. While exams remain an important part of school life, Moulsford boys continue to

BOYSWILL BE... active at Moulsford Prep day and boarding school of 360 boys aged 4 – 13 years

To attend please email admissions@moulsford.com or call 01491 651438 or visit our website Moulsford Prep School, Moulsford-on-Thames, Oxfordshire OX10 9HR OPEN DAY FRIDAY 15th May 2020

WWW.MOULSFORD.COM