Key Stage 2

In keeping with every key stage and year group throughout the school, Key Stage 2 is about preparing children for the ‘next step’ – in this case, readiness for the secondary school.

It is that purpose – readiness for the next step – that has shaped Key Stage 2 in the British Overseas School, and made it a little different to its equivalents in the UK and most other international schools.
At the BOS, Key Stage 2 consists of years 3, 4 and 5 only. Unusually, Year 6 has become part of the secondary school – more on that below.

Also, our Key Stage 2 departs from the norm in that teaching is subject based, which means that our Key Stage 2 teachers teach one subject to all three of the year groups.

Clearly, this is different from government schools in the UK, where class teaching is the norm – one teacher is responsible for teaching all the core subjects to their class. But it is more familiar to children from independent schools in the UK and it is this ‘prep school’ model that we use.

Its advantages are that every teacher becomes a specialist in their subject area – English, mathematics, etc – and that they teach the children throughout their time in the key stage and so are able to know their strengths and weaknesses better as being able to adjust their pace to suit particular groups.

From the children’ point of view it also introduces them to the idea of moving between specialist rooms, rather than always based in the same room. The level of organisation involved in this helps them to be ready for a heavier timetable in the secondary school, which demands relocation and organisation on a bigger scale.

As a result of our teaching approach we find that our children are better prepared to enter the secondary school from both an academic and a personal perspective.

Whilst the learning style may be a little different from Key Stage 1, the fundamentals of our approach remain the same. Academically, understanding the content of the curriculum is a priority along with learning the skills with which to apply their knowledge. In terms of personal development, we work with students to ensure that they are able to understand and cope with the challenges of growing up, especially regarding important values such as honesty, integrity, toleration and compassion.