Nursery (rising 3 - 4 years)
The Nursery is where the story begins. Nursery is housed in a 16th century building in which Cardinal Wolsey sketched the plans for his college with a garden in the shadow of Christ Church's imposing frontage. The Nursery is kept deliberately small so we can focus on the individual needs of each child. The Nursery children enjoy making mud pies in their outdoor 'Mud Kitchen' and in sunnier months delight in nature classes in our Woodland School, walks on Christ Church Meadow along with a weekly Yoga sessionWe follow a weekly timetable which not only gives children a routine and structure to each day but also helps prepare them for transition to Reception and a sense of belonging to the whole school environment. A group storytime combined with lots of music, singing and discussion gives children the chance to share news with their teachers and friends. We play number games, open the ‘sharing’ and ‘sound’ bags and work on our ‘letter sound’ of the week.
Pre Prep
Class sizes throughout Pre-Prep are purposefully small – no more than 18 per Year. This allows the teachers to focus on each boy as an individual under the close direction of the Head of Pre-Prep, Miss Farmer, the boys are encouraged and motivated in the wide range of academic, musical and sporting activities on offer. The inspirational teaching staff ensure that the boys are fully engaged and challenged throughout their school day in a nurturing and caring atmosphere. From Year 2, specialist class music is standard and instrumental tuition is available for those who show early promise. Children take home their books to read with parents each day and are gradually introduced to short tasks for homework. The curriculum is broadly based on that set by the government (i.e. the Early Years Foundation Stage in Reception and the National Curriculum), although they often teach well in advance of these requirements and enjoy the freedom to follow the boys' interests and go off at a tangent where appropriate. They make full use of our Woodland School on Chris Church Meadow and go on regular class outings, to support current learning, to the Ashmolean Museum, the History of Science Museum, the Story Museum, as well as the buildings of Christ Church, Oxford Botanic Garden, and further afield such as Warwick Castlor Cotswold Wildlife Park.
Prep School (7 - 13 years)
The Prep School consists of six year groups: Years 3 - 8. There is an average of 12 - 15 pupils in each class. Children in Years 3 and 4 are mainly taught in their own classroom by their own class teacher and attend specialist teaching for Art, Music, Science, D.T., I.T. and Games in other areas of the School. The strong belief is that if boys are allowed to be boys they will, ironically, mature more quickly. If they are educated in a context where their imaginations are sparked, where their curiosity is engaged and where they enjoy themselves, boys will start thinking for themselves, they will work hard and they will care profoundly about the work they are doing. In essence they will succeed in all walks of life, most particularly academically.
Clubs
While lessons and sport play an important part in the lives of boys at Christ Church Cathedral School, there are a wide range of activities and clubs (from Nursery to Year 8) to suit all interests.Our current list of clubs for boys in the Prep School: Art, Craft, Backgammon, Brass Band, Bridge, Chess, Cooking, Film making, Football, Greek, Guitar Group, IT, K'Nex, Lego, Lower Strings, Music Theory, Philosophy, Practical Science, Quizzes, Real Tennis, Scalextric, Senior Choir, Squash, String Orchestra, String Quartet, Traditional board games, Wind Band.
Music
The School was founded to educate choristers, and music remains at its very heart. One cannot set foot in the School without hearing music, and there are pianos in every room. Music is something which our pupils love; every week there are as many individual music lessons as there are boys and we offer a very wide range of instruments, including piano, organ, violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, French horn, euphonium and tuba.
Drama
Being in a play is one of the most memorable and formative experiences for a child. The highlight for Pre-Prep and Nursery is the Infant Nativity, which is set to music and ambitious in its scope - they regularly tackle different languages and singing in parts.The Prep School puts on two performances during the year. In Michaelmas Term the younger boys take part in a play, usually one of the Roald Dahl set, with songs and roles for all. Higher up the school, boys audition for parts in the main School Play - a much-anticipated event in Hilary Term. They also have a Drama Club, involving improvisation and short scenes and sketches.
Sport
At Christ Church Cathedral School every pupil has their part to play on the sports field. The aim is for every boy to have an opportunity to represent his school, if he so wishes, and they will ensure that the level of coaching is appropriate to the ability of the pupil. We place tremendous store by our coaching and as such, though a small school, They field extremely competitive teams. Every year they produce sportsmen who are amongst the very best in their age group when they arrive at their senior schools.
Please check the school website link for details.
0.87 miles
