The Somerhill curriculum is about developing a curious, confident attitude through skills-based learning.

We are continually seeking ways to broaden the pupils’ education with relevant and engaging activities that develop a range of skills to prepare them for the future. The curriculum is framed around a creative curriculum in our Pre-Prep and the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB) in the Prep.

The PSB is about challenging perceptions of school and developing a love of learning. This is best achieved by children developing a clear understanding of their skills and their areas for development. By focusing on the core skills, children are best equipped to deal with the challenges and opportunities of senior school life and beyond. The PSB assessment framework focuses on six key areas: leadership, collaboration, independence, thinking & learning, reviewing & improving and communication.

The PSB, with its focus on building a full range of skills, reflects our vision for how children are educated at Somerhill.

Timetabled lessons from Year 3 and up include art, digital literacy, engineering, English, French, games, geography, history, Latin, mathematics, music, PE/swimming, personal social and health education (PSHE), philosophy, religion and ethics, and science. All subjects are taught in single-sex classes. Some of the learning areas we focus on include:

Digital literacy

Our pupils make good use of information and communication technology to gain practical skills for the future and support their learning in all areas of the curriculum. All Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils have a digital literacy lesson once a week, and children in Year 5 and up build webpages to showcase their online portfolio. Staying safe in the digital world is a key aspect of our teaching to all year groups.

STEM

We have put STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) at the heart of our curriculum at Somerhill because these are skills we feel strongly about as we prepare children for an ever-changing world. Our engineering programme evolved from our Innovative Design Technology (IDT) curriculum, which grew pupils’ knowledge of applying software to products, and covered topics such as robotics and electronics. We are always thinking ahead and looking to make use of new technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality. Some classes have already created their own AR displays.

PSHE

Our curriculum focuses on three core themes: health and wellbeing, relationships and living in the wider world. Within these we cover topics such as emotions, family and friends, health, economic awareness and enterprise. We encourage pupils to contribute to discussions and express their thoughts.