Years 1 & 2

We love teaching this age group because the children make so much progress at this stage. We celebrate the children’s academic achievements with weekly merit certificates in assembly and if a child has gone above and beyond we like to send them to see Mr Otter to receive a Headteacher’s award. But it’s not all about the academics; we are constantly encouraging the children to be kind and caring towards one another and have a special gold book to record these achievements in. The children are always very proud of themselves if they make it into the gold book!

We love hearing about what the children have been up to outside of school and the children often share medals and certificates with us in assembly. The teachers are constantly giving out house points to the children. These can be for excellent work, good listening skills, lovely manners; anything that has particularly impressed them. These house points count towards the totals for each house in the school. These are Stevenson, Nightingale, Attenborough and Aylward. The children really begin to get a sense of what it’s like to be part of a team when attending House assemblies, competing in swimming galas and taking part in Founders’ Day celebrations.

In Years 1 and 2 the day finishes at 3.30pm. However, we have a broad range of clubs that the children are welcome to join. From Fencing to Street Dance, Doodle Club to Mindfulness, we have something for everyone until 4pm. We also provide wrap around care until 6pm, with tea provided, in Late Club.

The children in Years 1 and 2 enjoy lots of special days throughout the year when we might invite specialist companies in to work with the children or take them out on day trips. For example, Year 1 have Castle Day when a company called “History Off The Page” turn the hall into a castle and get the children acting out all of the jobs in a castle. They even have a feast with goblets and entertainment! In Year 2, the children get to visit St Alban’s Cathedral which ties into their Religious Education studies.

The most important part of our job as teachers is to look after the needs of each individual child. Communication is key and our doors are always open for quick chats in the morning or at the end of the day. You will have your child’s teacher’s email address and we strongly encourage parents to get in touch with any concerns, no matter how small. We are always here to help. Our school saying, “Each for All and All for Each” underpins everything we do here at Chesham Prep, allowing children to thrive in a thoroughly nurturing environment.