The Spring and Summer Terms of Year 5, as well as the Autumn of Year 6 are perhaps the three most crucial terms when it comes to Senior School entrance exam preparation. Throughout each of these important terms, this cohort of pupils were forced to enter unknown territories of online learning, attending school in bubbles and not being able to socialise with their friends.

Not only were the leading months challenging, but the exams themselves were unchartered territory, with each school taking a different approach to their assessments. Preparing earlier than usual for these exams, Year 6 pupils and teachers juggled various exam preparations alongside their timetable during the unsettled period we experienced.

Record-Breaking Results

As a non-selective school, each cohort of children is different and so every year Greenfield pupils apply to a wide range of schools and achieve scholarships from a variety of disciplines. This year was a record-breaking year with the most offers ever received for one cohort of pupils. Between the 14 boys and 12 girls, the children received an outstanding total of 66 offers from 27 top Independent Senior Schools; an average of 2.75 offers per child. On top of this, they achieved 21 scholarships and 5 exhibitions between them for areas including Academics, Drama, Music and Art. These Scholarships and Exhibitions were awarded to over a third of the year group! Sports scholarships are being awarded later in the summer when schools are able to host their physical assessments once more. Click here to view the results in more detail.

Headmistress, Mrs Botting, says: 

We are delighted by the results of our Year 6 pupils. They should feel very proud of what they have achieved, especially when you consider everything that has happened this year. It was a very strange examination period for our Year 6 pupils this year and they deserve huge congratulations for the way that they dealt with exams being cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, exams being moved to online, exams being completed in their homes with outside invigilators overseeing them via the internet and a very long examination period stretching over three months. Despite all of these additional hurdles, the children have shown resilience, performed incredibly well and achieved outstanding results. There is no doubt that the way in which Greenfield organised the educational provision for the children during this year has paid dividends and I am so grateful to our incredible staff.

Exam Preparation during the "New Normal"

Whilst this last year has been unchartered territory for all, a huge thanks must go to the staff who worked tirelessly to ensure the children did not miss out on any of their curriculum or preparation for these exams. The children received full virtual timetables and continuous support to ensure effective and quality provision for all pupils. Group Zoom calls became their new classrooms and seeing their teachers’ and classmates’ smiling faces from the confines of a screen became the new normal for a while. With learning enrichment, peripatetic music lessons, and PE lessons still part of their curriculum, Greenfield staff aimed to include as many elements of normal school life as possible in order for children to continue to thrive during their screen-heavy learning.

Music and Drama Success

A remarkable 42% of this year’s scholarships were for Music and Drama; a department which has had much success at Greenfield recently. At the Woking Music Festival in November 2020, our 28 pupils who entered returned with a star-studded array of awards including ten 1^st Place awards from a range of categories. Despite the fact that we have been unable to host school plays, concerts or performances for over a year now, the children have been diligently practising at home to refine their skills. Once a term, Greenfield has continued to host their Music and Drama concerts virtually over Zoom to celebrate the talents of children across the school. Their hard work, practice and support did not go unnoticed in these Senior School results!

We believe these results prove that every child has the opportunity to achieve great things at Greenfield and we are proud of both the variety of scholarships awarded and range of schools that offer places to our pupils. The next year holds exciting prospects for Greenfield pupils as the school continues to develop and grow, but we will miss our Year 6 superstars as they head off to pastures new in September.