Despite being an academically non-selective school, the results achieved by Greenfield pupils prove that outstanding academic results can be achieved without an exam-heavy, hot-house environment.

At Greenfield, we specialise in tailored education that meets the needs of all our pupils. We achieve this by teaching core subjects in small groups, with high staff to pupil ratios, to offer every child the focus and attention they deserve. This, combined with our subject specialist English, Mathematics and Science staff, ensure that the most able pupils are stretched and challenged in order to see them soar academically.

We are proud that some of our pupils have been awarded the most prestigious academic awards in senior school entrance exams, including the King’s Scholarship to the Royal Grammar School in Guildford and other academic awards and scholarships from Hampton School, Guildford High School, Reed’s School, St Catherine’s School Bramley, Sir William Perkins’s School and many others.

Our Results

Our Aiming Higher Groups are offered to those children in each year group (Y3-6) who the teachers feel would benefit most. With usually only 4-8 children in each group, the Aiming Higher Groups enable those children who are ready to take their understanding to the next level, and those who need some extra support, to take advantage of some additional, focussed small-group teaching. This is one of the key ways in which we ensure children of all abilities are meeting or exceeding their potential.                        

All homework activities compliment work undertaken in class to reinforce learning in the subjects of Maths, English and Science. Light homework is given from Year 1 onwards and the length of time children are expected to spend on each task increases year-on-year, up to a maximum of one 40 minutes piece of work per night.

Year 6 may be given two homework tasks per night in the term preceding examinations and Year 5 and 6 will also receive Verbal Reasoning homework.

In addition, optional Take-Away Homework tasks are given to children in Years 1 to 6 in every other subject. These optional creative tasks are designed to encourage children to follow areas of learning they are passionate about outside of school. The finished projects are then celebrated in school.

At Greenfield we believe that additional support, when required, should not be limited to those with defined or diagnosed needs but should be available to all children throughout their time at the school.

We are extremely proud of our Learning Enrichment Department, which provides dedicated support to those children who have mild to moderate learning needs but who can otherwise thrive in a mainstream school environment.

Learning Enrichment at Greenfield

However, the Learning Enrichment Department also offers support, of all descriptions, to children throughout the school who may need short-term assistance. Be it a friendly listening ear or help to get to grips with a new timetable, we ensure that all our children benefit from the care and consideration of the Learning Enrichment Department, should they need it.

The teaching style at Greenfield is both contemporary and effective. We do not shy away from change in order to ensure the very best for our children in terms of curriculum content and delivery.

Lessons are Greenfield are rarely silent and most often include impassioned debate and group work.

Dynamic groupings, rather than setting, enables our teachers to utilise their expertise to determine the best working groups for children, dependent on the subject area. In core subjects, small, ability groups ensure no child is left behind.

Art

Art is taught by our Head of Art from Year 1 upwards. Her skill and expertise ensure that all children receive excellent teaching and receive specialist input from the earliest possible stage. Prior to Year 1, children participate in many artistic activities and learn basic techniques and colour mixing.

Art Carousel

Years 1-6 enjoy Art Carousel as a means of delivering greater depth of study into areas such as architecture, set-design, gymnastics and dance. These are taught on rotation to ensure all children receive the same input across the year.

From Owls through to Year 1, children have dedicated dance lessons within the curriculum, taught by our specialist dance teacher, Miss Katie. Thereafter, Miss Katie hosts lunchtime clubs to support our most passionate dancers with their technique and rehearsals towards grade examinations and performances. Our dance studio, complete with mirror-wall and barre, provides a dedicated space for ballerinas and other performers to rehearse.

From Year 3 upwards, children receive a dedicated DT lesson where they are empowered to take projects from idea through to design and eventually construction. They learn about trial and error and the importance of collaboration. Cooking also features in the DT curriculum and the children have many opportunities throughout their time at school to cook and bake. 

We are passionate about the benefits of teaching Drama from a young age. Through these lessons, children can develop emotional intelligence, build on their confidence and enhance their public speaking skills.

Drama is taught from Year 1 upwards and contributes to our excellent scholarship rate at Year 6. The children are no strangers to performance and they gain self-confidence and emotional resilience through the dynamic, contemporary curriculum.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum we deliver at Greenfield is ambitious and carefully sequenced to help the children build on their learning over time.  The Prime areas of learning lay the foundations for children's success in all other areas of learning and of life. Children from Fledglings to Robins will engage in activities that will encourage children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. They're a driving force behind helping children as they learn to form relationships, moderate emotions and thrive in their day-to-day life. As the children move into Reception, there is a greater focus on teaching the essential skills and knowledge in the specific areas of learning in preparation for Year 1. The seven areas of learning are-

Three prime areas of learning and development:

• Communication and Language
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development

And four specific areas of learning and development:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

 

English lessons encompass reading, writing, spelling, grammar, comprehension and creative writing. The children are encouraged to become avid and independent readers in order to aid their progress in both English language and literature.

Since the ‘take off’ of outdoor learning, there have been an increasing number of studies on the benefits of learning outside, particularly in a woodland environment. We are lucky enough to have two forest schools at Greenfield, which are incredibly popular with the children.

Nearly every day a class of children is taken into our onsite Forest School, a wooded area at the edge of our playing fields, complete with tepee, log piles and open campfire space. The area is used for ‘traditional’ Forest School sessions, but the woodland is also used as an opportunity to take the classroom outside, for lessons such as English and Mathematics. This opportunity, to take academic learning outside the four walls of a classroom, allows children to think differently about their understanding of concepts and apply them to problems presented to them in the real-world environment of the Forest School.

As an even larger area, the off-site Forest School gives children the opportunity to follow windy woodland paths and explore in the trees. Eventually the site will also have a canopied base camp, where children can shelter from the weather, light a fire and enjoy the odd marshmallow or two!

The Forest School ethos consists of six main principles. These include and explain the importance of Forest School taking place in a woodland environment where nature has been allowed to ‘run wild’, providing the children with infinite inspiration and allowing them to see the impact that they can have on the natural environment. Forest School is play based and learner centred, meaning the children are not told what they should be doing and what task they must complete, but they are given the chance to explore and create their own games. This freedom and space support their learning of skills such as creativity, independence, confidence, resilience, sharing and communication. Forest School is there to provide stimulus which promotes the development and growth of each child and their individual needs.

Examples of Forest School tasks include: mud monster faces, art patterns, natural weaving, den building, whittling, lighting fires, ‘cooking’ with natural resources (which usually turns into potion making!), searching for invertebrate and map drawing (sometimes to find the monsters that call our Forest School their home!).

Read our Forest School blog to find out more about what outdoor learning brings to the children at Greenfield. You can also view photographs of the our time in the Forest School here and here.

We aim to instil a love of languages in all our pupils. French is taught from Year 1 through to Year 6 and is designed to be fun and inspiring. Those pupils who speak French well are stretched subject to their own abilities by our fluent and native French-speaking staff.                                                                            

In Geography, the children discover more about the world around them, both locally and worldwide. They study all elements of the subject, including culture, human geography, agricultural geography and cartography.

Our impressive Multimedia Suite is the home of ICT, with 24 desktops as well as laptops, tablets and VR headsets ensuring the very best in modern technology education for all pupils. A large recording studio sits within the suite and a green screen adds further real-world opportunities.                                                                                        

Mathematics teaching at Greenfield is both engaging and robust, ensuring children fully grasp each new concept before moving on. We regularly see impressive results from our young mathematicians, with many working significantly ahead of the national average.

We have many specialist sports coaches amongst the staff, ensuring excellent coaching across netball, football, hockey, tag rugby, athletics and cricket.                                                                                                         We host fixtures and tournaments as well as attending offsite games. Children swim once per week throughout Years 1 and 2. PE is taught from Owls through to Year 6.                                                                                                                                  

Personal, Social and Health Education is an important subject and covers a range of issues that help our children grow into responsible, healthy, socially-aware individuals.                                                               

Greenfield was founded on a Christian ethos but has always respected and welcomed families of all faiths and none. Our approach to RE reflects this, and our diverse community of pupils relish in the opportunity to discuss, learn about and celebrate all religions.                                                                                                                                                 

It is not unusual to stumble across a science experiment taking place in the corridor or atrium! Our Head of Science is hugely popular amongst the children for his ability to make all aspects of Science fun and exciting; encouraging a love of science in Greenfield’s girls and boys.                                                                                                                      

Once per term, each year group will spend their weekly double Science lesson participating in a STEM project, where Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics come together. The children’s regular lessons in DT (from Y3+) and access to many engineering-based toys and projects in the younger years perfectly prepares them for these full afternoons of STEM.

 

The Topics covered in Years 1 and 2 are cross curricular, and aim to captivate the children’s interest in a range of explorative ways. This includes them working individually, with learning partners or part of a small group. Topic lessons promote a range of skills such as independence, teamwork, research, collaboration, ICT, craft, DT, dance and first hand experiences.                                                                                                                                                                                    

In the main school, Understanding the World is where we deliver in-depth discussions of meaty, real-life issues, developing out-of-the-box thinking, negotiation skills and philosophy in our children.