We believe that life is a journey, not a race. Our Junior Prep, the Foundation Phase, with its own Head, is a vibrant, innovative and caring school and a wonderful introduction to first learning.

Grade 0

Boys enter our Grade 0 in the year they are five turning six. We have three classes of twenty boys with their own class teacher and teachers’ aid. The Grade 0 year involves perceptual training, the setting of pre-reading, pre-Maths and pre-writing skills and a great emphasis is placed on the social and emotional well-being of the child. The boys have specialist teachers for music and movement, physical education, IT, Zulu, Afrikaans and library skills. They have appropriate outings, which fit comfortably with their themes and enjoy a happy and full morning at school laying a strong foundation in all the learning areas for life in senior part of The Ridge School

Grade 1

Grade 1 is an exciting year of formalising the skills the boys have been acquiring since pre-school and Grade 0. This involves learning to read, write and build on their existing pre-number concepts.  In Grade 1 they formally learn to use these skills to express themselves through the books they learn to read and the creative sentences they learn to write.  Their pre number concepts become more formalised as they are taught to use the mathematical symbols and vocabulary necessary when recording number sentences.  Engaging with problem solving using numbers and everyday life as the primary source is also a very important mathematical concept.

The importance of play is an integral part of Grade 1 as this is a significant way the boys learn their social skills.  In the Grade 1 playground the boys are starting to formalise their play activities by initiating rules.  A sense of fairness and justice begins to prevail and the playground is a busy place to be.  Their play activities are supervised by a teacher at all times to ensure that the uniqueness of each boy’s development on a social level is protected and acknowledged.

The boys spend the morning with their class teacher and teacher assistant who rotates among the three classes.  After their snack and playtime they are taught by specialist teachers.  This specialised tuition involves Class Music, Marimbas, Afrikaans, Zulu, Media and Ball Skills. The boys enjoy the lessons and benefit from the expertise of each teacher.

Grade 1 is an exciting and productive year.  The Grade 1 teachers value each and every boy in their care ensuring that the learning environment caters for each individual child as they are guided to work and play together for the benefit of all.

Grade 2

Grade 2 is the year of extension. All the basic skills have been introduced and the boys now seem to fly.  They have exposure, in the classroom, to group projects as part of the co-operative learning approach. 

Mathematics is taught by the problem solving or investigative approach, and has proved to be very successful in the setting of sound mathematical concepts absorbed by the individual’s own learning style.

A synthetic phonics, an adaptation of the RWI method, is incorporated to teach spelling, decoding and reading.

In addition each pupil’s reading programme is structured at his own individual level of competency, drawing from the large and varied range of reading material available to him.  Ongoing comprehension skills are being applied and developed to assist each pupil’s daily functioning.

Each term a variety of themes are covered, which are used to integrate all learning areas.

Grade 3

This year is a gentle transition to a longer day with more exposure to the Senior Prep staff members. The boys finish their academic morning at 13:15 and can choose to have “hot lunch” in the main school dining room. The Grade 3 boys stay three afternoons for cultural or sporting activities. Zulu and Afrikaans now become written subjects, and Art, Design & Technology and Computers have specialist teachers.

The main aim in the Junior Prep is to ensure that each boy develops good self-esteem. A learning difficulty can easily develop into poor self-esteem, so we tend to go for early intervention. We have a ‘Learning Support Centre’, which is made up of two remedial therapists, one occupational therapist, one physiotherapist and a speech therapist. Any boy who is having any difficulty at any time leaves the classroom for a one-on-one lesson and comes back better prepared.