O is for opportunity, and the list is endless!

The children at Hatherop Castle are lucky enough to experience endless opportunities throughout their time at the school. This starts right down in the Nursery, where they are introduced to members of staff from the Pre-prep and Prep departments, to begin their extra-curricular learning from an early age.

In the Kindergarten class, the children have the opportunity to dance and sing every day, and this fun and joyous activity is only heightened by Mrs Lazenby, our Head of Pre-Prep, joining us for a Music session once a week, with her various instruments and repertoire of rhymes. Mr Bailey, our Director of sport organises exciting Gym sessions with both the Kindergarten and Transition classes, giving the children the opportunity to learn new skills and engage in games on the Astroturf, tennis courts or in the Gym, as well as preparing for the ever-anticipated Nursery Sports Day!

Ballet is an additional activity that the children also have access to at Hatherop; the girls and boys from both Nursery and Reception enjoy having time away from their classrooms to express themselves through movement, which in turn helps them develop knowledge, skill, and understanding about the world.

Communication and language development in the early years is so important and we believe that all children should have the opportunity to communicate with anyone and everyone. This is why some of our staff are undergoing basic training of Makaton, a language programme that uses signs, together with speech and symbols, to enable people to communicate. By the time the children have moved into Transition they also get started with French when Madame Thomas visits once a week to give our children the opportunity to learn a new and exciting language.