Main School:
Within any school there will be children with very varied strengths and weaknesses and at Great Ballard we go to great trouble to encourage and stimulate all of them towards their particular goals. Pupils with exceptional academic abilities will probably take scholarship examinations, whereas others whose abilities are less pronounced will make more modest progress and they will receive considerable help and specialist teaching, but all are equally important. Clearly it is part of our task to find the talent that each child possesses, so that everything can be done to encourage and develop that strength: the benefit and confidence that can be drawn from that cannot be underestimated.
Progress is monitored by fortnightly effort tables, termly exams, reports and where appropriate standardised tests are also used. There is a credit and star system in place to reward, reinforce and encourage. Parents are encouraged to take advantage of the regular opportunities, both formal and informal, to meet teachers and discuss all aspects of school life.
At the end of their stay at 13+ all children participate in a course of Further Education. This ranges from several days at an Adventure Training camp to instruction on increasingly important areas like health education, alcohol and drug abuse, self-defence and leadership We aim to prepare children both for their Senior Schools and for the growing demands and many challenges that are placed on them today.
The Headmaster is always happy to give advice on the choice of Senior Schools and he tries to recommend to children one which is appropriate to their needs, where they will be happy and successful. All children have passed into their first choice schools in the last fourteen years and many have gained scholarships or awards.