Lower School Years 7&8

The first two years at Island School are both the start of a new journey and the continuation of an old one. Much of what the students encounter will be new and exciting but we are also building on the experiences of their years in primary school.

Students study a wide range of individual subjects, taught by subject specialists. These engage the students in specific skills as well as the generic ones used across all subjects. The understanding students gain will equip them to make choices in future years about where to concentrate, develop and specialise.

One of the academic subjects at the centre of our curriculum is Island Time drawing on the experiences of Primary School education with its emphasis on trans-disciplinary inquiry. It also draws on all the other subject areas as a central place where literacy, language, mathematics, technology, science, the humanities and the arts can meet. We picture Island Time as an island in the centre of our curriculum with bridges to all the other subjects giving them a joint, as well as individual meaning. Some of the Island Time lessons include project work that might see students creating fashion magazines, special dietary recipe books or a report on sustainable energy sources and architecture.

By encouraging a love for learning we hope that Island School students become more responsible, creative, analytical, engaged and happy.