The Bridge Curriculum for Years 7 and 8 and Scholarships to Senior Schools

In Year 8 there are two routes into secondary education. The majority of senior schools require children to take either the Common Entrance examination or a programme of study that is broadly similar to Common Entrance to gain entry. 

From September 2019, St Andrew’s Prep moved away from Common Entrance in favour of The Bridge Curriculum which is an exciting new initiative that aims to combine the best bits of the Common Entrance syllabus with the best bits of the National Curriculum and other programmes of study to create a pathway of learning that is exciting, dynamic and more effective in preparing pupils for the demands of GCSE and beyond. It is through this route that most Androvians will access senior school. However, there are a number of children who take Academic Scholarship examinations and it is normal that they then do not have to take Common Entrance or the Bridge Curriculum exams as well.

Some senior schools set their own scholarship papers but the majority of local senior schools use the Common Academic Scholarship papers which are broadly based on the same syllabus as Common Entrance. Parents will be advised during Year 7 whether teachers feel that academic scholarship is a suitable route for their child.

Children begin the Bridge Curriculum in Year 7 and they will be monitored and assessed over Year 7 and 8 through a variety of methods. Assessment will be rigorous and, in some subjects, will not be too different from the Common Entrance exams. However, in subjects such as the Humanities, there will be much more opportunity for assessed project work, both collaborative and individual, as well as presentation and research skills. Written papers will continue to be sat in English, Mathematics, Science, French, History, Geography, TPR and Latin (for those children who have studied it).

Children move to a wide variety of senior schools, and in particular, Eastbourne College. The Headmaster is happy to advise on all future senior schools.

For more information about The Bridge Curriculum, you can download the following document: Bridge Curriculum