The Classroom & Beyond

The performing arts is a cornerstone of our broad and engaging curriculum. Taught by subject specialists, our Music and Drama lessons develop the key skills of communication and confidence through a strong emphasis on self-expression, performance and collaboration from the very beginning of the Elmhurst journey.

Specialist ​Music and ​Drama teaching​, plus individual Music and LAMDA lessons​, ensure every passion can be followed. Opportunities such as debating, public speaking competitions, music festivals​, concerts, choir performances, film festivals and school productions all foster enthusiasm for taking part and embracing personal challenge. ​

Together with the specialist Art lessons, these subjects offer an inclusive and diverse range of experiences in creating, performing and responding to work, fostering a life-long love of the arts.

Children from Little Elmhurst onwards have weekly Drama lessons. Every child is given the opportunity to perform during the year with performance assemblies, an Autumn play and a Spring musical. By developing confidence in children from an early age, the uptake for the productions as they move up the school is phenomenal.

For many of our pupils, LAMDA is an enjoyable, formal programme to explore their performance and speaking capabilities.

Pupils who enjoy the challenge of these world leading performance examinations then have the option to continue their pursuit of exam levels through peripatetic teaching.

Music making has long been a favourite pastime of Elmhurst children and today we enjoy curriculum music from Little Elms to Y6 on a weekly basis. The school music room offers an array of instruments for pupils to make music with including a class set of Djembe drums, keyboards and other instruments from a diverse range of cultures, encouraging composition work and performance alike.

Pupils can study an instrument outside of curriculum time with peripatetic music teachers who attend the school and offer lessons in guitar, piano, clarinet, saxophone, violin and drums. From Reception children are able to choose an instrument and regular assembly showcases expose the children to the variety of options available, as well as providing performance opportunities for budding musicians.

Our commitment to forest school and outdoor learning is one way in which we deepen learning and build their confidence. All children in Reception to Year 2 get the opportunity during the year to visit our local woods. The sessions are designed to provide opportunities for exploration, encourage free play and calculated risk taking.

Led by a level 3 Forest School practitioner, children learn the rules of the outdoors, the importance of the fire circle and develop a respect for the countryside.

Sport is an important part of life at Elmhurst, with our teams regularly competing at the highest levels. A carefully crafted programme that builds and then hones skills enables all pupils to make progress and experience a broad range of sports during their prep school journey.

With the EDGE development model in mind, our sporting programme creates numerous opportunities for pupils to have a go at sports, develop their skills through tuition and reflection, grow their ability through application and then embed through team games, showcases and matches.

Typical Sports Curriculum Overview

An important life skill, swimming is taught to all our pupils from the Summer Term in Reception. We make use of a range of excellent nearby facilities at Whitgift, Trinity and Royal Russell schools, which also gives pupils an introduction to different school environments.

Micro-geeks are nurtured at Elmhurst from a young age as this eponymous on site after school club is fed by learners who benefit from specialist teaching from their first days with us. Using lego mindstorms robotics the development of skills leads some to success at design and technology scholarships at senior school.

The lower school pupils play an active role on school council, often working in pairs on behalf of their classes to make sure their voice is heard by those charged with school development.

All pupils in the school are able to choose from enrichment activities, the majority of which take place after school. New clubs are regularly added and parents and pupils are encouraged to make suggestions as to additions they would like to see in the programme. Recently Taekwondo, Skateboarding and Yoga joined the club offer, alongside regular favourites such as Chess Club, Badminton and Orchestra.