Alleyn's Oakfield Academic Life

Children in our Early Years Foundation Stage receive an outstanding start to their school journey. Their progress is carefully tracked through our bespoke Alleyn’s Oakfield Assessment Criterion and the Department of Education for early learning goals.  

Activities are designed to inspire curiosity, encourage independence and foster creativity. Our pupils quickly develop enthusiasm for learning, build confidence in taking risks, and enjoy the fun and friendships that form the foundation of their time at Alleyn’s Oakfield. 

Children are supported by a key person who tracks their progress and works closely with families. Activities include outdoor play, imaginative play, messy craft, and structured learning opportunities designed to nurture a delight in learning and a growing sense of possibility.   

With a focus on each child’s unique learning behaviours, we help them to think for themselves, grow in self-awareness, develop emotional intelligence, and care for others.

From Year 1, children are gradually introduced to formal school life. Children are encouraged to think for themselves, develop self-awareness, and care for others. In Year 1, the curriculum becomes structured, introducing Key Stage 1 with an emphasis on literacy, numeracy, and curiosity-led learning through discussion, exploration, and developing ways of recording. 

Staff invest time in knowing every child as an individual, planning activities that inspire enquiry and develop social, emotional, and academic growth. Children feel secure and happy, ready to take risks in their learning, enjoying the fun and friendships of school life. 

By the end of Key Stage 1, Alleyn’s Oakfield pupils consistently achieve well above the national average in assessments at age 7, reflecting our commitment to academic excellence. Familiar with structured learning, pupils will have developed the ability to be active learners, to build confidence, and to develop resilience. Our teaching approach inspires enquiry, promotes independence, and nurtures the balance between academic progress and emotional and social intelligence.

As children progress through Key Stage 2, they experience increasing challenges and support to achieve highly and prepare them for the transition to senior school at 11+. Many secure scholarships to selective senior schools, benefiting from strong curricular provision and increasing access to specialist teaching. 

With each year's progression, the number of subjects taught by specialist teachers increases. By Year 6, most subjects – including English, Mathematics, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Drama, Art and PE – are led by subject specialists. 

Pupils also benefit from access to dedicated facilities and resources, including specialist classrooms for Science, Music and Art, and access to an individual laptop to enhance their learning at appropriate times and ensuring that their academic experience is rich and inspiring. 

We promote high levels of achievement and effort while also encouraging pupils to enquire, investigate, and solve problems independently. Our aim is for pupils to leave Alleyn’s Oakfield as confident, enthusiastic, and active learners with the character to thrive in the world beyond school. 

Reading

At Alleyn’s Oakfield we aim to foster a love of reading and an understanding of the creative opportunities which language offers. This starts in Pre-Prep where the children’s learning is based on a book of interest. Children have weekly library sessions and a reading assembly. When children show signs of tuning into the sounds that are around them and the use of print, we begin to teach then the sounds letters make using the ‘Read Write Inc.’ synthetic phonics programme. We use a variety of reading resources to support the children’s development and progress. Our library is open to prep students at lunch times, and children can select from a vast array of books from traditional tales to modern classics and a range of non-fiction texts to interest all learners.  

Co-curricular

Trips, themed days, drama, sport, public speaking, and competitions extend children’s learning and provide opportunities for discovery and personal growth. Visiting speakers and Heads from Senior Schools also enhances the academic experience. 

Trips and Residentials 

Trips are an important part of life at Alleyn’s Oakfield, enriching the curriculum and building independence. Children regularly visit museums, galleries, and sites of interest, with residential trips beginning in Year 4. 

Year 6 diploma

In Year 6, pupils complete Alleyn’s Oakfield Diploma – a unique programme designed to develop leadership, cooperation, creativity, and responsibility. 

Strands include academic projects, sport, citizenship, life skills, well-being, peer mentoring, community service, and performance. Children might write a book, run a business, mentor younger pupils, volunteer at a food bank, or complete a first aid course. 

Parents are actively involved, offering talks, mentoring, and careers guidance, reinforcing Alleyn’s Oakfield’s strong community spirit. 

Alleyn’s Oakfield sets homework (called "Enrichment") in order to support the children in the development of good study habits, self-discipline, time management skills and also to prepare for or extend learning taking place in class. Homework is set with the importance of family life in mind. 

Early Years

In the Early Years, homework takes to form of reading. Children are able to take their choice of book home to enjoy with a family member.  When the children are ready to begin with the scheme books are sent home for children to read to an adult.  Occasional tasks may be set to enhance a topic or learning in English and Maths.  

Year one and two

• Children in Years 1 and 2 continue with reading and additionally receive some phonics or comprehension activities linked to their reading and weekly spelling and number practice. Every half term, children are encouraged to create projects or engage in activities that correlate with their new topic. 

Years three to six

• In Years 3 to 6 children are expected to read each night and have spelling and times tables practice to complete. Year 3 and 4 children have one piece of additional homework set weekly and a project to complete every half term. 

  Children in years 5 and 6 have a little more with two pieces of academic homework set each week, typically in English or maths and more regular topic-based homework. 

  We do not routinely set holiday homework. 

Alleyn’s Oakfield pupils achieve highly, with results well above national averages at both ages 7 and 11. Many gain scholarships to selective senior schools. 

Parents are kept informed of their child’s progress throughout the academic year. Written reports are completed twice a year along with twice yearly parents' evenings. Children also complete school assessments each term, along with cognitive ability testing using GL assessment. Pupil progress is tracked and informs teacher planning as well as interventions to support children.  Assessment tests are important for the information they give us with which to support each child’s learning journey.  They do not define a child’s development, and teachers make professional judgements at all stages of a child’s learning to inform reporting.  

Within Pre-Prep, in addition to the above, the children have 6 weekly phonics assessments that identify their sound knowledge. Teachers then use these assessments to provide children with books they can independently read and review their lesson planning accordingly.

At Alleyn’s Oakfield, we prepare every child to succeed and flourish as they take their next steps into senior education.

We are committed to the development of all our pupils throughout their time at Alleyn’s Oakfield and support their development through the phase of them applying for other schools. From September 2025 Alleyn’s Oakfield will only be offering new places to pupils who pass our entry assessments and gain an Alleyn’s School guaranteed place.

Regular internal assessments track each child’s progress and help ensure that they are well-prepared for the transition process. Ahead of transfer, pupils will sit the Alleyn’s 11+ academic assessments, and many will also be encouraged to apply for scholarships in sport, music, drama, art, and design technology.

Whilst our expectation and hope is that at the end of their Alleyn’s Oakfield education, Alleyn’s Senior School provides the right next stage for our pupils, we will always support any pupil applying to other schools. We are proud that so many of our pupils go on to achieve offers, with 30% awarded scholarships at a variety of leading independent and state schools across London and beyond — a reflection of their hard work, curiosity, and readiness to embrace every opportunity ahead. A small number of pupils will also transfer to grammar and state schools.