Middle Schooling - Years 5 to 9
Radford College is committed to a strong middle schooling approach across Years 5 to 9.
Early adolescence is a time of significant change and development for our students in terms of cognitive, social, physical and emotional growth. It is a time when peer pressure is at its greatest. It is also a time where academic progress and personal development are highly dependent on meeting the emotional and social needs of the young person.
Middle schooling is a student-centered approach to learning, where students and teachers work in teams. It features the adoption of an integrated project approach to emphasise the understanding that learning areas are not studied in isolation but rather flow across the entire curriculum.
Middle schooling at Radford deliberately cuts across our Junior School (Years 5/6) and High School (Years 7-9). There is a separate Middle Schooling Executive that plans and promotes our various initiatives. It is led by the Deputy Principal – Head of Learning and Teaching. The major components of our middle schooling approach are:
- A focus on adolescent developmental needs.
- A team approach in which students are taught by a team of specialist middle schooling teachers who focus on their students’ academic, social and personal growth.
- High academic expectations stressing life connections to the academic content.
- Interdisciplinary teaching
- Flexibility of approach
- Student involvement, reflection and voice as part of the learning journey.
Teaching staff with a real passion for educating this age group are selected, work in a highly collaboratively way and engage in targeted middle schooling professional development.