Launched in September 2019, the PSB is our exciting new curriculum and assessment framework for Years 7 & 8. Marlborough House is at the forefront of the PSB movement, sitting alongside just 30 other Prep schools who have transitioned away from Common Entrance and towards a knowledge-rich, skills-orientated framework, built upon character and learning virtues; fit for the 21st century.
Two months into PSB @ MHS, we reflect on our inspiring new curriculum and the role it plays in stimulating and engaging pupils of all abilities.
Why create a new Year 7 & 8 curriculum?
The way senior schools select pupils has changed significantly over the last five years with the introduction of ISEB Pre-Testing. CE no longer serves as the entrance test to Independent Senior Schools. We consistently hear from Senior School Head teachers that children leaving Prep Schools lack independence, a thirst for learning and the skills to thrive in Senior School and beyond. This has provided an opportunity to evaluate and modernise our academic curriculum, allowing our children the opportunity to rediscover their love of learning.
We are delighted that you are introducing a curriculum which is more relevant in preparing students for their move to secondary school and we fully support this initiative.
Katy Ricks, Headmistress of Sevenoaks
At Tonbridge we have moved away from the requirement to pass CE to confirm entry and have done so, in large part, to allow schools such as Marlborough House, to offer a programme of study which will better suit the needs of their pupils as they grow up in the 21st century.
Andrew Leale, Director of Admissions at Tonbridge School
What is the PSB?
The Pre-Senior Baccalaureate at Marlborough House School is a framework designed to highlight and develop the importance of skills in a modern 21st century education. A wide variety of skills are developed and applied during the learning process; skills that will increase capabilities, competence and success in future personal and professional life.
The PSB skills framework interacts with and underpins our approach to teaching and learning at MHS.Skills and virtues will be profiled in a “Certificate of Achievement.”
The new PSB @ MHS fuses our established character education programme with a refreshed, vibrant and modern take on a rigorous, engaging, enriching curriculum; developing the skills children will need to thrive as adults in the 21st century. This provides children with the foundational knowledge, the future skills, the self-belief and the sheer, unbridled joy of learning they deserve. This is ‘Enjoying Today. Educating For Tomorrow.’
For more information on PSB @ MHS, please click here.
We certainly appreciate – indeed applaud – the desire to develop pupils’ broader learning and critical thinking skills, and appreciate that a move away from CE would provide the space for you to enable and cultivate that in a more meaningful way.
Alison Withers, Registrar Brighton College
