Class organisation

Children at Stourview are taught in mixed age classes known as vertical grouping. This is a typical arrangement in smaller village schools and has proved to be very successful across many Canonium Schools.  Younger children imitate and model older children and older children reinforce their leadership skills by sharing their knowledge with the younger children. 

This arrangement supports our belief that vertical grouping is part of children's natural development and that grouping children solely by their age is against our social nature as human beings. 

We believe that children should learn from their developmental starting point rather than their chronological age. 

Whilst we have a curriculum that identifies age related expectations, we know that children develop at different rates and vertical grouping enables the teacher to cater for these different needs and provide a more bespoke approach.