Independent Pre-Preparatory and Preparatory School
for boys in Hampstead, London NW3
O
ther Activities
Chess
Chess is a popular activity at Lyndhurst. There is a School chess team, with internal and external competition, and a Chess Club.
Drama
There is an after-School Drama Club, and plays and drama form a part of the English curriculum. There are performance opportunities of different kinds at all stages of the School.
Outings and Excursions
Throughout the year there is a regular programme of educational visits outside the School, for all classes. In addition, there may be opportunities for boys to join trips away from the School. Years 5 and 6 have an outdoor pursuits week each Summer term.
It is the School's policy that any such outside trips will be with well-known and reputable operators who are specialists in their own field. The health and safety of the boys on these occasions, as on all others, is very carefully reviewed and supervised.
Charity Work
Each year the boys select charities they wish to support. There is a Christmas Fair and Summer Fête in which many parents are involved, and separate charitable fund-raising activities at other times. These help to encourage pupils to be outward-looking and to respond to those less fortunate.
Sport and Games
Sport and games are a full part of the curriculum throughout the School, providing vital opportunities for boys to develop their own skills and those of teamwork and co-operation. Games also provides an outlet for the boys' energy and enthusiasm. Every boy from age seven has two afternoons of sport at the Playing Fields, in addition to P.E. at the School during the week.
At the appropriate times of the year, boys' main games will include football, rugby, cricket, athletics, running, and some tennis during the summer.
Lyndhurst House has an extensive fixture list of matches with other schools, at different age and ability levels, to give a very wide spectrum of boys the opportunity to play for their School. There are also internal competitions by House and year-group, to spread the excitement and pleasure of representative sport as widely as possible.
P.E. lessons are held either in the Gym, or on the Playground. These provide opportunity for physical exercise, for skills-training in the main sports, and in games boys may encounter at their Senior Schools.
Inter-School fixtures are almost all on normal games days, but there are occasional weekend tournaments for certain School teams.
There are separate Sports Days for the Pre-Prep and Juniors (Reception to Year Four) and for the Seniors (Years Five to Eight) in the Summer Term, which Lyndhurst families enthusiastically attend.
Homework Policy
In Year Three homework will consist of reading and learning, with occasional written work. As boys move up through the School, so the homework is set at a level appropriate for each age and for the nature of the curriculum.
Each boy is encouraged to acquire the skills of organisation and concentration that will enable him to cope successfully with the assignments set, and to hand them in on time. It is a vital part of each boy's education that he practises his ability, and motivation, to work independently at times, and to take responsibility for what he does.
Support at home is important, to help foster a sensible and constructive approach by the boys, in a quiet, supervised environment.
Each boy has a homework diary for parents to see and check.