We are often asked by student teachers if they can come to our wonderful school on placement and it is something I am keen to encourage; observing other teachers teach gives them valuable insight into the profession. Some of the students are ex pupils, some want to experience a private school, some want to see forest school, some our small classes and some to see how our pupils from around the world are taught but most are just curious to see for themselves what our little Junior School has to offer. It is interesting to see what the student teachers think of the school but also to hear their ideas and how would like to develop their teaching skills.

Amelia Braim, a second year Primary Education student from York St John University, came to the Junior School as part of her diversity placement. Never having experienced an independent school, Amelia wanted to see our smaller classes and to see if the ‘family feel’ we talk about was indeed true. Amelia was with us for four days and this is what she said:

During my short time at Fyling Hall, I sat in on all three classrooms in the Junior School. In each of these classes, it was clear to see that each pupil was treated as an individual according to their specific needs. The small class sizes allowed for more one-to-one attention if this was necessary, which I could see helped the children a lot. 

At lunch and play times, it was nice to see all classes join together as a community, as the older pupils and house captains were always happy to play with younger children and help them when needed. The whole atmosphere was a happy one and it seemed that all pupils had good peer and teacher relationships. 

As well as experiencing the classroom environments at Fyling Hall, I was lucky to visit the ‘Forest School’ in which all primary children had to build their own dens. Watching pupils work together as teams to create their dens was lovely, and it was great to see house captains taking roles of leadership. 

Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Fyling Hall and would definitely visit again to gain more experience for my teaching career!

If you are interested in a placement at our wonderful school, please contact contact a.freer@fylinghall.org.

Amanda Freer, Junior School Headteacher