ACS Cobham Lower School

In Lower School, we offer a holistic approach to learning that encourages critical thinking, creativity, and independent learning, preparing children for an ever-changing world.

Our broad and balanced primary curriculum includes core studies in literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies, as well as special area lessons in world languages, art, PE, performing arts, and Forest School. We don’t ‘teach to the test’ with a narrow focus on grades. Instead, we closely monitor each child’s individual progress throughout Lower School, allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge in ways that best suit their unique learning style.

We encourage our students to explore, investigate, and play through activities chosen by them and initiated by their teachers. We believe play should stimulate questions, critical thinking, and challenge.

To support learning through play, our classroom environments are set up so students can move freely around clearly defined areas for reading, writing, art, construction, imaginative play, science, and mathematics.

We tailor our classroom learning and activities according to age. In our Lower School division, we have our Early Childhood classes (Flopsy Bunnies to Kindergarten) with dedicated learning spaces and a playground tailored for young children in the Village.

We take full advantage of our beautiful 128-acre campus and all the outstanding facilities and outdoor opportunities it offers. We have two purposely designed spaces for gardening, and our Jardin Du Soleil welcomes our gardening club, providing the perfect setting for our Grades 1 and 2 STEM project-based learning. Our social science enquiry units are all based on the Sustainable Development Goals, and understanding our connection with the world around us is key.

Our woodland areas enable our classes to explore nature, embedding their learning into real-life experiences and developing their empathy for our environment. Our Forest School and Outdoor Learning programme is embedded within our curriculum, and with four different Forest School areas and six designated outdoor learning spaces, we are able to take the learning outside to make it come to life. Our students take the lead, and their curiosity and wonder guide our approach.

Students learn through a variety of digital tools that support access to the curriculum content and provide a toolbox of creativity tools to share their understanding. Student choice is a focus for the use of digital tools, while also building strong digital skills that can be applied across various subjects. Our Lower School has been recognised as a prestigious Apple Distinguished School for 2022–2025 in recognition of our innovative one-to-one iPad provision.

At ACS Cobham, children don’t simply learn subjects in isolation; they develop the lifelong skills needed to engage with the world and build a better one. Our cross-curricular approach ensures that while literacy and mathematics lessons remain, we establish and integrate patterns of information across different academic subjects.