Primary (5-11 YEARS OLD)

Maintaining the high standards and inclusive nature of our Pre-school, the Primary curriculum further motivates our children, equipping them with the perspectives, skills and attitudes to pursue learning at a higher level.

We continue to foster a love of learning as a joy that is its own reward. To achieve this, we have carefully researched and chosen the most relevant, useful, and inspiring aspects of various international curricula that best suit the needs and wants of our community of learners.

In addition to the core subjects that are usually taught in the mornings, children have classes in yoga, sport, art and crafts, drama, music, dance, cooking, and gardening, to name but a few; these take place during our afternoon sessions and vary throughout the year, with specialists and enthusiasts from the local community also contributing to a changing roster of activities.

We ensure that every class has an opportunity to experience the wide range of opportunities on offer. Furthermore, the afternoon sessions let children cooperate with students of different ages and to work with different teachers and instructors, allowing for new perspectives, relationships and goals.

As part of our curriculum, classes often explore the local areas and go on trips to various sights, monuments, museums and landscapes around Goa. We make the best use of our stunning local environment and the unique cultural heritage of Goa to broaden our students’ horizons.

From Year 3 (ages 7/8) onwards, children also go on a fully supervised annual overnight trip. A real highlight of the year for the students!

English

Our English Curriculum is based on the Cambridge Primary framework. To prepare our students for higher level study and to prepare them to sit IGCSEs at the end of Key Stage 4, we fully implement the standards set out by this framework.

To ensure that we best serve our pupils who join us from an array of school systems from around the world and to honour the different cultural heritages, we supplement the Cambridge Primary curriculum with a range of global resources. In this way, we maintain an engaging, appropriate, and flexible English curriculum tailored to our students’ needs.

English is at the same time for all Primary classes which allows for flexibility in moving students between classes depending on their needs.

Maths

The Maths teaching at River House Academy is rooted in the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum. The focus of our primary Maths teaching is to develop number sense in our students who are encouraged to develop a range of strategies to solve problems, using different visual models. Teaching towards number sense enables students to make connections to real world contexts and apply their understanding to a wide range of problems.

They become problem solvers rather than calculators. And, like English, Maths is at the same time for all Primary classes which allows for flexibility in moving students between classes depending on their needs.

Humanities

Humanities teaching at River House is concept-based and takes its structure from the IB Primary Years Programme and the Cambridge Global Perspectives curriculum. Students’ interests are at the heart of this approach, as is an awareness and appreciation of Current Affairs and the world around us. Throughout the year, classes choose how to investigate a range of concepts and enquiries through different contexts and from different viewpoints. The focus on conceptual learning rather than the accumulation of facts fosters lifelong investigative skills that can be transferred to different contexts.

Science

The Science curriculum is based on the Cambridge Primary framework and standards. However, we put a strong emphasis on hands-on enquiry-based learning. Through this approach, a wide range of skills are learned and applied in context. Students work towards understanding the concepts that underpin scientific knowledge and how to apply these to novel situations. We supplement the Cambridge Primary framework with resources from the Nuffield Foundation and other STEM focused curricula.

PSHE

Every morning starts with a short Class Time session which is used to establish social bonds and create a positive class culture. There is a strong emphasis on acquiring social and emotional competencies throughout the school and a PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) curriculum is interwoven with all subject areas. We also have Sex and Relationship lessons starting in the Pre-School. These are age-appropriate lessons that enable children to make positive choices about their bodies and relationships.

CO-CURRICULUM

Food and nutrition
Gardening
Physical Education
Humanities
Music
Drama
Dance
Creative arts and crafts
Technology
Media Studies
Personal Social Health and Careers Education