Wealden Times | WT171 | May 2016 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

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the classroom as well. Our teaching staff are trained to use a
range of strategies to enable pupils to find ways around the
learning difficulties that can make academic subjects seem so
difficult.
“English and literacy are at the core of all our work at
Frewen,” he adds. “Our most important responsibility is to
remove the fear of the written and spoken word and give
our pupils the skills and the confidence to read and write
competently. Each child’s needs are thoroughly assessed and
individual support provided in small classes supplemented,
where appropriate, with one-to-one tuition or therapy.
Set in a former Jacobean manor in Northiam, the school
is divided into three parts – the Prep School, the Senior
School, and the Sixth Form run in conjunction with Bexhill
College and Plumpton College, providing all-through
education from seven to 19.
“Pupils joining Frewen College from other schools may
have been working as hard as, or harder than, their peers
but they have been held back and made to feel under-valued
because their Specific Learning Difficulties have either not
been recognised or have not been properly addressed,” he says.
However, there is a real danger that just because a child
appears to be lagging behind in their reading or school
work in general, the cause must be dyslexia and specialist
intervention is required. Most young people will exhibit some
of the signs of dyslexic difficulties. A cluster of characteristics
indicate dyslexia and it’s important not to jump to
conclusions prematurely when children show only one or two
signs. Observation and detailed assessment will be required to
identify specific strengths and development needs before any
really meaningful conclusions can be drawn.
However, the good news is that if your child is dyslexic
there is a wide range of help out there and, although it is a
lifelong condition, it is certainly no bar to future happiness or
achievement. Some of the most successful men and women
in the world have struggled with dyslexia and the final word
should go to perhaps the most famous.
“Everybody is a genius,” said Albert Einstein. “But if you
judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole
life thinking it’s stupid.”
Support groups and information
Dyslexia Action www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk
The British Dyslexia Association www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
Local Dyslexia Associations – independently registered
charities that run workshops and help to provide local
support. You can find your local LDA on the BDA website.
NHS www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia
Frewen College www.frewencollege.co.uk
Flexible boarding
options
“
The quality of boarding
provision and care is excellent.
ISI Inspection Report. May 2015
To find out more, please come and see us at our
OPEN EVENING
on Thursday 5 May 2016, 6pm to 8pm
OPEN MORNING
”
on Friday 6 May 2016, 9.45am till noon
Call us on 01323 733203 or
email admissions@standrewsprep.co.uk
www.VisitStAndrewsPrep.co.uk
151 www.wealdentimes.co.uk
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