Our Year 7 and 8 curriculum provides academic rigour and a focus that comprehensively prepares our pupils for life beyond Town Close. Children cover a broad range of subjects, develop skills that are essential to becoming effective learners and are stretched far beyond what would normally be expected for Year 8 children in many subjects. Pupils sit Common Entrance exams in English and maths, as well as following the PSB (pre-senior baccalaureate) in all other subjects.

As pupils progress through the school, they also have the opportunity to make more choices about their learning. In Upper Prep, pupils are able to select which modern foreign language they would like to study in addition to French (German, Mandarin or Spanish), as well as choosing courses they would like to study as part of our Electives programme.  

Positions of responsibility, such as Heads of School, Prefects and Sports Team Captains, give our pupils confidence and opportunities to be positive role models. Leadership of the School Council allows them to be ambassadors of the Town Close Way in School and in our local community.

Our Year 8 Common Room provides children with a comfortable retreat before school and at break times. The Common Room is a device-free area for pupils to meet and relax in that they are responsible for looking after. 

Each Year 8 pupil is partnered with a Year 3 pupil to act as their 'Buddy' supporting the younger child's transition to Prep and fostering a sense of community across the ages. 

Residential trips to France, Belgium, Italy and the Lake District broaden their horizons, promote independence and create unforgettable memories.

Our Careers Roadmap introduces pupils to the wealth of possibilities for their future careers and inspires them to consider their own passions, strengths and motivations as they continue their journey in education. From Pre Prep upwards children have the opportunity to apply for leadership roles, hear from guest careers speakers and in Years 7&8 experience a biannual Careers Fair. 

Above all, in a world when the innocence and playfulness of childhood is often sacrificed to technology and the desire to be ‘older’, Town Close allows our Year 7 and 8’s to cherish childhood and, in our wonderful site, gives them the freedom to play, to relax and grow up in a nurturing and familiar environment.

At the end of Year 8 there is an end point when pupils disperse to a wide range of senior schools, locally and nationally, often achieving scholarship success across the subject areas. This point, naturally, marks the end of the pupils’ Town Close journey. It also represents the School’s final lesson to our pupils:

Change is an important part of life. It is an unavoidable part of life. And experiencing, living it and embracing it will only make the children more resilient and ready for the next change that comes their way and there will be many.

Our Year 8 pupils who sat their Common Entrance exams in the Summer Term 2026 performed very well. 95% of all grades were A* to C and an impressive 62% of the overall grades were A* or A.

These were some of the strongest set of results since we began analysing data in this way in 2012, with the average grade sitting above an A grade.

The overall average grades for all subjects remained broadly in line with last years’ record results.

Some pupils sat the HSK examination in Mandarin. They performed very well with 100% pass rate for the HSK1 exam.

Scholarships and Awards

We congratulate the pupils in Year 8 who between them were awarded 21 scholarships in 2026: