Kensington Wade is an award-winning, bilingual nursery and prep school in west London for children aged 3-11. It is an exciting and new type of school – the first and only bilingual English-Chinese prep school in Europe which aims to provide pupils with the skills they will need to succeed in an ever-changing world.
Kensington Wade prepares pupils for 11+ assessments and entry into their chosen secondary school. Pupils follow a British curriculum but what makes the school unique is the fact that 50% of the curriculum is delivered in Chinese – half of the day is spent learning in a Chinese environment and the remainder in English.
Within weeks of joining Kensington Wade, all children are greeting each other, singing, counting and playing in Chinese. This fluency and ease in both languages is developed throughout their time at the school, and they rapidly develop the ability to converse at a high level on any subject and to read and write in Chinese using traditional characters.
The pupils come from a wide range of backgrounds. Many of the families at Kensington Wade do not speak Chinese at home. They may speak another language but what all families share is an understanding of the considerable benefits of bilingualism, and the value of learning a language from an early age in an immersive setting – particularly Chinese.
Another big focus at Kensington Wade is the development of bi-cultural understanding amongst pupils, enabling them to have a global and multicultural perspective.
The child-centred approach to teaching and learning at Kensington Wade creates a happy, stimulating environment where all pupils can thrive. Their academic results are consistently outstanding and testament to the quality of their dual language provision. Specialist teaching is offered from the very start with all children enjoying music lessons and, as they travel up the school, swimming, sports, computing, Spanish and science. The school also provides an extensive co-curricular programme with activities designed to challenge the children intellectually, physically and creatively.
The happiness of pupils is a huge priority for the school, and it works closely with all families to make sure that their children feel safe and loved by every member of staff.
Kensington Wade are the inaugural winners of the 2022 ISA Award for Innovation in Independent Education. Visit their website to find out more about their upcoming School in Action open events including their Kensington Wade Eggstravaganza on 17th March 2023 www.kensingtonwade.com
