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The Valley School / Academics / Curriculum (Grades 1 – 10)
Curriculum (Grades 1 to 10 )

Following are our priorities in designing curricula to facilitate learning for a child. We believe that:

  • a child comfortable with herself will feel secure and in harmony with the environment and the people who surround her
  • such a child will act intelligently, understanding her limitations since wholeness comes out of understanding oneself
  • sensitivity, care and attention should be fostered in a natural way
  • the fact that each child is unique should be recognised- one size does not fit all !
  • methodology and pedagogical techniques must ensure that there is no hierarchy of knowledge
  • learning approaches must be suitable for differential learning capacities and learning speeds

The structural lay out in the Junior and Middle School is as follows:

  • I Entry level group (6 years) `Bulbuls’ (presently has 21 children facilitated by two teachers)
  • II Junior School – Mixed Age Groups (Ages 7, 8, 9 years) (presently has 110 children divided in to six groups – `Bhuvi’, `Ila’, `Mahi’, `Medhini’, `Oorja’ and `Prithvi’)
  • III Middle School – Students in the ages from 10 to 12 years are grouped as Classes V, VI and VII to facilitate age appropriate learning on the emotional, psychological and academic front. There are 106 students in this group presently.

As children move in to the higher age groups, they are exposed to the system as per the norms of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi. Children go on to take up the ICSE examinations conducted by the ICSE board when they are in Class X.

The Valley School understands that students learn in different ways and at different paces and adopts a variety of teaching-learning processes that allow students to approach learning with understanding. These processes are discussed among staff and reviewed and modified from time to time.

“The act of learning is the act of pure observation. And to learn one must have leisure. Leisure means a mind that is not constantly preoccupied but has infinite time to observe. To observe what is happening around one and within oneself.”
-J Krishnamurti, On Education
Field Trips

Students of all classes have field studies through day trips in junior school and three to ten day trips in middle and senior school. These move from nature walks and neighbourhood studies to historical and geographical studies to participating in the work of people in different parts of the country.

Sports Programme

The programme enables each student to engage with his or her capacity, joys and fears involved in physical expression, and to find the ability to face the immediate responses that the activity itself brings out. It demands that in addition to developing skills and techniques, learnt or intuitive to oneself, the student learns to engage with the task or game in a group setting. The student is under no pressure to perform to represent the school in competitive arenas and we hope that each student matures to face the demands of a task or game rigorously and to the best of his or her ability.

The physical activity programme at school includes activities that stimulate sensorial and motor development, cooperative games, pre-participation tasks to develop specific skills, and organized games like basketball, football, volleyball, cricket and soft ball. Assemblies at school and field trips support the physical activity programme and reflect our concern for a healthy physical culture for a growing individual.

We are concerned that students experience specific aspects of being – quietness, playing together and individual reflection – and use the sports programme as a ground for this. The students are encouraged to think and talk about the various contemporary issues related to sport – food, clothing, equipment, glamour, entertainment and money.

Culture Classes and Discussions

Teachers and students hold discussions on themes relating to life – on subjects of fear, pleasure, hurt, ambition, co-operation and responsibility at various levels of understanding. The everyday experiences of the children in the peer group, in class, at home, and from the media, form contexts for such explorations. These discussions are vital to the growth of the child.

Students at all levels meet together to learn about safety. These sessions include being aware of one’s emotions, respect for each other and care, and questions around media and peer influence, the internet and social media platforms and personal safety.