ABOUT US

Oakdale South Road Middle School, a large, middle deemed primary school, opened in September 1997, following a merger of the former Oakdale Middle School and the middle school element of South Road Combined School. This excellent, well-equipped facility serves the Oakdale and town centre areas of Poole, catering for children between the ages of 8-12 and having approximately 550 children on roll.

Our aim is to create a safe, challenging and enjoyable learning environment within which the inclusive ethos of the school meets the needs of each individual learner, regardless of disability, social background, race, gender or creed and, by developing their confidence and self-esteem, encourages them to work to the limits of their ability.

Your child will follow a curriculum common to children of a similar age throughout the UK. In Years 4, 5 and 6 they will be completing the four-year Key Stage 2, which they commenced in the last year of their first school. In Year 7 they move on to Key Stage 3 which they will eventually complete in the following two years of their secondary school. At the end of each Key Stage, formal testing (SATs) takes place and the results are published.

The three core areas of Maths, Science and Language are complemented by the foundation subjects of Technology, ICT, Humanities (History and Geography), French, Music, Art, PE and RE.

The level at which pupils work within these areas is determined by their ability. National policy documents and our own planning documents are available in school and parents are welcome to come and read through them.

The school follows the national literacy and numeracy Strategies at both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. The emphasis on these two important areas of study has required some additional time to be found and this has been taken from time previously allocated to some of the foundation subjects. It is our task to ensure that no one foundation subject loses too much time and that our curriculum remains broad and balanced.

A significant approach to the National Curriculum at Oakdale South Road Middle School is our belief that no one subject area should be seen in isolation and wherever possible, we attempt to combine or link subjects through cross-curricular work.

The school offers a wide variety of activities, which take place either at lunchtime or after school. These are run in the staff’s own time and are entirely voluntary. They include:

Sport

We are proud of our sporting achievements. We offer qualified coaching in soccer, netball, hockey, athletics, cricket, cross country running, basketball, volleyball, rugby, swimming, tennis and rounders.

Music

Your child will be given the opportunity to sing in our choir. In addition, specialists from the Dorset Music Service visit the school to give tuition in guitar, brass, woodwind, violin and percussion instruments. A small termly charge is made for the lessons, which take place in school time, but the tuition is subsidised. The children either purchase or hire instruments, but please seek the advice of the specialist teacher before you choose a particular option. Approximate costs of basic student instruments are as follows: Guitar: £50; Flute: £290; Clarinet: £250; Trumpet: £200; Saxophone: £350; Violin: £100.

Clubs Other lunchtime or after-school activities currently offered include art, art and craft, gardening, drama, Warhammer and computers.

Cycling Proficiency Tuition We hope to offer tuition to Year 7 children each summer to enable them to take their cycling proficiency tests before moving on to their senior schools. Such provision does, however, always depend on the availability of suitably qualified volunteers.

Gardening Club