The Common Entrance syllabus provides academic rigour and focus that comprehensively prepares our pupils for future exams. Children cover a broad range of subjects and stretch children far beyond what would normally be expected for Year 8 children in many subjects. Some Senior Schools require children to sit Common Entrance exams as part of their entrance assessments.

Positions of responsibility, such as Heads of School, Prefects and Heads of Houses and teams, 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.

The bi-annual Careers Fair 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. 

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.

Scholarships and Awards

We congratulate the pupils in Year 8 who between them were awarded 40 scholarships in 2024: