“They also develop academic resilience as they observe that their applied efforts make a difference to their results over time.”
How does the Junior School cater for curious and eager young minds?
Children are naturally curious about their world and always eager to explore. Harnessing that energy and enthusiasm is key for us in the Junior School. We want our boys to expand their knowledge base and approach learning with a passion that will set them up for the Senior School and beyond.
First, let’s clarify some terms: extension and enrichment.
Extension is curriculum-focused; it’s where a student’s knowledge, understanding and skills are advanced. Students feel a sense of “stretch” and are encouraged to challenge themselves.
Enrichment is where a student expands their interest areas, their breadth of understanding and their ability to apply skills and knowledge more broadly.
Extension advances, enrichment broadens.
In the Junior School, students’ capacities are extended through quality classroom teaching practice of the curriculum each day. Extension is led by an expert classroom teacher who uses their deep knowledge of the subject and understanding of their students’ needs to guide more advanced and complex learning experiences. The core purpose of extension is to deepen students’ understanding by engaging them with higher-order thinking tasks and sophisticated applications of the curriculum. These activities challenge students within the framework of the curriculum, ensuring that their learning is rigorous, relevant and appropriately challenging.
Students are extended in the Junior School through the Promoting Literacy Development (PLD) program for spelling and reading, the Talk For Writing program specifically targeting writing structures and language conventions, and the Explicit Maths program for mathematical concepts and fluency. Teachers use these programs to meet students at their level of need, then advance their knowledge and skills further so each student feels that sense of “stretch” in their learning. The Diverse Learning Team supports class teachers to deliver targeted programs for boys across the cohort and track their assessment data over time to review the effectiveness of the programs. The results are impressive; when boys see the progress that they are making, their confidence grows.
Enrichment goes beyond the formal curriculum. Its goal is to provide students with additional opportunities for intellectual, cultural, physical and personal development. Enrichment activities often take the form of co-curricular programs, after-school activities, competitions or educational excursions. These experiences broaden students’ horizons, cultivate a love of learning and allow them to pursue their interests in more diverse and creative ways.
“In the Junior School, the range of enrichment opportunities is extensive.”
All students access the sport, music and performing arts co-curricular programs, which in themselves are hugely diverse across the year. Academic groups and competitions like chess, debating, Readers Cup, Maths Olympiad, ICAS and the DaVinci Decathlon all foster higher-order thinking and teamwork to represent the School through academic pursuits. After school activities like robotics, entrepreneurship, TGX, MasterChef, Lego engineering, art and woodwork, literacy and numeracy enrichment encourage boys to explore a new interest or go deeper into an area of passion.
With the opening of the Design, Engineering and Technology Centre, the Junior School has a dedicated Makerspace facility for classes to build, create and explore learning opportunities. Students utilise the digital and design technology curriculum integrated with humanities and science subject areas to apply their learning to real-world scenarios. The boys enjoy bringing their learning to life with relevant activities that teach them how to use design-thinking frameworks. Together, they step through a process of:
- Discovering — new learnings
- Defining — a particular topic or problem
- Developing — creating, composing and building
- Delivering — presenting or sharing their learning
Extension and enrichment are complementary, promoting student learning as enjoyable and challenging pursuits to be valued. Both serve a distinct purpose, but combined, their effect creates a learning environment where all students are both encouraged and inspired to reach their full potential. By engaging students with both depth and breadth of learning experience inside and outside of the classroom, we cultivate learners who are not only knowledgeable but also innovative, resilient and well-rounded individuals.
Want to know more?
The best way to understand the value of a TGS education is to see the School in action via a Personalised Tour.
Book Your TourLatest Blog
A Musical Reflection
As Director of Performing Arts, there is perhaps no bigger undertaking than a School musical. It requires an enormous effort from a huge team of teachers and students, and to get all these moving parts heading in the same direction is certainly no mean feat. The 2023 co-production of Footloose was my first time involved in a Toowoomba Grammar School and Fairholme College musical, and I found it to be a very rewarding, though exhausting, experience. The process began in Term 3, 2022, as my…
TGS Success in GPS Sport
In 2023, Toowoomba Grammar School witnessed a remarkable resurgence in several of our sports programs, marking a year of triumph and growth. Although an elusive GPS premiership did not fall our way, a number of our 1st teams competed to the final whistle in Round 9 of their respective competitions, vying for their premierships. The achievements of our boys on the field and court were nothing short of exceptional, reflecting the commitment, dedication and character development that participation…
An Exceptional Learning Experience
As a member of the Junior School Leadership Team at Toowoomba Grammar School, my role involves ensuring that the Junior School’s Teaching and Learning programs are designed, implemented and managed effectively. This role is grounded in the vision, mission, and values of TGS and is crucial in supporting the Head of Junior School and the Director of Studies in providing an exceptional learning experience for our boys. At TGS Junior School, we prioritise the use of explicit teaching to ensure that…
An Inclusive Education
Toowoomba Grammar School is proud to introduce the newest addition to our education team, Amanda Gibson. Amanda commenced in Term 4, 2023 in the pivotal role of Head of Diverse Learners and will bring new direction and focus to the position in alignment with our commitment to inclusive education, aligning seamlessly with our Strategic Plan 2022-2026 and the Inclusive Education Policy. “I am very excited about developing this role,” said Amanda. “I have a passion for fostering environments where…
Get Involved in Everything
As Senior Prefect at Toowoomba Grammar School, I have had the opportunity to witness the benefits of being an all-rounder firsthand. With the various activities and programs the School offers, the ability to be involved in as many things as possible is not only enjoyable but brings about numerous benefits that extend far beyond the school years. Ranging from sports to drama and debating, participating in anything the School has to offer is an excellent way to make friends and build networks of…
The Importance of Knowledge
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed traveling great distances. As a child growing up in rural New South Wales, this was inevitable. The region was speckled with towns, some more vibrant than others, and diverse landscapes where hillside ruins whispered tales of bygone eras. Over time, these landscapes and towns transformed into familiar scenes, with even minor changes in the community and environment growing more noticeable during each visit. Education parallels this journey, as…
Senior TGS Students' Advice for Starting Senior School
Starting at a new school can be a time of mixed feelings – very exciting, but also quite daunting and challenging. Here are some tips from some Year 7 Grammar boys who started Senior School in 2023. Get involved in different sports and activities Toowoomba Grammar School provides many sports and activities that any student can participate in. As a current Year 7 student, I highly recommend trying out as many different sports and activities as you can. Throughout my first year in high school, I…
Transition to Senior School at TGS
Starting at a new school can be a time of mixed feelings – very exciting, but also quite daunting and challenging. Irrespective of whether your son is joining us from the TGS Junior School, or if they are just starting at Toowoomba Grammar School, this is the start of a long and special journey. Your son will have a lot to digest with a new, possibly larger campus to navigate, different teachers and lessons, making new friends, where to go and what to do at morning tea and lunch. There can be a…
The Transition to Year 7 - from a Parent and Staff Member's Perspective
Regardless of your history with the school, you are all equally welcome here and should feel comfortable in knowing that we value every family and their son’s contribution to our School. Toowoomba Grammar School was built by the community, for the community and it is a School that I am immensely proud of. In 2025 we will celebrate our sesquicentenary or Grammar 150 and your sons will play a vital role in those celebrations. Our pedagogy is modelled on explicit instruction which has its roots in…
