A warm welcome to Wahroonga prep, founded in 1926; Wahroonga Preparatory School is a small, co-educational Uniting Church school for children from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6. Knox and Wahroonga Prep have strong historical links as Uniting Church schools, with many shared programs and opportunities for our girls and boys.
Our educational philosophy is based on the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach. Developed in Italy by Loris Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia values each child as a strong, capable and resilient learner, with wonder and a passion for learning. At Wahroonga Prep, our girls and boys are encouraged to challenge themselves and explore topics of interest through inquiry-based learning. We use a constructivist approach, developing strong general knowledge to build deep conceptual understanding.
We are dedicated to supporting our teachers to be innovative, passionate educators through comprehensive professional development. Our teachers regularly collaborate to showcase innovative teaching practices and have their lessons observed and critiqued throughout the year. By promoting a culture of excellence in teaching practice, we can ensure every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential in the classroom.
To help girls and boys prepare for school and get a head-start for Kindergarten, we offer three and five-day Pre-Kindergarten places for children. Our specialist early learning teachers provide a structured school-readiness program, developing literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills in a fun, play-based, positive learning environment. Our Pre-Kindergarten students attend specialist lessons for Information Technology and Literacy, Science, Music, Japanese and Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education (PDPHE). Pre-Kindergarten children participate in their Pre-Kindergarten choir, attend weekly Chapel services, daily and weekly assemblies with our K-6 children.
Wahroonga Prep is a Uniting Church school, and we welcome students and families of all faiths. We support the spiritual growth and journey of each child. Our students attend chapel each week at St John’s Church, located directly adjacent to our campus, and attend weekly scripture classes.
While developing excellent academic skills is our focus, we also aim to help each child develop as a confident, resilient young person. All of our staff are trained in the principles of Positive Psychology. While mainstream psychology often focuses on people who already suffer from mental health issues, Positive Psychology (in schools often called Positive Education aims to increase resilience and wellbeing proactively. Using the ‘You Can Do It!’ framework, our students explore and learn five essential skills: getting along, organization, persistence, confidence, and resilience.
