CHEEKY MONKEYS

 

The Cheeky Monkeys at TBL Academy is a programme designed for the youngest students in the Academy. They can start classes when they are 2 and a half years old and stay in the programme until they start Reception at school.  At this point they will move into the main Academy.

Our Cheeky Monkey mascot is Dave the Monkey (the name was chosen by our original Cheeky Monkeys). Dave is a teddy who is given out each week to one of the students. To win Dave for the week we look for a student who is going above and beyond in class. There is a book called Dave’s Diary and every time a Cheeky Monkey goes home with Dave they write about what Dave has been doing with them. When Dave returns we read out what has been written in the diary to the rest of the students.

At the start of each of the classes the students have the chance to tell the teacher and the rest of the students about something they have done during the week. This helps to build confidence in the group and gives the students the chance to develop the skills to speak in public.

When the students start school they will graduate at the Annual Awards evening and get their Cheeky Monkey diploma and medal. It’s just another way we encourage our students and help them to grow in confidence and ability. There are two Cheeky Monkey classes which are available for these students.

These are detailed below;

 

BALLET

Ballet is a disciplined form of dance which is very detailed. At this level we follow the Pre Primary RAD syllabus. We believe this is the best syllabus for the development of young children and it uses learning through fun and play to get the required level.

Students won’t take an exam in this subject due to the age restrictions. We would have to hold the students back to wait for the right age to take the exam and this is not something we like to do. The students are young and they don’t need to take the examination at this age. The students will move up into the next grade which will be Primary RAD when they start school in reception.

 

TAP & JAZZ

Tap and Jazz is a joint class to get students used to doing both Modern and Tap ready for moving up to the Academy when they start school in Reception. This class helps to teach rhythm and musicality.

Students will study the Pre-Primary ISTD Modern syllabus and learn the foundations of Tap ready to move up to the Pre-Primary ISTD Tap syllabus when they move into the main Academy.

As with Ballet, there is no examination for this level. The students will move up when they start school in reception.