Our Facilities – including Boarding at Belmont

MHS is based in its own custom-built school-house in the grounds of Belmont School. Our building is carpeted throughout which helps to keep noise at lesson changeover to a minimum. This avoids disturbing those who are working through double periods or have slightly different lesson times.

Our “Annex” has two teaching rooms for small groups. We can convert these into one larger classroom by moving the specially installed soundproof screen.

Situated near The Belmont Theatre and Dining Hall, our Art and Science Rooms are extremely well-equipped.

Moon Hall also has access to all the facilities of Belmont which include:

65 acres of wooded parkland overlooking Holmbury St. Mary
D. & T. and I.C.T. Rooms
Science Laboratory
Music and Drama
Dining Room and Kitchen
Gym and Games facilities: Sports Hall + all-weather Sports Pitch
Adventure Playground and Ropes Course
Open-air heated Swimming Pool
Joint Field Trips and Activities
Boarding

(Children for whom a day placement is not an option enter fully into the Boarding life of Belmont School.
This may involve just 4 nights a week –
since they may return on a Monday morning - rather than a Sunday evening, if you prefer.
Boarders leave for home at 4.30 p.m. on Friday afternoon after lessons finish).

Equipment and Resources

Moon Hall School is fortunate in having a vast range of specialist material designed to help dyslexic children. Parents need to visit to gain a full insight into all that is available - it is impossible to give you an adequate impression on paper.

We aim to provide our pupils with cutting-edge technology wherever we are convinced that it will motivate, inspire and enable them. We have networked computers not only in our Computer Room but also in every form and tutorial room. Innovative teaching systems are employed to teach touch typing, and once competent, pupils may use lap-tops where recommended by their teachers. All our computers run a wide variety of specialist English and Maths programs. We have “Voice to Text” and “Text to Speech” software and a CD Server giving access to specially chosen and motivating CDs that develop children’s reading and spelling skills.

Our Libraries include reading books at all levels including those of high interest for weaker readers. The specially created Children’s Reference Library has a wide variety of books where pupils and staff can find material to support project work.

Additionally we have a Parents’ Room where you are welcome to browse. Pamphlets, books, videos etc are available and may be borrowed.

Multi-media resources stimulate interest and reinforce teaching and interactive whiteboards are available to benefit most pupils.

Skills for Life

Every child is taught Touch-Typing from the age of 7 for we believe a word-processing package with suitable spell-check to be an invaluable tool for a dyslexic. Accelerated learning techniques are employed initially and appropriate software is used for reinforcement including much that develops reading and spelling skills also. Typing tuition is also available for external pupils and classes are run after school – please ask at the Moon Hall School Office regarding vacancies.

Once a pupil can touch-type, word-processing is introduced. In June 1996 we entered our first candidates for Oxford, Cambridge and R.S.A. (O.C.R.) examinations - usually taken by 16 year olds to adults. Successes achieved then and since include 100% Distinctions in Initial Text Processing - an hour-long examination.

Study Skills enable our children to adopt helpful strategies for learning, revising and for sitting examinations; they are integrated into specialist teaching throughout the curriculum. The ICT and English curriculum allows the use of Kidspiration mind-mapping software. Voice activated software is available, though difficult to use for most pupils for a variety of reasons.