The children turning twelve have arrived at the age of ‘consequences’. For the first time we can reason with them: “If you do this, then that will happen.” At this stage they can begin practising self‑control and begin to imagine into the outcomes of any deeds or behaviour.

The students’ bodies are changing and, as these changes occur, they must work, albeit unconsciously, with them. They must learn how to live in their bodies in a new way. The movements of these twelve­-year‑olds begin to lose the natural rhythm and grace of the younger child; the point of balance, attained over the preceding year, appears to be lost. They become ‘unskilled’; their growing bodies seem to be no longer in their control and can become awkward and clumsy.

Just as they must learn to move in a new way, adjusting to the body’s new relationship to gravity, so the soul must also adjust to its changing abode. More than ever at this point in their development the young people must be given imaginative pictures and stories that speak to the higher aspects of their beings, they must be inspired and they must be protected from feelings of hopelessness or inadequacy.

It is at this stage, when the soul connects itself more closely with the mechanism of the bony system, that we introduce the children to new scientific subjects. In the Physics Main Lesson, through observation and experiment, the students will investigate the mechanical laws that govern life and in the Geology Main Lesson, they will investigate the ‘bones’ of the earth.

The Task

To follow world evolution and to allow the child to experience what it meant to be a citizen of Rome, at the height of its greatness. To be able to experience themselves as Romans: true, honest, fair and brave; to experience themselves as an honourable part of the community, holding the good of the state above all else.

The founding of Rome, the expulsion of the last king and the founding of the Republic are studied through biographies of the great Romans who put the needs of the city-state before their own. The students can experience the Senate and the making of the laws and learn how our own systems of money, government and justice are descendants of this ancient time.

Movement is especially important in this year and the opportunity to experience the movement of the Roman Army, marching to the breath and heart beat, should not be over looked. Exercises from the original Olympic Games can also continue to be worked with. Life in the Middle Ages follows the story of Rome. Amidst the hardship of daily life ran their stories of valour and truth; the remembered link with the spirit pervaded the great romances of the time.

The fourteenth year is a milestone year in the inner life of a young person. There is an increasing realisation – and assertion – of the individual sense of self, of the uniqueness of one’s own identity.

In Class Eight, students are encouraged to form opinions, take positions, and assume responsibility for themselves in the wider community. The students are in the process of completing their passage through childhood and are entering young adulthood, an achievement that provides a broader viewpoint, sharper powers of observation, and growing critical faculties. These skills help students develop the scope and the perceptive abilities to recollect, to connect, to see relationships – abilities which make it possible to build a comprehensive picture whether the subject is history, physics or maths.

The students are increasingly experiencing themselves as individuals with tastes and impulses of their own. They rightfully challenge accepted practices and ideas in order to understand and participate in a more independent way. The goal is for the students to experience a stronger sense of self-mastery and responsibility.

The Waldorf curriculum aims to meet these needs.