Community, Courage, and Celebration

The Remembrance Service events in school on Tuesday were both poignant and an opportunity to experience being a community across all aspects of school. For the first time the Prep Chapel Choir sang in the chapel for the Remembrance Service and for the second year running a Prep pupil, Thomas, who you will hear more about shortly, laid a wreath alongside Skye, our Head of School in the Upper Sixth. Our Year 5s, 6s and the Prep Chapel Choir alongside 12 pupils from Year 1 to 3 joined with the older children outside the pavilion for the second part of the service at the Senior School. And here in the Prep Hall we were joined by three Senior School members, Music teacher Mr Ashman-Jones, and Liam and Harry as our trumpeters who played the Last Post and Reveille wonderfully. Mr Sell, Quartermaster in the CCF, set up our Drum Head in advance so that the symbolism and significance could be experienced by Prep pupils. Oliver, brother of Thomas, laid our Prep wreath and four Year 4 pupils, Alex, Ella, Isaac and Sansaar read a Remembrance poem.

Oliver and Thomas, twins in Year 5, have various great grandparents and great great grandparents who served in some way in WWII or WWI. Here we provide a dive into their family connections and why they were both so proud to be our wreath layers this year.

Sadly the family have no photographs of Great grandad and grandma Sutcliff and, not unsurprisingly given the time that has passed, there are no photographs of Great great grandad and grandma Hill.

Many of the children have incredible family histories and we are republishing our In Their Own Words digital magazine in January, where we have added even more family stories since last year. Preserving family narratives and sharing these as a community strengthens our connections.

Kira and Alisha in Year 4, both received a Head of Prep award this week for showing brilliant skills in persuasion during their English work. They were tasked with creating an advert for a product they chose. The girls listened carefully to the advice and used it to create their ideas. The final result was an advert that was amazingly well-written and used very original ideas to convince everyone. A fantastic job of clear, persuasive writing – well done!

Teddy in Year 3, has been awarded a Head of Prep Award for being an exceptionally helpful and thoughtful member of our School community, particularly in Wraparound. Teddy has shown consistent, reliable support to staff since his time in Foundation, often impressing staff with his precision on intricate tasks.

Recently, Teddy dedicated time to assist with preparing materials for the new British Sign Language display board in the corridor, showcasing his dynamic contribution. Beyond specific tasks, Teddy is proactive in offering assistance; he is quick to open doors, carry items, and guide his peers toward helpful behaviour.

Well done, Teddy!

Wishing you, an albeit somewhat rainy, restful weekend,

Alice Goodfellow