Huge well done to all of our children who took part in the Schools Triathlon at Clifton College on Sunday, organised by Restless Development. The event raised £99,000 for charity, a huge total! We hope those who took part had a brilliant time at the event.

The sun had its hat on this week and the children have loved every second of it. There has been wonderful Wachy, tonnes of tennis, a vast amount of virus (the good type, where you have to catch your friends running through the woods) and bountiful BoB adventures. We have had birthdays and some of our Year 8 girls decided to go foraging, making their own wild garlic bread in the school kitchens. It has been truly wonderful.

There are whisperings amongst the children that the outdoor pool is soon to make its first appearance of the year next week, which brings even more excitement to the evening activities.

Next week also sees our first 'Tuck Shop' of the term, where children can exchange the boarding stars they have been collecting. Have a great weekend!

Oli and Debbie Jones, Houseparents

This week, a group of our Year 6 children competed in a humanities competition called The Winton Cup at Stowe School. The group listened to guest speaker CCF Contingent Commander Major Andrew Arnold, and then attended workshops on Politics, Art History, Philosophy and Religion, History and Geography, all themed around the question 'Are some wars morally justified?' The children presented their findings at the end of the day. Our Year 6s conducted themselves brilliantly, asking lots of questions and making their teachers proud to have them representing the School.

We enjoyed another super lunchtime concert at Beaudesert on Thursday. It was wonderful to hear pupils play instruments from across the strings family, with each child at a different stage in their musical journey.

As part of our ongoing and developing series of talks for parents, we were delighted to welcome Kate Silverton on Thursday, as she shared her wealth of knowledge and experience. Kate gave the audience ideas and guidance about how to support our children through life’s natural stages of development. Her practical and compassionate suggestions will undoubtedly help those who were present to keep building their parenting toolkit, while reassuring them of the normal things to expect as our children grow and learn.

Our Years 4s took advantage of the good weather with some pond dipping with Miss Winkworth down by the school pond yesterday. This is part of the habitat surveys they have been conducting this week.

We were lucky enough to welcome Ms Al Cubbin, our talented woodwind teacher, to Pre-Prep for a special assembly this week. Ms Cubbin showcased different instruments to the children and played ‘guess the song’, including lots of children’s favourite theme tunes, which created a great buzz amongst the children. Years 1 and 2 parents will be sent information next week, should any children wish to take up woodwind lessons as we approach September.

We have also been making the most of the gorgeous weather outside, building our creative skills with pastels, and engaging in plenty of research and collaboration within our topic work.

Anna Packman, Head of Pre-Prep

Last Thursday, six boys represented the School at the annual IAPS Golf Championships, handily held at Minchinhampton Golf Club. The boys played some very good golf and really enjoyed the experience. The Year 8 boys came 5^th in the team competition, and the Year 7 team came in 9^th. Well done to Hector M, who was our highest ranked player on the day, with 30 points.

Our Year 7 team consisted of Rollo, Tahha and Barney P. Our Year 8 team was Hector M, Hector K and Wilf.

The Year 8 boys and girls engaged in fiercely contested tennis matches against Dean Close School in the LTA league this week. Following a deadlock in both singles and doubles, a shootout tiebreak ensued. The girls narrowly lost, while the boys emerged victorious, all representing the School fantastically.

5G took to the fore on Wednesday morning in assembly, telling the children all about the Olympics. After a brief history of the event, we were given an in-depth rundown of some of the sports included in the Summer and Winter Olympics. It has certainly wet our appetite for the Paris Olympics this summer!