FROM THE HEAD MASTER
Scholarship Success
I am delighted to bring you the following excellent news of a number of scholarship successes:
Our two Heads of Music have each been awarded a Music Scholarship – Finn Coker to Rugby and Ezekiel-David Peat to King’s Ely. Both boys have given so much to Spratton music over the years, and their awards are richly deserved.
The following have all been awarded scholarships to Oakham:
Theo Adkins – Art, Florence Campion – Sport, Maisie Gowling – Drama, Jenson Hill – Sport, Felix McAra – Sport, Hester Milne – All Rounder, Theo Ryan – Academic and Sport.
This is a tremendous achievement for each and every one of them and such a fitting reward for their hard work and achievements in those areas. Many congratulations indeed to them all.
Senior School Visits
One of the most interesting and enjoyable parts of my role is to visit senior schools. This week alone, I have visited Bosworth Independent College in Northampton, and yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Radley College where I enjoyed a tour of the school and met with many pupils there. In recent weeks I have also visited Bedford, Oundle, Rugby and Uppingham. It is always so beneficial for me to maintain close contact with the Registrar and Heads of these schools, as well as having the opportunity to catch-up with our former pupils.
Speaking of former pupils, I was so pleased to hear that Olivia Williams, now in her final year at Rugby, has been appointed the school’s first ever 1st XV Girls’ Rugby Captain, with her team playing on ‘The Close’ as part of their anniversary celebrations for 200 years of Rugby Football. Very well done to Olivia.
Colts Football
Our two teams, ‘Spratton United’ and ‘Spratton City’, had such a wonderful afternoon at our Colts football tournament on Wednesday. There was much excitement with penalty shoot-outs and play-offs, but eventually City came 3rd and United went on to win. It was a great pleasure to celebrate their achievements in assembly this morning and to present the trophy – well done to all boys who played.
The Week after Half Term
Just to make you aware that on Wednesday 22nd February, we have our Ash Wednesday services in St Andrew’s Church, with the Years 6, 7&8 service at 8.45am and the Years 3, 4&5 service at 9.10am. As always, parents are very welcome to attend.
On Friday 24th February, we welcome Mr Paul Sanderson, Headmaster of Bloxham, to speak in assembly at 8.45am. Again, parents are welcome to attend and then meet Mr Sanderson afterwards over coffee.
Potholes
This is a little mundane, compared to the exciting news above, but we are aware that the potholes at the entrance to the school drive have worsened somewhat in recent weeks. They are going to be temporarily repaired over half term before a more permanent fix later in the year.
Half Term
I do hope you and the children enjoy the break from school next week and if you are travelling, I wish you all safe journeys.
Thank you
Simon Clarke
PRE-PREP
Children’s Mental Health Week
Nationally, this week is recognised as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Mental well-being is so important and it is essential that we teach children strategies to help deal with worry and to understand when and where to turn to for support. In my assembly this week, I shared the story of Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival. The story gently and reassuringly touches on the importance of finding the courage to speak out, no matter how small a worry might be. Mrs Fordy, our Mental Health Lead, then added to this later in the week with an assembly on soothing, calming breathing techniques, perfect for helping to overcome the hurdle that little worries can sometimes present in our everyday lives.
More than ever, there are a huge number of children’s books available, all written with supporting children’s mental well-being in mind. I have included some of Pre-Prep’s favourite stories on this page, alongside this link which takes you to a fabulous collection of even more – Books to Support Children’s Mental Well-being
Year 2 Church Visit
Year 2 enjoyed their own very special occasion this week – a wedding! Within their RS work, the children have been finding out about the features of a Christian church and the different types of events that take place there. What better way to bring the children’s learning to life, than to dress up smartly and join Rev. Twigg at St. Andrews church in Spratton to act out a wedding ceremony. Afterwards, at the wedding reception, the children enjoyed a slice of beautifully iced wedding cake. In between mouthfuls of vanilla sponge, it was wonderful to hear them talk about the different features of the church that they had seen for themselves.
Year 1’s Egyptian Themed Assembly
Year 1 will be wrapping up our week rather magnificently this afternoon with their Egyptian themed assembly. With many fascinating (and rather gruesome!) facts about life in Ancient Egypt, it is quite remarkable how much information the children have absorbed through their learning. Having listened to the children rehearse in their Music lessons, the songs will also prove to be rather entertaining, particularly as the children have been practising their ‘chicken peck’ Egyptian head movements! As well as parents, friends and family watching this afternoon, we will have a rather special Egyptologist within the audience. Elliot, one of our Year 5 pupils, gave a wonderful presentation to Year 1 last week, sharing his vast knowledge of Ancient Egypt – it is only right that Elliot attends the assembly as Year 1’s guest of honour!
Pupil Achievements
Congratulations to the following children for their achievements in swimming – Myles Capelle (1N) Level 1 and Amara Fox (1S) 15m Award.
Very well done to Leonardo Dep-Shepherd (RY) who gained a trophy for his effort and skill on the pitch at Little Kickers.
Congratulations to Clemence Chambers-Hall (1S) who was awarded ‘Star of the Week’ at Stage Coach Theatre School, for her dancing and acting.
A further well done to Elisa Phipps (1N) for gaining her Level 2 Gymnastics Award.
Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep
HOME CLOTHES DAY
Today we are supporting Cancer Research and wearing their logo colours of blue, pink and purple in school today.
Thank you for your donations.
CROSS COUNTRY – SWANBOURNE CHASE
On Thursday last week, 12 Year 7 and 8 pupils went off to represent Spratton in the Swanbourne Chase.
This is always a challenging course, with a ridge and furrow start and plenty of hills in the mix. On the day, we set ourselves a target, which we worked very hard to achieve. The children’s teamwork was a joy to watch as they ran hard and fast throughout the race. They ran as they trained, in packs and this gave them strength when times got hard getting the very best out of each other.
The Senior Boys came a very worthy 3rd place overall narrowly missing 2nd place by 2 points. This was the best and most convincing performance from the boys to date and they were not only exhausted after the event but also rightly proud of their achievement as a team – a tremendous effort.
Teddy Blake led us home in 9th place with Theo Ryan 10th, Eddie Greany 11th, Benedict Briggs 16th, Hugh Smith 17th and Wilf Pasley-Tyler 28th.
The Senior Girls were ready and had a point to make. They have had an amazing season and they wanted to maintain their team success. Wow! … they put on a very convincing performance with every girl running hard to support her team mate. They came first overall to claim their gold medals with Ellie Allsopp 3rd, Cecile Jackson 4th, Emily Coe 5th, Bea Thorpe 11th, CeeCee Guest 12th and Elsa Miles 16th.
Mrs Williams
MUSIC
Uppingham Orchestral Day
We had a wonderful day at the Uppingham Orchestral Day yesterday. Musicians from the Concert Band and String Orchestra experienced a fun-filled day of music making with pupils from a range of prep schools across the country. The day began with sectional rehearsals with the specialist Uppingham staff before joining together to form a massed orchestra of about 275 players. It really was spectacular and everybody had an absolutely brilliant time and learnt a huge amount.
Termination of Music Lessons
Please be aware that, if you wish to cancel music lessons from the start of the Summer term, notice must be received by February half term.
DRAMA
Year 3 entertained their audience this week with their wonderful performance of ‘Blast from the Past!’. Well done everyone.
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK
MINDFULNESS CLUB
Our Club is a calm and peaceful time when we do breathing exercises, think positive thoughts and complete mindfulness activities such as doodling and colouring. This week we made mindfulness bookmarks.
After half-term, we hope to get outside and practise mindfulness with nature.
PUPIL ACHIEVEMENTS
Well done to Teddy and Elsa, Emily Coe and Cecile Jackson who represented Northamptonshire in the East Anglia Cross Country Championships last weekend. A tremendous effort.
HISTORY CLUB
Please note that History Club will be starting again after half term for those children already signed up to it.
LOST PROPERTY
Found in playground – dangle rose coloured earing with tassles.
SHSPA – UPCOMING EVENTS
NSPCC DISCO
SPRATTON HALL EARTHQUAKE APPEAL
We have set up a Just Giving page for any parents wishing to donate to the DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal run by The British Red Cross Society. Following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, they have launched an emergency appeal to meet the immediate and severe needs for those affected.
To date we have raised £840.
You can click on the link below to donate.
NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY GUIDES
The potential negative effects of gaming on young people’s mental health (when the compulsion to play begins to interfere with regular activities like homework, exercise or socialising) are well documented. In recent years however, there’s been a groundswell of research making a contrasting point – that safe, healthy amounts of gaming can actually help to improve mental wellbeing.
One of the most prominent studies was carried out by Oxford University in 2021, which found that moderate amounts of time playing family-friendly games led to respondents reporting an improved sense of mental wellbeing. Our guide has ten tips for trusted adults on how safe, healthy gaming can offer more than just an enjoyable leisure activity for children.
Here is the link to the school website where you will find more details and further helpful information.
