FROM THE HEADMASTER
Captains
I am delighted to announce the following as Captains of Sport for the Summer Term:
Athletics
Captains: Harry Rogers & Isla Allsopp
Vice-Captains: Ludo Lindsay & Amber Bowyer
Cricket
Captain of Girls’ Cricket: Bessie Sanders, Vice-Captain: Ginny McAra
Captain of Boys’ Cricket: Johan Jenkins, Vice-Captain: Thomas Greany
Good luck to them all for the season ahead.
Staff News
This week, Mr Harte, our longstanding Estates Manager stepped down from his position having done the role for an amazing 25 years. I am so grateful for everything that Drew has done in all those years in the job. I am so pleased to report that Mr Ellingham has taken over this week as Estates Manager and I know Lee will continue Drew’s excellent work. Happily, Lee will be able to draw on Drew’s experience as he is not hanging up his tools just yet – he will be with us on a part-time basis until he moves into full retirement (hopefully, not just yet!).
Athletics Meeting
We could not have asked for better conditions as we held our annual Athletics Meeting on Tuesday, welcoming Beachborough, Bilton Grange, Maidwell and Swanbourne. It was a super evening of athletics and very well done to our teams who got off to a superb start with the girls’ team coming 1st and the boys’ team coming 2nd, meaning that we won the overall meeting. Well done to all!
Open Morning
Next Friday 9th May is our Open Morning from 10am – 12pm. I am always very grateful for parents recommending us to friends and family; please do feel free to invite or persuade anyone who would like to look round the school to join the Open Morning on Friday. Parents of Year 2 are particularly welcome to attend if you wanted to reacquaint yourselves with the prep school ahead of the children moving up to Year 3 in September. Do please contact Mrs Church on Registrar@sprattonhall.com to book a place.
Summer Uniform
It was a glorious start to the term weather-wise and I can see that the majority of pupils are in summer uniform. We will move to all pupils being in summer uniform from Monday 12th May. We are aware that due to a problem with our suppliers, we are short of summer dresses in the School Shop. If this has meant that your child does not have a summer dress, then of course it is not a problem for them to continue wearing the ‘winter uniform’.
Next Week
Once we return after the bank holiday, I look forward to seeing our pupils involved in the LAMDA presentation on Tuesday evening, and then on Thursday we will be having a VE Day 80th Anniversary Special Assembly for the prep school in the Hunter Hall. Unfortunately, we are unable to welcome parents to this event as the pupils do fill the hall. Then, on Friday next week, as mentioned in the newsletter a week ago, SHSPA are holding their Mum’s fun and relaxing retreat afternoon. Do see details elsewhere in the newsletter to book your place.
Thank you – and do enjoy the long weekend.
Simon Clarke
Headmaster
PRE-PREP
Pre-Prep MNDA Cake Sale – Thank You!
Oh my goodness! I simply must start by saying a huge, heartfelt thank you for the glorious array of cakes that parents kindly donated for our charity cake sale on Tuesday. There wasn’t an inch of sponge cake anywhere that wasn’t covered in lashings of heaped up icing, coated in brightly coloured sprinkles or studded with chocolate buttons, Smarties or jelly beans. The children’s faces were quite a picture when they saw the magnificent spread, with the only concern being, which one to choose! Thank you to everyone’s kindness, we raised £480 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Year 2 – Taking a Joyful Jump into Australia!
Year 2 have kicked off their new topic, ‘Australia’ with great enthusiasm. Squeals of laughter and big cheers could be heard as the children leapt about on a huge map of Australia that had been chalked onto the Pre-Prep playground. “Find Queensland,” shouted the teacher, followed by “Choose an Australian state … everyone on New South Wales jump up and down!”
Once back in the classroom, the sound changed to a deep, humming tone as the children puffed big breaths down their beautifully decorated, homemade didgeridoos. The children have certainly embraced this new area of learning with the kind of energy that would make a kangaroo proud!
Funky Finger, Fine Motor Development
Exercising and strengthening the tiny muscles in the hands, fingers and thumbs is essential for developing the dexterity children need for everyday tasks — from writing and using cutlery to painting, cutting with scissors, buttoning, and zipping.
What better way for our Reception children to build those fine motor skills than through nature-inspired activities, such as petal bashing and printing, in our Forest School. Using natural dyes from flowers and leaves, they hammered, pressed and created the most beautiful patterns, proving that strengthening tiny fingers is a lot of fun!
New Clubs are Taking Off
With a full week now under our belts, I have thoroughly enjoyed sampling each of our new clubs that have been unfolding. Plenty of red, rosy cheeks returned glowing after a good run around in Football, whilst a traditional bow, some simple moves and a few carefully practised Japanese words were learnt in Karate. In the energetic ‘Lemon Jelly’ Musical Theatre club, the children mashed bananas with their feet and wiggled their arms like spaghetti, before prowling and prancing around like animals in The Lion King.
Pupil Achievements
Congratulations to Autumn Dunkley Wildes who has achieved her 75m swimming award.
Very well done to Micah Leung who gained ‘Star of the Week’ at theatre school.
Congratulations to Romilly Boyson, a bronze medallist, achieving 3rd place in the U8’s English Schools Open Ski Championships.
A huge well done to Lavanya Uppal who achieved a distinction in her recent Ballet exam and received a medal for her effort and skill in Hockey.
Congratulations to our Pre-Prep riders in the Maidwell Hall Show Jumping Competition – Willa and Hector Jack both enjoyed clear rounds, with Isabella Wiseman scooping 4th and 6th positions in her events.
A final well done to Harley Horton-Walker who has achieved her orange belt grading in Kick Boxing and her third set of tags in Jujitsu.
Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep
CAKE SALE
Thank you to Year 2 for running a successful Cake Sale on Tuesday to raise money for MNDA. A total of £470.10 was raised for this wonderful charity which is very close to our hearts.
Thank you for your support.
SPRATTON ATHLETICS
What a fantastic afternoon of athletics we had on Tuesday afternoon, with Spratton winning out overall against the other visiting schools.
Well done to the Girls’ team who came in first place and the Boys’ team who came in 2nd place.
YEAR 5 VISIT TO CONKERS
Year 5 had a great start to the summer term as they spent three exciting days of outdoor adventures on their residential trip to Conkers. They spent their week making dens, doing obstacle courses, mastering the high ropes and toasting marshmallows!
GARDENING CLUB
The green fingered Gardening Club members have been preparing the soil for summer seeds which should get a head start in the wonderful weather we are having this week.
If any parents have any gardening tools surplus to requirement at home, they would be very gratefully received!
Please email Mrs Fordy on slf@sprattonhall.com if you are able to help.
Thank you.
MUSIC NEWS
Exam Success
Congratulations to the following pupils for their excellent music exam results:-
Oboe
Grade 2
Andrew Deng – Merit
Piano
Grade 2
William Morris – Merit
Oakham Music Day
We had a really lovely day at Oakham on Thursday. Our Year 4 musicians and singers rehearsed all day under the expert guidance of the Oakham music staff. The day ended with a presentation to parents, where we also got to listen to musicians from Oakham School perform. A wonderful day was had by all.
Summer Concert – Tuesday 1st July
Our Summer Concert will take place on Tuesday 1st July. All of our music ensembles will be performing in this concert. Please make sure that the date is in your diary.
Music Lessons
Individual music lessons are available on a wide range of instruments. If you are interested in your child having music lessons in school from September, please speak to Mrs King.
NMPAT Auditions
It has been wonderful to see so many of our pupils involved in the external music groups organised by Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust this year. The auditions are now open for 2025-2026. As a guide, instrumentalists should be around Grade 3 standard and above. Singers can be any grade. Following on from a successful audition, children are placed in a group relative to their ability and their age. Rehearsals are one evening a week or on a Saturday, with a number of concerts throughout the year. Rehearsal times do vary, but some run as late as 9pm. Should you have any questions about whether your child should audition for an NMPAT ensemble, how they are organised or the timings of rehearsals, please speak to your child’s instrumental teacher or to Mrs King.
Further information about auditioning and how to apply can be found at the link below.
Mrs King
Director of Music
OPEN MORNING
SHSPA EVENTS
LOST PROPERTY
Found in the main hall entrance – bag of ski base layers
NON-SCHOOL EVENTS
