FROM THE HEAD MASTER
Start of Term
It has been a most pleasing start to the term with the children coming back in excellent spirits. Until today, the weather has matched those high spirits – let’s hope this wet spell is short-lived.
Captains of Sport
I am delighted to announce the following as Captains of Cricket for this term:
Captain of Girls’ Cricket – Cecilie Jackson; Vice-Captain – Hester Milne
Captain of Boys’ Cricket – Teddy Green; Vice-Captain – Jenson Hill
Many congratulations to all of them. I wish them every success for the season ahead and I look forward to seeing them and their teams in action in the coming weeks.
MP Visit
It was a pleasure to welcome our local MP, Chris Heaton-Harris, to the school this morning to speak in assembly. As Northern Ireland Secretary, Chris has had a particularly busy week, only returning from Belfast yesterday after spending five days there for the ‘Good Friday Agreement’ 25th anniversary.
Chris gave a most interesting talk to the school on both his role as an MP and as a Cabinet Minister. The pupils had the opportunity to put questions to him and I was particularly impressed that some children had really done their homework and asked some very probing questions – perhaps future politicians in the making themselves.
Year 5 at Conkers
Our Year 5 children are currently enjoying their first ever school residential trip at the Conkers Activity Centre in the National Forest. I have heard excellent reports and seen some great photos of them in action. I am sure they will have many exciting stories to tell on their return. My thanks to Mr Roberts, Mr White and the team for accompanying the children.
Successes of Past Pupils
It is always a pleasure to hear of the successes of our former pupils. I was so pleased to hear that Toby Haxby, who left in 2019, has been appointed Head of House at Wellingborough. Similarly, Lucille Mangan has been appointed Head of Griffin House at Rugby and Hugh Salvesen, Head of Kilbracken at Rugby. Furthermore, Seb Fernandes-Smith and Toby Cousins, who left Spratton in 2018, were both part of the Oakham School 1st XV Rugby team who were crowned U18 Schools Cup National Champions a few weeks ago at Twickenham. Many congratulations indeed to all of the above.
School Uniform
Despite the wet weather today, the children are welcome to wear summer uniform, details of which can be found on the school website. A date will follow in a few weeks when all children will need to be in summer uniform.
Open Morning
Next Friday 28 April is our summer Open Morning. We look forward to welcoming new and prospective families to the school. If you know of any other families who may be interested in attending, please do urge them to contact the Registrar, Mrs Sarah Church at Registrar@sprattonhall.com. If you have any younger children not yet registered, can I urge you to make contact with Sarah as soon as possible to register them.
Thank you
Simon Clarke
PRE-PREP
If only the buzz and excitement of the first day of term could be bottled and treasured! It is so uplifting to hear the children chatter as they pop their heads through their classroom doors to greet waiting friendly faces, or giggle and squeal in the playground as new games quickly unfold. Add to this the beautiful sunshine and it really does feel rather special being back in school.
Outdoor Explorations
The Pre-Prep staff and children can never resist being out in the fresh air, whatever the weather. Thinking, creating and problem solving outside in open spaces invigorates and heightens the children’s learning experiences enormously.
Whilst the Reception children watched with fascination as showers of blossom petals fell like confetti around them, there were gasps of delight from some of the Year 2 children when they discovered two newts snuggled together underneath a tree stump.
1S returned from their exploration of natural habitats with a long list of creatures that they had spotted, from bees, ducks and spiders to Canada geese, woodlice, slugs and flies!
The Sleepy Bumblebee!
Across the Pre-Prep, we use a wonderfully empowering and rich learning technique called ‘Talk 4 Writing’. From instructional texts, to reports, poetry and descriptive story writing, we begin by introducing children to the wonderful language structures and vocabulary surrounding different genres of writing.
This week, Reception have been delving into the story of The Sleepy Bumblebee. RG were thrilled to discover that a bright yellow, octagonal shaped and rather sticky envelope (that smelt of sweet honey) had been delivered to their classroom. Containing a letter from Queen Bee Belinda, it gave instructions to head down to Five Acres Wood to search out her colony of bees. Belinda was quickly spotted resting on our forest school story throne (where else would a queen sit!) with her colony of bees tucked safely in the trees. Having also discovered stashes of pine cones, wool and googly eyes, the children set about making their own colony of bumblebee friends. I have no doubt that you will hear more about this story as the writing tasks unfold across the next few weeks.
Pre-Prep Cake Sale – Tuesday 2nd May
Finally, ahead of an email that I will send to parents next week, I cannot resist a mention of our Pre-Prep Cake Sale that you may have spotted in the calendar.
Last year, for the first time ever, Pre-Prep held the reins in hosting a cake sale for the whole school, all in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, a charity that lies very close to our hearts. The array of cakes that parents donated was mesmerising – from crumbly cookies studded with chocolate buttons, to syrupy flapjacks, and cupcakes toppling with sugary swirls of icing, the children laid out a fabulous spread of treats for their friends to buy. Our Pre-Prep Cake Sale falls just after the bank holiday when, with your kind help, we hope it will be just as lip-lickingly delicious and good!
Pupil Achievements
Congratulations to the following children who have achieved Skiing awards over the holidays – Edward Pett (1N), Clemence Chambers-Hall (1S), Lockie Millar (1S), Eadie Sanders (RY), Archie Brown (1N), Harry Wall (1S), Charlie Wall (1N), Charlie Scott (1S) and Oscar Waite (1S)
Very well done to Elodie Bolt (1S) who was awarded ‘Player of Sports Camp’ and to Dakshan Premkumar (2M) who successfully gained a trophy for being ‘Player of the Week’ at his football club.
Congratulations to Arthur Darbon (1S) who achieved awards for his effort and skill in both tennis and football.
Finally, a very big well done to the following children for their swimming achievements – Aya Wilson (RG) Level 1 and 2, plus 5m and Ottilie Osborne (RG) Level 2 and 5m.
Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep
SPRATTON EQUESTRIAN TEAM
Our Equestrian team have been busy over the Easter break and qualified for the Schools Eventers Championships with both teams winning!
Well done to the following:-
70cm team – Emily, Tiggy, Chloe and Charlotte
80cm team – Charlotte, Chloe, Emily & Tiggy
Also competing for Spratton recently was Florence, who came 3rd in a 90cm ODE at Swalcliffe and qualified for the School Equestrian Games National Championships at Dauntsey Park in September. She also competed for British Eventing and came in 3rd place in the BE90cm class.
All in all, a very successful Easter!
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
We are really busy in the Art rooms this week as Year 8 rush to finish their outfits for the Fashion Show in June, before their final Art lesson the week before half term. All very exciting!
OAKHAM SKILLS DAY
On Wednesday, Years 7&8 visited Oakham School for a sunny afternoon of cricket skills coaching.
OUTSPAN SCHOOL IN UGANDA
Flavia, the school girl we sponsor in Uganda, received our small gift and the letters from the children in Years 4 and 5. Flavia is now 16 years old. She is so excited about going back to school and is working very hard and, one day, hopes to be an eye surgeon.
MUSIC
Exam Success
Congratulations to the following pupils for the excellent music exam results:-
Singing
Grade 2
Ria Sharma Distinction
Grade 4
Ruby Abbott Merit
Trumpet
Grade 6
Finn Coker Pass
Outdoor Concert – Parent/Staff Choir
We would like to organise a parent/staff choir for the Outdoor Concert. If there are any parents that are interested in getting involved, please email Mrs King (nck@sprattonhall.com) to add your name to the list.
PUPIL ACHIEVEMENTS
Well done also to George and Thomas whose Welford U10 Team came 5th at the Midlands Annual Hockey Tournament final in Nottingham last Sunday
SCHOOL SHOP
The new school branded cricket tops are now available to purchase from the school shop, along with a school brimmed cricket hat.
A reminder of shop opening times:-
Mondays and Thursdays 3.30 – 5.30pm
Fridays 8.00 – 9.00am
SHSPA EVENTS
Tickets are still on sale, however, there is now limited availability.
NATIONAL ONLINE SAFETY GUIDES
As of January this year, Fortnite was registering as the second most-played video game by pre-teens in the US, ahead of Minecraft and closely behind Roblox. Consider also that one in five (22%) Fortnite fans devotes a minimum of 10 hours per week to the game, and that 77% of Fortnite players have made at least one in-game purchase.
Clearly, habitual repeated Fortnite marathons and the likelihood of spending actual money on that ‘must-have’ new weapon or outfit are among the most frequent risks for young gamers. As this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide outlines, however, those aren’t the only potential hazards in Fortnite that that trusted adults need to be mindful of.
Here is the link to the school website where you will find more details and further helpful information.
NON-SCHOOL EVENTS
Oakham School STEM Family Challenge
(Years 6&7 only) for those families who will be seeking entry to senior schools in 2024/25
DT – STEM Challenge entry form
STEM family challenge_2023
Hollowell Sailing Club
Adult-Learn-to-Sail-Poster-2023
BoW-Poster-2023
Junior-Start-Sailing-Poster-v2
Powerboat-Poster-updated
If you would like further information please visit Hollowell Sailing Club
