PRE-PREP

‘Moving On Day’ Excitement

Even those most torrential rain and floodwater that engulfed the tops of our shoes, did not dampen the excitement of ‘Moving On Day’ on Tuesday.  Bubbling with anticipation, Year 2 children headed confidently into the Year 3 block, without even a backward glance, and thoroughly enjoyed a taste of the many new privileges that being in the Prep School brings.  Needless to say, their return walk back to Pre-Prep later in the afternoon was a far noisier one, with the children eagerly sharing the details of their new forms and houses.

Meanwhile, for our Reception children, being in Year 1 for the morning brought with it one insurmountable privilege that shaped their entire day ~ stepping over the yellow line!  No sooner had playtime begun, than tens of little feet headed across the playground towards the bright yellow boundary.  Then, taking one last monumental stride over the line, there they stayed to admire the view from the other side!

Year 1 ~ On Safari!

The children in Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed this term’s topic of ‘On Safari’ and, what better way to enrich their knowledge and understanding, than listening to the tales and adventures of those that have experienced a safari first hand! Ethan and his mummy and daddy treated Year 1 to the most brilliant presentation, which showed what life was like on their family farm in South Africa.  The children saw photographs of giraffes, springbok, snakes, scorpions and dung beetles (no elephants, as they eat too much grass!) plus videos of Ethan going up in a helicopter, just to herd their animals into a pen!  The children were still recalling different facts that they had learnt as they headed through the school gates at the end of the day.

Year 2 Final Assembly

I don’t think I can put into words how utterly brilliant our Year 2 children were in their final Pre-Prep assembly on Thursday.  They were beyond magnificent, (and completely ferocious!) as they played the parts of three rascally pirate crews who did not know how to get along.  However, climbing aboard ‘The Friend-ship’ pirate boat together, they soon learned that working together, encouraging and supporting each other as friends, was amongst the best treasure you could own.  With some brilliant songs and some amazingly, menacing pirate accents the children’s performance finished with them sailing off together towards their next land of adventure, ‘Pirate Prep’!

Froglets in Reception

Having ventured down to the beautiful wilderness of our school pond, the Reception children sat with legs stretched out on picnic blankets counting dragonflies, fish and water snails.  It was then back to their classrooms to get even more up close with nature – a big bowlful of tiny froglets brought in by Harriet.  The minute creatures were utterly mesmerising and, on a hot, sticky afternoon, I think the children quite envied them being able to splash about in shallow pools of water.

Countdown to Pre-Prep Sports Day

Finally, we have another exciting event to look forward to next week, as it will be ‘ready, get set, go’ for an afternoon of fun at our Pre-Prep Sports Day on Wednesday.  The running track has been freshly painted and there are bundles of fruit flavoured ice-lollies awaiting the children in the freezer.  Starting at 2pm, it promises to be another fun, memorable event.

Pupil Achievements

Congratulations to the following children for their swimming awards – Max Ley (1S) Level 3, Elodie Bolt (1S) Level 4 and Cole Purcell (1S) Level 4.

Very well done to Sam Barber (2L) who was awarded, ‘Most Improved Player’ at his end of season football club presentation.

Final congratulations go to Claudia Wolstenholme (RY) for passing her Pre-Primary exam in Ballet.

Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep

SPRATTON CYCLE-CROSS RACE 2023

On Sunday, 14 pupils from Spratton took part in our, now annual, Cycle-Cross Race against 38 other riders. The course was as challenging as our beautiful grounds allowed. There had been some tweaks for this year’s course, alongside the normal punchy climbs, lung busting ascents, and fast flowy singletrack; the riders now had to face a few wiggle gates and a boggy ditch.

Making it round the course was a test of riding skill, and every single pupil rose to the challenge superbly. There were some slips and spills along the way, but lots of smiling faces as they crossed the line.

The U11 boys’ team showed how important teamwork was, as although there were no individual finisher’s medals, Henry Sandall, Elliot Glason, & Ludo Lindsay finished in 4^th, 5^th, & 6^th place respectively securing a team 1^st place!

After injury, our U11 girls’ team only had two riders, but what a pair. Alice Foster and Zoe Evans dominated the field from the start, jockeying for position to finish 1^st and 2^nd respectively. Unfortunately, only having two riders meant we could not qualify for a team place.

The U13 boys were equally as impressive with Theo Ryan demonstrating what a cycling pro he is by making it look rather straight forward, he cruised around the course in a blisteringly fast time to take 1^st place. Archie Bateson and Thomas Bellamy rode very well finishing in 3^rd and 7^th to secure another team 1^st place. Stephen Upton did not finish but can take solace in knowing that is the furthest around the course anyone has made it on a BMX bike!

Finally, our U13 girls came up against a couple of seasoned riders from other schools. Maisie Gowling took a couple of stylistic tumbles but still came home in an impressive 3^rd place, with Rosa Harper close behind in 5^th.

Mr Canty could not be prouder of the Spratton Spirit that our pupils displayed throughout. We hope to defend our new titles next year.

Spratton Results:

1^st Place medals – Theo Ryan U13 & Alice Foster U11

2^nd Place medals – Zoe Evans U11

3^rd Place medals – Maisie Gowling U13 & Archie Bateson U13

TEAM 1^st place – U11 Boys and U13 Boys

ART

Vincent van Gogh Art Installation

The Art Department have been busy finishing their Vincent van Gogh Art Installation this term and the children in Years 3-5 have been dressing up and having their photograph taken which was lots of fun!

MUSIC

Outdoor Concert

A letter was sent out on Monday with all the details for the Outdoor Concert. A reminder that children will need to arrive at school in their school uniform and bring their clothes for the concert in a their bag. Dress for the concert is a red, white or blue t-shirt (with no big logos) with jeans/leggings/jeggings (blue or black) and trainers. Dark-coloured, light-weight trousers would also be acceptable.

Summer Concert – Tuesday 4^th July

A letter was sent out to all those involved in the Summer Concert yesterday. This is going to be a wonderful evening of music showcasing all the hard work that our ensembles have done throughout the year. All performers will be provided with tea, please do email the school office to request tea for any siblings.

ABRSM Music Exams

Congratulations to all that have taken a music exam over the past few weeks. What a fantastic set of results!

DRAMA

Year 7’s Drama Evening last night was  ‘Midsummer Northants Madness’, where Shakespeare’s traditional fairies and dukes mixed with market traders and cobblers. Year 7 were magnificent, with some superb acting and singing. ‘True love’ certainly did not ‘run smooth’ on, what was a fun-filled evening.