FROM THE HEAD MASTER
New Head Girl and Head Boy
I am delighted to announce that the new Head Girl for next year will be Clemmie Harrison and the new Head Boy will be Milo Green. Many congratulations indeed to both Clemmie and Milo on this honour. I know they will be excellent role models for our younger children.
IAPS Athletics Finals
As you will know from previous mentions on this page, we had four children win through to the National Prep Schools Athletics Finals which took place on Monday. Ezekiel-David Peat and Ludo Lindsay did superbly well but I must make special mention to Ellie Allsopp who came second in the Triple Jump, and Harry Rogers who went one step further, becoming National Champion in the Hurdles. A brilliant end to the athletics season.
Past Pupils’ Success
I was rather bowled over to receive a letter from Oundle School this week informing me that Isobel Jessop, who left us in 2018, has just been awarded ‘Dux of School’. This award is given to the pupil who has led the year group academically and is viewed as the stand-out pupil, not just in terms of intellect but also their academic achievements, application and diligence. Moreover, the letter also informed me that Thomas Kimbell, who left Spratton in 2019, has just been awarded ‘Dux of the Lower Sixth’ this week. The letter went on to say that Oundle could not recall any prep school yielding two Senior ‘Duces’ in the same academic year. This is a remarkable achievement and I am so very proud of both pupils and, of course, our own staff who taught them through their time at Spratton.
End of Year Reports
In the coming days the children’s end of year reports will be released onto the School Portal. As you will know from my previous letter, these will no longer be sent home as hard copies. Teachers spend a huge amount of time writing these reports, ultimately for the children’s benefit. Please, therefore, do take the time to read them with your son or daughter. You will receive an email, letting you know when they are ready and on the portal.
Leavers
Although I will of course say more in my Speech Day address tomorrow, I do want to say a huge thank you and well done to all of our leaving staff this term and to wish them the very best of luck for the future.
The same goes for our leaving pupils. It is always a sad time when children leave us for other schools but I do congratulate them on all they have achieved at Spratton and they leave us with our very best wishes.
New Gates
Just a further reminder that we are having building work carried out at the entrance to the school with new gates being erected. If you need to come into the school during the holidays, access will be restricted so please do park on the road and walk into the school.
Finally, I wish you all a very happy summer holiday and safe travels wherever you are headed. I look forward to the school community coming together once again in September.
Thank you
Simon Clarke
PRE-PREP
What a whirlwind of emotions the end of term has been – the giddy excitement of the imminent summer holidays, the anticipation of moving on and, for some, a tinge of sadness at saying goodbye to Pre-Prep.
SHSPA Year 2 Leaving Gift
As a parting gift, to commemorate their time in Pre-Prep, SHSPA have kindly given each child in Year 2 a copy of The Bedtime Book of Impossible Questions by Isabel Thomas.
This beautiful book is a delicious and quirky collection of poems, which I am sure the children will thoroughly enjoy dipping into over the summer.
Summer Reading and Scrapbook Challenge
Keeping young inquiring minds busy throughout the long summer break can be a challenge in itself! However, if you are keen to keep your child’s reading, writing and phonetic skills ticking over across the holidays, then you may be interested in the Summer Reading Challenge, run by local libraries, and our own Pre-Prep Scrapbook Challenge, both of which I introduced to the children and emailed parents about this week. Whilst both challenges are entirely optional, we will, of course, absolutely delight in celebrating the children’s efforts on their return to school in the Autumn Term.
And Finally …
As I write, the children and staff are busy preparing for one of the most special and exciting events of the Pre-Prep calendar – our Pre-Prep Speech Day and Prize Giving. Reflecting on the learning journeys that the children take each academic year, never fails to overwhelm and delight me. Children have the most extraordinary capacities to discover, learn and explore and I know I speak for all of the Pre-Prep staff when I say how immensely proud of them we are. With laughter, smiles, songs and maybe a few happy tears, this afternoon is all about celebrating the progress and achievement of every one of our children.
Finally, as another year reaches its completion, a huge thank you to you as parents for your ongoing support and, from all of the staff in Pre-Prep, we wish you a wonderfully happy, relaxing and fun-filled summer. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.
Fiona Sanchez
Head of Pre-Prep
ART
Artist of the Week goes to Mrs Moreton for her wonderful mural of the BFG!
MUSIC
Outdoor Concert
What a fantastic evening celebrating British music! It was wonderful seeing all the children up on the stage enjoying themselves and singing with such confidence. Thank you to all those who took part in the parents/staff choir, singing has been a wonderful way to start a Thursday and Friday! If you have any coloured folders left at home, I would appreciate it if they could be returned so we can use them again.
Summer Concert
This was a truly wonderful evening of musical entertainment. All of our ensembles performed in the concert and it was lovely to hear so many different styles of music across the range of groups. It was fantastic to see so many pupils taking part, from those just starting their musical career to those more experienced. Congratulations to everybody involved, you worked very hard in rehearsals and should be proud of the standard of music achieved. For some, this was their last concert at Spratton and I would like to wish all those who are leaving the very best for the future. My particular thanks go to Finn Coker and Ezekiel-David Peat our two Heads of Music this year.
School Play Auditions – Years 7 & 8
Excitement is already building for the school play, which next year is going to be Frozen. Sample scripts and song extracts have already been circulated to those who would like to audition in September. These are the links to the songs on You Tube to help you learn them.
In Summer www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_cUjL7_SRs
For the first time in forever www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHNb9R3ISE
Remember, you only need to learn one song.
Good luck!
Instruments
Please can all musical instruments and music folders be taken home at the end of term.
Exam Success
Congratulations to the following pupils for their excellent exam results.
Thank you!
The Music Department would like to thank pupils and parents for their commitment, support and encouragement this year. We look forward to further success next year!
ATHLETICS
Well done to the following pupils on their achievements at the National Schools’ Athletics Meeting in Nuneaton on Monday.
Ezekiel-David Peat came 6th in the 100m
Ludo Lindsay came 5th in the High Jump
Ellie Allsopp came 13th in the 300m and 2nd in the Triple Jump
Harry Rogers ran well in the 100m but won the Hurdles and is the National Champion!
Congratulations also to Romy Earle who was crowned County Champion in the Hurdles at the County Athletics Finals in Corby.
SCHOOL SHOP SUMMER OPENING/ORDERING
Please note our School Shop Summer holiday opening times are as follows:-
APPOINTMENTS ONLY
Friday 1st September: 10.00am – 2.00pm
Monday 4th September: 10.00am – 2.00pm
Tuesday 6th September: 11.00am – 3.00pm
Please use the link below to make a 15 minute appointment for one of the above dates. Full uniform fittings cannot be accommodated during these times, please e-mail schoolshop@sprattonhall.com if this is a requirement.
https://www.picktime.com/sprattonhall
EMAIL ORDERS
All email orders received by Monday 21st August will be made up and available for collection from Thursday 24th August.
The Underwood will be open from Thursday 24th August – Tuesday 5th September, during the hours of 9.00am – 4.00pm, to accommodate these collections.
If you would like to place an order please email schoolshop@sprattonhall.com.
NEW MINIBUS
Please see below a note from Mr Clarke published in a previous newsletter, if anyone is interested in either route, please do contact Julie Gallo, details below.
I am pleased to inform you that we are in the final stages of purchasing another school minibus. It is our intention that we will, once again, have a full morning route into Spratton from Rugby, but we are hoping to encourage more customers onto this particular journey. The route starts at the Waterside Pub on the A428 in Rugby and then goes through Crick, West Haddon and Guilsborough. This third minibus means that we will now be able to have two minibuses coming in from the Market Harborough direction. If you are interested in your child joining any of our morning runs, or if you live very nearby the route and we could then look at the viability of a slightly different pick-up, please get in contact with Mrs Julie Gallo on JGA@sprattonhall.com.
