Head
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful to see 323 House points awarded last week for outstanding attitudes, kindness, and young leadership. Kean took an early, narrow lead in collecting the most awards.
We have great news about 12 of our children who achieved high merits and distinctions in the recent ballet exams. Special congratulations to Annabel (6R) for successfully auditioning for the English Youth Ballet, and to Lexi (6G) for success with the Royal Ballet School Junior Associates and Surrey Youth Ballet.
Our achievements extend further with no fewer than 11 first prizes awarded at the National Dahlia Society Awards, including a trophy and two medals. A big thank you to Mr Gaszka and our hardworking Gardening Club members, especially Charlie (5R), Riley (5R), and Charlotte (5R). Your patience and care have truly paid off. Not only have these children grown the most beautiful flowers, but we have been using their fresh organic vegetables and herbs in our food tech sessions.
In civic endeavour, Talia (4G) helped raise over £1,200 for the Alzheimer’s Society through their sponsored ‘Memory Walk.’ What a fantastic example she has set for her peers.
Our sporting success seems set to continue this year as we swept to victory in the U11 Bryanston Hockey Tournament, winning all six games. Truly brilliant team play and resilience from our girls!
Finally a thank you to everyone who attended the ‘Welcome Back BBQ’ last Saturday, especially Andy and Graeme from the BHCC and Kim Hall for organising such a great spread.
Have a great weekend
Best wishes
Mr John Towers
Head of Upper Prep
Dear Parents,
It has been a busy week in Upper Prep again – and such a joy to have some sunny weather! Year 8 have really enjoyed playing on the tennis courts at break time whilst Year 7 continue to practise their football skills on the astro. Games and PE lessons at King Edward’s continue to be popular and it was wonderful to see some of our children signing up for Saturday fixtures at King Edward’s.
Our Co-Curricula Clubs began this week and Years 7 and 8 signed up for football, drama, rugby, chess – and much more. Some children took part in Running Club on Monday mornings at 7.30am and those who participated definitely started the day with more energy and a real glow. Year 8 children – and Delilah! – continue to rehearse for ‘Lord of the Flies’ and Mr O’Kelly and I are so impressed with their talent and enthusiasm. Year 7 helped Mrs Wheeler with the Willow Dome this week by weaving the rapidly growing branches back into the dome. This was a tricky job as we all had to be careful not to snap the branches!
Finally, it was lovely to see so many Upper Prep parents at our Information Evening on Tuesday. As form teachers, Mr Smith, Mr Behan, Mr Unwin and I are always your first port of call for any questions, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can help in any way.
Have a restful weekend.
Mrs Mason
Head of Prep
Dear Parents,
It’s been a busy and exciting week here at school! Our Friday assembly was packed with awards, celebrating the children’s fantastic efforts. We also held our elections for School Council and Eco Reps, using traditional voting methods. It was great to see the children actively participate in the democratic process, showing real enthusiasm for these important roles.
Next week, I am excited to launch the Junior Duke program once again. This initiative has always been a big hit, and I look forward to seeing what the children achieve through it.
This week also saw several successful tournaments and matches and the Bridwell Choir is back in full sing – or swing! (I couldn’t resist!) and they’ve been sounding better than ever.
We held our first House Assembly of the academic year this week. Each House participated in a fun competition to create the best group photo – stay tuned, as we’ll be announcing the results soon!
Thank you for your continued support, and have a wonderful weekend.
Miss Tyrrell
Head of Pre-Prep
Dear Parents,
As the children and staff have begun to find their rhythm in the new term this week, it’s been wonderful to see and hear our Pre-Prep children getting into the swing of our varied and rich curriculum each day.
It was lovely to welcome parents of Nursery and Kindy children on Wednesday morning to their first Parents’ Information Morning. Mrs Triska and Mrs Withers were able to share aspects of the curriculum with parents and day to day housekeeping points, as well as provide an opportunity for any questions. This week we had the first House meetings of the new school year. Year 8 House Captains from Kean, Murtough and McCormack spoke to the children about the range of House events taking place this year and we had a House photo as Captains begin to put displays together for each of the House boards. Pre-Prep children are excited to be joining the regular House meetings.
On Thursday, Lucy Butler visited Pre-Prep children to share her recently published first book, ‘The Dancing Hippo’. Lucy is a King Edward’s former pupil, having finished Upper Sixth this summer and now starting at Portsmouth University to study Illustration. It was wonderful that she was able to come and share this with our youngest pupils. Lucy was able to tell the children how she got her idea for the book and read the story, showing the children her own illustrations on the pages as she did so.
Well done to Annabella (Rec), Sammy (1G) and Hugo (2G) who received Work of the Week certificates today. There has clearly been lots of hard work taking place this week including super observational skills in painting, knowledgeable explanations about Viking longboats and excellent determination with reading.
Next week you will receive details of how to sign up for this year’s Duke Award which is now available to our Kindy pupils too.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Barnett
School Notices
Esteemed soprano and Old Barrowhillian, Holly Graham and distinguished harpist Imogen Ridge, have joined together to create the contemporary classical ensemble, Eloquent Duo. They will be performing at the Watts Gallery on Saturday 19th October. For a beautiful evening of music please see more details here.
Come and try something new! On Saturday 12th October, Southern Navigators orienteering club are holding one of their ‘Saturday Series’ events on Witley Common.
These events are ideally suited to beginners, juniors and family groups who want to try orienteering or move up from school to forest orienteering. More details can be found here.
Please refer to your handbook here on the website for useful day-to-day school procedures. Your password to this section of the website is found in your parent portal.
A polite reminder that food and drink should not be bought into Chapel please.
