Head
Dear Parents,
This week, we enjoyed an immersive historical workshop on the voyage of the Titanic. Thanks to all the parents for their support with the wonderful costumes. For a good weekend trip, the Godalming Museum has some exhibits on this subject (and also celebrates the achievements of the famous Gertrude Jekyll, who designed the gardens of our own Great Roke). You can find more information here.
The Titanic journey ended in disaster, but elsewhere we have used the concept of journeys to really inspire us. All children from Year 1 to Year 8 are currently getting creative in preparation for our House Poetry Competition, which will take place in a couple of weeks.
We had a great parent turnout for our phonics workshop event this week – thank you for that! Likewise, there was lots of interest in our Senior School Transfer Seminar. For those who attended, it was a pleasure to share news of the new assured place programme we have established with King Edward’s Witley (KESW). There will be a guarantee of a place at KESW for all Year 6 or Year 8 children from Barrow Hills, subject only to academic assessment and interview. There will be no requirement for Year 6 or Year 8 pupils to sit an exam in order to progress to King Edward’s.
We will continue our strong commitment to preparing all our children so they have a wide and free choice when it comes to selecting their senior school. Currently, we routinely serve over a dozen strong independent senior schools in the region, and we will continue to do so.
Have a lovely weekend
Mr John Towers
Head of Upper Prep
Dear Parents,
As usual, it has been a busy week in Upper Prep. All children in Prep have been planning, writing and editing their poems on the theme of ‘Journeys’ for our House Poetry Competition. The English teachers have been very impressed with the imaginative work of the children in Year 7 and Year 8 and I know we will have a very difficult time choosing just one finalist from each House.
The children in Upper Prep also sat their CAT 4 assessments this week and I was so proud of their focus and concentration. Please make sure you have a fully charged chrome book and headphones next week too.
Our after school clubs continue to be popular – and our intrepid mountain bikers braved the very changeable weather to tackle some routes in the forest on Wednesday. Well done to everyone who took part – especially Mr Towers and Mr Sewell! I know all the children really enjoyed it.
Finally, I would like to thank all the Upper Prep children who took part in our Senior School Transfer Seminar on Thursday. Delilah, George, Bo and Emilia did a fantastic job telling parents all about ‘Life at the Top’. Your passion and enthusiasm was evident and it is clear that you all feel you have all benefited from being in Upper Prep at Barrow Hills. We even had a visit from old Barrow Hillian, Montgomery, who told us all how his experience in Year 7 and Year 8 prepared him for life at Seaford College. It was great to see you, Monty! Thank you for coming back to visit.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Luisa Mason
Head of Prep
Dear Parents,
We’ve had a busy and productive week here in Prep, with many important activities and events taking place. One of the main focuses this week has been assessments, including the CAT4 testing. I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with the children’s concentration and dedication throughout these assessments. A big thank you to all the parents who ensured their child had a fully charged Chromebook and brought in their headphones- this made the process run very smoothly.
Assessments are not over just yet, so we kindly ask that you continue to remind your child to be prepared for next week as well.
I am also thrilled to see so many children already starting to receive their Bronze House point badges – what an impressive achievement!
We had the first School Council meeting of the year, which was a great success. It was an incredibly productive gathering, with the children bringing enthusiasm, energy, and a wealth of thoughtful suggestions. It’s always inspiring to see our young leaders step into their roles with such confidence and positivity, and we look forward to seeing their ideas come to life as the year progresses.
I am also excited to share that we had a great number of children sign up for the Duke Programme. It’s fantastic to see so much interest in this initiative, and I will be sending out further details in due course to those who are involved. The program provides wonderful opportunities for personal growth.
On Thursday evening, we held our Senior School Transfer Seminar, where parents had the opportunity to learn more about the transition process for moving up to senior school. It was fantastic to see such a strong turnout, and we hope the information provided was helpful in answering questions about the next steps. Transition is a big moment in a child’s educational journey, and we are here to support you.
We ended the week with a lovely assembly from 5G celebrating World Animal Day. They spoke with clarity and enthusiasm about the topic and we were even serenaded by a few of them on the piano. Well done, 5G!
We hope you have a restful weekend.
Kind regards,
Miss Tyrrell
Head of Pre-Prep
Dear Parents,
This week we held our Phonics Workshop for parents of Reception to share how we teach phonics in Pre-Prep and how parents can support their child at home. We follow the Read Write Inc. scheme, developed by Ruth Miskin, to teach our children to develop their listening skills, the individual sounds, how to decode, blend, read and understand a story. This underpins all of our phonics teaching throughout the Pre-Prep. Reading at home through sharing stories, visiting libraries and talking about books will always be hugely supportive as children embark on their phonics journey.
There was absolutely no doubt that Year 1 embraced Titanic Day on Wednesday. All of the children arrived dressed as passengers of the doomed vessel of 1912. From captains and wireless operators including Jack Phillips, to first class passengers, it was wonderful to see the variety of outfits the children were wearing. It was an off timetable day and we welcomed a visitor from Godalming Museum who had the children tapping out morse code, identifying and interpreting clues, to discover to whom lost luggage labels belonged. They learnt more about life on board the Titanic through the stories of two special passengers – Polar, a toy bear who belonged to 9-year-old Douglas Spedden and a pig musical box which belonged to Edith Russell. The children enjoyed an afternoon tea style buffet lunch which was served in their classroom. We are certainly excited for more themed dress up days to further enhance the children’s curriculum learning.
At Pre-Prep Assembly this week, I focused on harvest and explained to the children that this time of year is a celebration of food grown on the land. Together, we sang ‘Down to the Allotment’ which the Pre-Prep classes have been practising in recent weeks with our music teacher, Mrs Davies. After half term, the school will be inviting families to drop off food donations which we will be donating to support local communities.
A special congratulations to Alexander (R), Rocco (1G) and George W (2G) who were awarded Work of the Week this week. Very well done.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Barnett
BHCC
BHCC Bacon Butties profit today is £267.02. Thank you to all those who served, ate and supported this morning in the beautiful sunshine.
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.
