Newsletter | 28 February 2025
A Note from Our Head
Dear Parents,
Whilst I certainly enjoy the longer lie-ins and slower pace of the school holidays, I do miss seeing the children’s smiley faces and hearing their happy chatter around the school. It was therefore lovely to welcome the children back on Monday for the second half of the Spring Term.
In true Castle Court style, the week has been full of activities and news. The week started with the U13 Boys’ Hockey team being runners up in the IAPS Regional Tournament and therefore narrowly missing out on going through to the National Tournament. The boys represented the school brilliantly and should be extremely proud of their achievement.
On Tuesday, a number of Year 6 children enjoyed going to Bryanston School for their Science Day. I hear that a member of the Johnson family may have been one of their sixth form ‘teachers’! Castle Court has a strong reputation for encouraging a love of science, which builds an excellent foundation for so many careers. In fact, we currently have an Old Castellan, who is hoping to pursue a career in medicine, doing work experience in the Science Department.
On Thursday, Year 4 enjoyed a trip to Tutankhamun Museum as part of their work on Egyptians. The children showed many of the 7Cs on the trip, in particular being curious and courteous. Thank you for being excellent ambassadors of the school. Year 4 aren’t the only ones who have enjoyed a trip out of school, as I have also been away for the past two days at a Heads’ Conference in Oxford. As much as I love being in school, these conferences offer an invaluable opportunity to share experiences with other Prep School Heads. A key theme of the conference has been the importance of leading with compassion and wisdom. I certainly hope that the educational provision at Castle Court equips our pupils with the knowledge, skills and character necessary to be compassionate, servant leaders who make a positive difference to the lives of others and the world around them.
Finally, I am delighted to announce further scholarship success as four Year 8 pupils have been awarded scholarships to Bryanston School. Huge congratulations to the following pupils:
Teddy H – Academic Scholarship
Lauren H – Sports Scholarship
Myles M – Sports Scholarship
Ursula S – All-Rounder Exhibition
Next week we will be celebrating World Book Week, with pupils having the opportunity to hear from different authors, take part in various reading activities, and of course come to school dressed as their favourite book character on Thursday. It’s always one of my favourite weeks of the Castle Court calendar. Please do take the time to read our World Book Week booklet which was sent to you over half-term.
Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Katie Johnson Head
Head’s Awards
Head’s Awards are given out every Friday morning in assembly to children nominated by their class teacher or form tutor; the reasons for these are many and varied, including outstanding effort, overcoming difficulty, or helping a friend in need.
A huge congratulations for their efforts goes to…
School Diary
The school diary for the next two weeks is as follows:
Sunday 02 Mar Bryanston Year 8 Activities Day
08:35 CCS Community Choir, Family Lounge
Tuesday 04 Mar
Wednesday 05 Mar
U13 Girls' Netball County Finals Day
14:00 Mixed Hockey vs Sunninghill - Years 3&4
16:45 Year 5 Parents' Evening
14:00 Boys' Hockey & Girls' Netball vs Bryanston Prep - Years 5-8
09:30 Year6 Geography Trip to Lush, Poole
Thursday 06 Mar World Book Day
09:00 LCM Musical Theatre Examinations, Clayesmore School
16:30 Years 3-5 Music Festival (Hall)
Friday 07 Mar
08:15 Parent Prayer Group, Board Room
09:30 Primary Schools' Performing Arts Morning for Yr 4 (Hall)
Monday 10 Mar 16:30 Performing Arts Presentation (Hall)
08:35 CCS Community Choir, Family Lounge
Tuesday 11 Mar
12:00 Themed Lunch: Balinese New Year Festival Lunch
14:00 Mixed Netball/Hockey vs Sandroyd - Years 3&4
Wednesday 12 Mar 14:00 Boys' Hockey & Girls' Netball vs Sandroyd - Years 5-8
Thursday 13 Mar
08:30 Reception trip to Compton Acres - timing tbc 16:45 Year 6 Parents' Evening
LAMDA exams
Friday 14 Mar
09:30 Open Morning
16:30 ABRSM Informal Concert (Hall)
Notes:
Please see the email from Ms Thompson regarding the activities running for World Book Week. Thursday 6 March is a dress up day for all children and staff - come as your favourite character from a book!
Mrs Gallop and Mrs Lea have lots of fun activities planned for British Science Week - please keep an eye out for more information.
Next Week is Book Week!
Miss T has been busy making lots of exciting arrangements for next week, which celebrates all things books and reading!
On Thursday, all children and staff are invited to dress up for World Book Day as one of their favourite characters. We can’t wait to see what you all come up with!
Please see Miss T’s “Guide to Book Week” for more information about what the children will be getting up to during the course of the week!
GUIDE TO BOOK WEEK
As part of the week, some of the visiting authors will be available at pick up to sign copies of their books and for you to purchase new copies, should you wish to do so. (A card reader will be available).
On Monday, Lynda Stewart will be here. She will have spoken to children from Nursery to Year 3 during the day. Books will be between £4.99 and £5.99
On Tuesday, Keith Hatten will be available and he will have spoken to Years 3 to 7 during the day. His books will be between £5 and £8.
Parent Information
One of our families is looking to sell a virtually brand-new Pearl River upright piano. It is black gloss in colour and while purchased for £3200, the family are asking around £1500. If you are interested, please contact Mr Smith on jsmith@castlecourt.com.
Safety outside the PrePrep Entrance
When leaving the site, if you do stop to allow your child to play outside of the Pre-Prep area, please ensure that they stay within the fenced section. They should not be near the gas covers or the main road around the site, for safety reasons.
Do you have an exciting job?! We are looking to invite parents in to school to talk about their jobs. We are particularly interested in parents who work in fields such as Science, Technology, Creative Arts, Earth Care and Conservation. If you would be interested in helping us with this, please contact Mrs Hoey on khoey@castlecourt. com.
Easter Sports & Crafts
Paul Manning will be running a Sports and Crafts Camp at school from 31 March to 4 April. For more information and to book, please contact him on manning_paul_ @hotmail.com.
Mr Mills runs Karate & SelfDefence classes for children and adults aged 7 and up (Y3+) on Saturday mornings 9.50am–11:20am in the Sports Hall. He also runs Little Ninjas for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 from 9am-9.45am. For more information or to book a free try-out session, please contact him on bdemills@yahoo. co.uk, bmills@castlecourt.com or on 07801730097.
Love Productions are looking for contestants for the next series of the Junior Bake Off. This is open to all children aged 9-15 years, with filming taking place in July. Please note that applications should be in by Sunday 23 March. Call Hannah on 02070674833 with any questions!
Wimborne Rugby Club still has a few places in some of their youth training sessions.If your children have been inspired by the Six Nations, they might like to join the club for a few end of season training sessions. The club has sessions for children from U6 to U12 and is offering reduced training fees to join for the rest of the season. If you would like to know more, please click HERE.
Wimborne Wayfarers are looking for players in the Under 10 and Under 12 categories. Training is on Tuesdays from 6-7pm (U10s) and from 7-8pm (U12s) at QE School. Please have a look at their website for more information.
British Science Week Poster Competition
As part of British Science Week, there is a poster competition for all primary aged children on this year’s theme of ‘Adapt and Change’. This could be animals adapting to changing habitats, humans adapting to new technologies… If your child would like to take part, please see the details at using this link.
The Week in Brief…
Year 4 were exploring sound in this week’s Science lessons; they used tuning forms to demonstrate how sound travels through the air to our ears.
Meanwhile, our U13 boys’ hockey team travelled to Taunton School on Monday for the regional IAPS tournament. They played some great games and ended as runners up!
Year 1 have been focusing on the book ‘Dogger’ by Shirley Hughes this week in line with their topic ‘Toys’. We received a letter from ‘Dave’ saying that he had lost his toy dog, Dogger, on his visit around Castle Court and asked if we could help him to find Dogger. We followed clues all around the school and searched high and low. We eventually found him in the dining room and we’ve returned him safely to Dave. The children collaborated well and were very curious about the areas that Dave had visited.
We received the exciting news that one of our Old Castellans, Austin, will be making his big screen debut, starring in the film ‘Cookster: The Darkest Days’ which will be in cinemas nationwide!
Congratulations to him from everyone at CCS.
The Great Outdoors!
Bikeability Level 3 ran on Tuesday this week, with instructor Rob and Mrs Hoey having the unenviable task of explaining how roundabouts work. Luckily, the children did really well and were able to take on the small roundabouts of Corfe Mullen with great success!
The lighter evenings mean that we have been able to welcome Castle Club back to Mondays! It’s a great way to start the week and makes the most of the school grounds.
Photography Club
With sunset now being later, our photographers excitedly headed out into our beautiful grounds to apply their skills! They were tasked with taking pictures of interesting architecture and nature, focusing on lines and different perspectives. Under the expert guidance of Miss T, they have come up with some super results.
“ Joy isn’t hard to find at all.
In fact, it is all around us.”
Ingrid Fetell Lee
Dorset County Swimming
The Dorset County Swimming Championships, held over the past few weekends, were a truly exciting and competitive event, showcasing the incredible talent from across the county. This year, Castle Court had some standout performances, with Fred and Arthur becoming County Champions in multiple events, while Joshua, Ralph and Emily made their mark by reaching County finals. The championships also highlighted the fantastic work of Luan and Diletta: Luan took part in 6 events, earning himself 5 fantastic best times, and Diletta took part in 5 events, earning a great best time in each event!
The partnership between Castle Court and Poole Swimming Club has been instrumental in nurturing talent and providing a platform for these swimmers to shine. We look forward to seeing these athletes develop and achieve even greater things in the future.
Details on the Finalists:
Arthur
- County Champion -13yrs- 50m back, 100m back, 200m back
- Silver - 200m butterfly, 400m IM
- Bronze - 200m IM, 100m fly
- Also 2 gold and 2 silver, with freestyle male and freestyle mixed and medley male and medley mixed
- Arthur had a massive programme of 15 events, and earned 12 fantastic best times!
Fred
- County Champion -13yrs- 50m & 100m breaststroke
- County final -5th- 200m breaststroke
- Also 3 gold in the medley relay, freestyle relay and medley mixed, and a bronze in the mixed freestyle
- Fred took part in 4 events and earned 4 fantastic best times!
Joshua
- County final -100m and 200m front crawl-10-11yrs6th in both
- Joshua took part in 7 events and earned personal bests in every race!
Emily
- County final - 100 breaststroke 10/11yrs - 4th
- Emily took part in 9 events and got fantastic personal bests in every race!
Ralph
- County final - 50 breast 10/11yrs -8th
- Ralph took part in 11 events and earned himself 10 fantastic best times
Year 4 Explore Ancient Egypt!
Year 4 headed off to the Tutankhamun Museum in Dorchester on Thursday. They were excellent ambassadors for the school, with the 7Cs very much in evidence, and really enjoyed being immersed in the life of the ancient Egyptians.
We would like to extend our thanks to the Museum for their hospitality and for giving us so many exciting facts. Also, huge thank yous to the teachers who came with us and made it possible.
Save the Dates: Spring Term 2025
Parents’ Evenings
Year 5: Tues 4 March
Year 6: Thurs 13 March
Year 7: Mon 17 March
Year 8: TBC
Easter:
The Easter break will run from Monday 31 March. All children should return to school on Wednesday 23 April.
Performing Arts
Spring Term Performing Arts Presentation will be held on Monday 10 March at 4.30pm.
The Years5-8 Spring Concert will take place on Tuesday 18 March from 4:30pm.
Year 4 will perform ‘Wind in the Willows’ to parents on Wednesday 26 March at 2.30pm.
The Senior Play will be held on Thursday 3 July at 6pm.
CCSCommunity Choir
Trips
Year 6 to LUSH - Wednesday 5 March
Reception - Compton AcresThursday 13 March
Year 1 - East Dorset MuseumTuesday 18 March
EveryTuesdayat Family8:35aminthe EveryoneLounge!welcome!
World Book Day: This will be on Thursday 6 March
Red Nose Day: This will be on Friday 21 March
Keep an eye out for more information!
Theme Weeks!
Book Week - from Monday 3 March
British Science Week - from Monday 10 March
Easter Craft
Parents are invited into school for an Easter Craft session in the Art studio with their child. Year 2 - Tuesday 18th March, 2.20-3.pm Year 1 - Tuesday 25th March, 2.20-3pm
Please park in the car park outside Pre-Prep and walk down to the Art Studio.
Artist of the Week
This week’s Artist of the Week is Sydney from Year 5, with this fantastic one-point perspective piece.
Year 5 have all been looking at this technique, whereby you create the illusion of depth by drawing objects upon a flat surface so that they look three dimensional and realistic.
We’re sure you agree that Sydney’s work demonstrates this beautifully.
Congratulations, Sydney!
Looking ahead to the Summer Term
The Summer Term starts for children on Wednesday 23 April
Prep Sports Day will be held on Friday 27 June
Years 6-8 Swimming Gala will be held on Monday 9 June at 2pm
The Years 3 and 4 Summer Concert will be held in the Hall at 9am on Wednesday 25 June
The Senior Play will be performed to parents at 6pm on Thursday 3 July
Pre-Prep Sports Day will be held on Friday 4 July from 9am
Activity Weeks
Please pencil in 12-16 May for our annual off-timetable Activity Week for Years 3-8 pupils.For pupils in Years 5-8 there will be a residential component to the week. Pupils in Years 3-4 will have a programme of activities in school and out, with their annual overnight camp scheduled for later in June. Further details will follow!
Years 3-5 Swimming Gala will be held on Tuesday 10 June at 2pm
The Year 8 PSPQ Exhibition will be open to parents from 8.30am on Thursday 12 June.
The PSPQ Presentations will take place from 6pm that evening.
The Summer Term ends with Speech Day on Wednesday 9 July
Move Up Morning for children in current Years 2 to 7 will take place on Tuesday 8 July.
New Events for this year:
Friday 6 June - Family Fun Day!
Please look out for more information on this; planning is well underway and it looks set to be an amazing event.
Wednesday 11 June at 6pm
The Handlebards - a Shakespeare Company - are performing Much Ado about Nothing. More information will follow in due course.
Please note that this far ahead, the dates and times listed are subject to change.
Contact Us
Class Teachers / Form Tutors
Reception Mrs Brewer | Mrs Speer
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Mrs Dobson | Mrs Zachariades
Mr Antell | Mrs Glenn
Mrs Baugniet | Mr Bambrey
Dr Lippiatt/Mrs Deards | Mr Laidler
Mr Mills/Mrs Vivian | Mrs Miller/Miss Sinclair-Smith
Mrs Rule/Mrs Major | Mr Fermor-Dunman/Mrs Hoey
Mr Jordan/Mrs Harmer | Mrs Lea/Mr Cheadle
Mr Phillips/Ms Thompson | Mrs Gallop/Mr Smith
Section Leaders:
Pre-Prep Mr Antell
Years 3&4 Mr Laidler
Years 5&6 Mrs Munns
Years 7&8 Ms Thompson
Heads of Department:
English Ms Thompson
Maths Mrs Miller
Science Mrs Gallop
History Mrs Rule
CAVE Mrs Hoey
Music Mr Smith
Geography Mrs Hoey
Sport Mr Fermor-Dunman
DT Mr Phillips
Art Miss Sinclair-Smith
SENDCo Mrs Harmer
To report an absence, please call the Office on 01202 694438, or send us an email.
Nursery:
Badger Cubs Mrs Genge | Mrs Tomblin
Badgers Mrs Bartlett | Mrs Wilson
The Nursery Manager is Miss Hixson
Leadership Team:
Mr Dunsford Assistant Head (Pastoral)
Mr Edmond Assistant Head (Operations)
Mrs Hoey Head of CAVE
Mrs Munns Director of Teaching & Learning
Mr Norris Bursar
Mrs Robson Admissions and Marketing
Your first point of contact for day to day questions and enquiries related to your child(ren) is their tutor or class teacher.
If you wish to make an appointment to see Mrs Johnson, please email hmsec@castlecourt.com
