The Young Cliftonian Magazine 2019/20

Nursery to Preparatory School | 2019/20

The Young Cliftonian

Together, we are Clifton

Contents Pg. 04 ----------------------

Pg. 20 ----------------------

Pg.36 ----------------------

Head Master’s Welcome

Music

Preparatory School

Pg. 06 ----------------------

PrePreparatory School

Christmas

Pg. 08 ----------------------

Pg. 26 ----------------------

Nursery News

Trips & Activities

Pg. 10 ----------------------

Reception News

Pg. 24 ----------------------

Library

Pg. 28 ----------------------

Pg. 12 ----------------------

Charities & Community

Year 1 News

Pg. 30 ----------------------

Year 2 News

Year Like No Other

Pg. 16 ----------------------

Pg. 34 ----------------------

Year 3 News

Valete

Pg. 14 ----------------------

Pg. 18----------------------

Forest School

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Pg. 22 ----------------------

Pg.38 ----------------------

Art Pg.46 ----------------------

Music Pg.50 ----------------------

Drama Pg.52 ----------------------

Library Pg.56 ----------------------

Year Like No Other Pg.58 ----------------------

The Houses Pg.62 ----------------------

Sport Pg.68 ----------------------

Valete

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Thoughts from the year This year we achieved some great highlights in the Pre-Prep and Prep Schools despite the best efforts of a global pandemic.

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The planned restructure and building projects relating to the Prep House system were achieved with the creation of three Lower Pre co-ed Houses and three Upper Pre Houses alongside a single co-ed Boarding House. This has been very well received and I am really proud of the way in which the pupils have adapted to and embraced the new structure.

In the Pre-Prep, we completed our application to Ofsted to extend our Nursery provision to include babies as young as three months and, after receiving the go ahead from Ofsted in December 2020, we were delighted to welcome our first babies in January 2021. I know that this new extension will be a great addition to Clifton and the wider community.

“ I would like to personally thank the Clifton College community. A big thank you for all their efforts and support.”

We also enjoyed another busy and rewarding year even though the second half of the year was conducted largely remotely. During the year, we were still able to enjoy a wide range of learning experiences in the classroom and beyond.

There were a range of music, drama and art events, sports competitions, after school clubs and in-school and remote co-curricular activities as well as charity fundraisers, trips, competitions and workshops, not to mention an opportunity for some of us to become hardy pirates for the morning (see page 10).

During the pandemic, the Preparatory School was also very pleased to be able to host the College’s key worker provision and, as such, the school never closed during this period. In June, the Nursery and Pre-Preparatory were also fully reopened and we saw over 250 pupils accessing education on-site before the end of the Summer Term.

As is the Clifton way, a global pandemic brought as many opportunities as it did challenges and pupils, parents and staff from Nursery to Year 8 were up to the challenge. The pages that follow showcase some of the many highlights of the past year...a year like no other.

I would like to personally thank the Clifton College community. A big thank you for all their efforts and support, both teaching and support staff, to make the year such a success.

Jim Walton Headmaster

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Pre-Preparatory School The Young Cliftonian 2020 | 7

Nursery News

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The Michaelmas Term was busy with new children joining and children settling into new routines.

singing and library visits continue to be an important part of the week, and it's fantastic to see how quickly the children improve week on week.

In the Nursery, our focus is always on building friendships and encouraging children to engage in a variety of activities. From day one, children were ready to learn and soon settled in and their growing confidence became a joy to watch. French, Forest School,

The Lent Term continued to provide opportunities to celebrate with grandparents, and Mother's Day tea parties. The children especially enjoyed telling their mums why they loved them so much.

The Nativity performance celebrates a special time for all children and families and was enjoyed by everyone.

Lockdown and learning at home was a new experience for our Nursery children and families.

Planning ideas to do at home and sharing inspiring videos and Zooms were all part of keeping in touch with our youngest children.

We were excited to return to Nursery in June and couldn’t wait to work and play together. The children enjoyed the summer days outside, which included picnics and games on the close.

Our parents continue to play a huge part in Nursery life, joining us on many occasions throughout the year. Thank you to all of you for helping to make Nursery a fun, happy and inspiring place to be this year!

“The children especially enjoyed telling their mums why they loved them so much.”

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Reception News Reception children began the year making new friends and settling into their new learning environment.

Active learning is always promoted and a particular favourite this year was the pirate theme role play which was enjoyed by all the children.

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Mr Walton joined the Reception pirates as captain of the ship.

Children put on an imaginative Nativity for their families, and sang and spoke their lines with enthusiasm. Book Day was a special time to dress up and be a favourite character from a much loved story. Inviting parents into school for Stay and Play sessions was a special time to share learning with parents.

Lockdown learning was inspirational, as the teachers sent creative work and ideas

to do at home. Children and families engaged and everyone took this opportunity to learn positively in new and different ways.

The Summer Term saw the children returning to their classrooms and friends were reunited. The children enjoyed making the most of outdoor learning and the sunny days.

“The Summer Term saw the children returning to their classrooms and friends were reunited.”

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Year 1 News Following themes that reflect the childrens’ interests resulted in a busy and engaged group of children in the classroom, in the forest and everywhere else their learning takes them.

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The fossil hunting trip to Penarth was a fantastic opportunity for the children to ‘bring to life’ their learning and they had an exciting, if somewhat blustery, day finding a huge array of different fossils. What could be more magical than finding your own specimen amongst the rocks?! Finding giant footprints in the playground and a ‘dinosaur egg’ also enhanced the Dinosaur theme and supported the curriculum. The Explorer Dome visit gave children the opportunity to take one small step into space where they were able to hear about and see the

many constellations and planets in our solar system. Our visit to the National Arboretum at Westonbirt was also the ideal place to hunt for the Gruffalo.

Forest School sessions gave the children time to build on their tool skills and understanding of the environment, seasons and conservation. They also expanded on the themes and lessons being followed in class, with activities such as building houses for the Three Little Pigs in the forest and taking clay snails they had made themselves on their very own adventure.

After-school clubs, author visits, charity days, music and sport provided the children with an extensive variety of extra activities which they enjoyed alongside learning within the classroom. Sharing their work with family and friends in Time to Share sessions gave the children a sense of pride in all that they do.

We started the Summer Term with the challenges of the national lockdown and the

children quickly adopted the online learning, showing their amazing resilience and ability to deal with the changes they faced.

The phased return to school in the latter half of the term was welcomed by all and once again the children adapted, enjoying the return to the classroom, albeit in a different way. With slight changes, they continued with the curriculum, Forest School, music and sport and it was wonderful to end the year with the children in school.

“ After-school clubs, author visits, charity days, music and sport provided the children with an extensive variety of extra activities.”

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Year 2 News 2020 has certainly been an interesting year for Year 2, and certainly not like any other!

The Michaelmas Term started with our topic on People Who Help Us, where the children found out about the past and present police force, fire service and developments in medical care.

The children took great pleasure in burning down the Tudor Houses they had made for their prep, when re-enacting the Great Fire of London in the forest!

In the second half of the term, we moved onto our topic, Changes, where we all enjoyed an exciting trip to We the Curious. The children listened carefully during the Splash and Bubble show, and then had plenty of time to explore and carry out their own investigations. As part of our topic we also had a chocolate workshop, where the children created their own truffles, crispy cakes and peppermint creams. It was lots of fun smashing up the biscuits to make the truffles and all of our treats tasted delicious!

Towards the end of term, we invited our parents to join us for Time to Share, where the children had the opportunity to share all of their amazing work with their parents. The term ended with a beautiful Nativity performance in the Chapel. Everyone dressed up as a different character from the story and put on an excellent performance.

In the Lent Term, we started the topic, My World, which then lead into our topic on Rainforests. The children researched different cities, countries and continents using an atlas, and discussed different habitats that are found all around the world. As

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part of these topics, we went to Bristol Zoo, where they had a special talk in the education centre. If they chose to, they were allowed to carefully hold a hissing cockroach in their hands and also stroke a snake. In the classroom, we continued to look at different animals, especially in our art activities! The children made sunset scenes of animal silhouettes, created camouflage animals and designed their own flying bird puppets.

Alongside our topics, the children used their investigative skills to explore new concepts in Maths, adapted traditional tales in English and found out information about kings and queens in History.

And then... there was lockdown!

All of our teachers were overwhelmed with how well the children adapted to their homelearning journey. It was a joy to see their faces on Zoom each week, playing quizzes, bringing things to show and tell, and generally chatting about what they had been up to. It was a very interesting Summer Term and everyone was glad to be back in the classroom for the final two weeks!

“ The term ended with a beautiful Nativity performance in the Chapel. Everyone dressed up as a different character from the story and put on an excellent performance.”

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Year 3 News In the Michaelmas Term, one of the highlights was our Victorian Week, which included a trip to Tyntesfield House.

The children learnt about the differences between life then and now, and took the opportunity to dress up in Victorian outfits and look at artefacts from the era. Later that same week, the children experienced a day in the life of a Victorian school.

They experimented with writing on slates with chalk and attempted copperplate writing with a nibbed pen and ink.

There was also a Victorian-style lunch, which was served by the teachers. As well as having to

listen carefully and follow many instructions, the children had to be extra respectful to their Masters and Mistresses. The Michaelmas Term was rounded off with a visit to Christchurch for an amazing ‘Christmas Experience’, where the children travelled back in time to the first Nativity.

In the Lent Term, the children studied the life of Ancient Egyptians and compared it to modern life. They enjoyed creating their own class mummy, which lay guarded

by Anubis in the classrooms!

Meeting real life authors is always a thrill for Year 3 and meeting Jamie Littler was no exception. He told them about himself and discussed the books he writes. The children were able to ask questions, draw characters and have their books signed.

The Summer Term started with home-learning. The children adapted well and enjoyed Zoom sessions with their teachers and friends. Year 3 finished the term with an introduction to life in the Prep School. Classrooms moved to Merry House and the children fully embraced their new setting.

“ The Michaelmas Term was rounded off with a visit to Christchurch for an amazing 'Christmas Experience'.”

“ They enjoyed creating their own class mummy, which lay guarded

by Anubis in the classrooms!”

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Forest School 18 | Pre-Preparatory School 2020

No two days are the same in the forest and the children love the changes they see every time they visit.

Seasonal changes, different weather and the continued development of the site all add up to new experiences for all.

Mr Cox is never without a new project or idea for the forest and this results in considerable benefits for all the children and adults too. Outdoor learning continues to make a huge impact on the children and seeing them engaged, happy and learning

is one of the most rewarding outcomes.

The on-site Nursery Forest Garden also continues to evolve and, on an almost weekly basis, something new appears that inspires the younger children. They grow flowers and vegetables, learn about the animal habitats, study the weather and engage in a wide variety of activities connected to their weekly focus. They head out in all weathers, suitably wrapped up, and return with big smiles, a true indicator of the value of their sessions outside.

The older Nursery children and the Preschool visit the Forest School site weekly, where they can expand and build on their learning in a safe environment.

They soon develop confidence and happily explore and use all that the forest has to offer them.

Reception visit the forest on a weekly basis and use the site to extend many of the themes and topics they have looked at in class. They plant vegetables in the raised beds and enjoy harvesting them when they are ready. The crop is impressive to say the least. Bug hunting is always a popular activity and the children help create and maintain ‘bug hotels’ on site.

Hot chocolate and biscuits makes for a welcome break in activities and muddy faces are a regular sight when the minibus returns to school!

Forest School gives the children in Year 1 the ideal setting to

bring alive the themes they study each term. The time spent honing their skills with tools and learning about the environment makes each session busy and productive. Fossil hunting is undertaken with a seriousness that cannot be matched and recreating traditional stories such as The Three Little Pigs, complete with houses and a big bad wolf, ensures the children fully immerse themselves in the narrative. Confidence and selfesteem are developed in these sessions and the children (and adults) enjoy the competitive element of making the ‘best’ house!

teamwork in all their sessions.

The annual ‘London's Burning’ session, where they get to burn their carefully constructed houses is always a highlight and it brings to life the event showing the effects of fire and how it spreads.

By the time they reach Year 2 the children are skilled den builders, use tools safely and accurately and show leadership and

This year ended on a slightly different note, the lockdown having an effect on our schedule and ability to visit the Forest

Year 3 spend a full day in the forest on each visit and have the opportunity to cook their lunch on a campfire. The children are able to choose from a wide range of activities and enjoy the opportunity to follow their own interests using the many skills they have learned over the years.

School site. We quickly adapted our planning and the Forest School activities continued on site here at the Pre-Prep where we were able to use the wider school grounds. This gave the children from every year group the opportunity to follow a Forest School curriculum using all of their skills and knowledge to great effect. The Forest School activities were also shared on the online learning platform, enabling the children to access them at home and it was fantastic to see each week the results of the hard work that was taking place.

The forest and our outdoor environment, wherever that may be, continue to be a place where magic happens, and the children are definitely the magicians!

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Music takes place throughout the Pre-Prep - in the Music room, in our hall, in classes and practice rooms, and often in the playground too.

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Our youngest children are able to explore and create sounds in our exciting Music room.

Singing and dancing are very popular, as well as playing the ukulele! Our older children enjoy sharing their talents with a wider audience, performing in assemblies and concerts.

A highlight of this year was our first Guitar concert in the Pre Hall.

Singing plays a big part of daily life in the Pre-Prep. In Early Years, the children come

together for our weekly BIGSING, where there is always lots of laughter alongside great singing and enthusiastic actions.

Our Fun Friday Sing sessions are popular with all families in the Pre-Prep from Nursery to Year 3. Our musical year was slightly different with the arrival of Lockdown, but there was no stopping the enthusiasm of the Pre-Prep children, singing sessions continued on Zoom and the children shared their musical moments on Google Classroom.

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Christmas is always an exciting and special time of year here in the Pre-Prep.

The story of the birth of Jesus is told across all the year groups with Nativity plays for Nursery, Reception and Years 1 to 3.

Both Nursery and Reception

captivated their audiences with beautiful singing, confident acting and striking costumes, all of which resulted in memorable performances. Years 1 to 3 use the Chapel for their Nativity, where the combination of acting, singing, narration, musical instruments and setting combine to create an unforgettable performance, which is enjoyed by not only family and friends but Clifton in the Community too.

We were also very lucky to have a visit from the Old Vic Theatre School, who performed their version of the Nativity for the children. It was often humorous and certainly told the story in a way that captured the children’s imagination. King Herod turned out to be the most popular character.

A delicious Christmas lunch was followed by a party afternoon, which included games, dancing

and treats. The highlight, of course, was a visit from Father Christmas, who took time out from his busy pre-Christmas schedule to do a last minute check on Christmas lists and bring the children a small gift each. It was a perfect way to end the term and see everyone head off to enjoy the festivities.

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Library

We had a busy and exciting year in the Pre-Prep Library.

Our annual Book Week takes place in November and this year we were visited by author and illustrator Paula Bowles, who transformed all of the children into Super Kitties! Our very own team of turbo felines had a fabulous time listening to her stories, watching her draw and making their own Super Kitty masks. Year 3 joined Year 4 and visiting pupils from other schools for the launch of Frostheart by Jamie Littler, which has since gone on to become a bestselling book and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. Jamie led us all in a draw-along and told us about how he created the fabulous world of his new book series.

Our Book Week ended with the spectacular Pre-Prep book parade which had an animal theme. There were lots of little tigers (who liked to come to tea), sharks (from the park) and bears (who sat on chairs) parading in the playground before the cake sale in aid of Children In Need and the Scholastic Book Fair.

Continuing celebrations of our favourite children's literature, local author Laura James came to the Pre-Prep to tell us all about the new adventures of Fabio the Flamingo Detective

in the Lent Term. The children imagined their own mystery adventures and learned how to draw some of the characters from the popular series.

We rounded of the year with World Book Day, which was celebrated with masks with all of the pupils and staff creating their own book character masks to bring in and share on the special day.

“Jamie led us all in a draw-along and told us about how he created the fabulous world of his new book series.”

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Throughout the year, the children are able to go on trips and benefit from a wide range of visitors and workshops in school.

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The National Arboretum, Tyntesfield, Penarth, Bristol Zoo, author visits and working with chocolate are just some of the things the children have experienced this year.

Twilight Forest School, Rugby, Top Trumps, Sketching, Board Games and Drama, gave children the chance to explore out of their comfort zone, meet new friends and master new skills.

Our children enjoyed a wide range of after-school clubs this year, which provided opportunities to try something new or extend a hobby they already enjoyed. Our clubs this year, which included

Co-curricular activities and trips are invaluable in supporting the children’s learning across all areas and in their own personal development, including taking care of themselves on a trip,

making their own choices for a club or deciding who to dress-up as for the Book Fair.

We weren’t able to do all our usual trips and activities this year, but the children and staff did amazingly well at adapting to a virtual school life. See page 30 to see what we got up to!

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Charities & Community It was an unusual year in the PrePrep due to the covid restrictions The children still worked together to raise money for a variety of different charities on a local, national and international level.

We started the year with our annual event supporting Macmillan, by holding a coffee morning. The parents and children brought in a fantastic selection of cakes and we raised £249.89 for this amazing charity.

In November, we joined with the Pre and Upper School to raise money for the Poppy Appeal by selling poppies, pins and bracelets. The children went to a special service with the Chaplain where they were encouraged to remember the brave people who had lost their lives. We also had our annual Book Week in

November, which ends with a dress up day, parade and Book Fair, which we combined with supporting Children in Need. The children had great fun dressing up as different characters from books and donated money through our cake and secondhand book sale. They raised an impressive £428.34.

In December, the children supported Children’s Hospice Southwest by bringing in bags of unwanted toys and clothes.

They produced a huge mountain of donations, which were gladly collected and taken to their main depot. We also ran a bottle tombola at the Christmas Fair. It was a fantastic event with plenty of brilliant prizes! Through our Christmas Fair stall, we raised money for two charities. The children listened to information about each charity and took part in a vote to decide where they thought the money should go.

They decided to give £302.50 to Guide Dogs for the Blind and £132 to Toilet Twinning.

In March, the Pre-Prep came together to support Sports Relief.

Each class explored the college site on a mile long walk. They all dressed up in different sporting outfits and brought donations for this worthy cause.

In May, we joined with the Pre to support the charities Tap Twinning and Cancer Research UK by dressing in blue for the day.

There were some fabulous outfits from both children and staff alike!

“They produced a huge mountain of donations, which were gladly collected and taken to their main depot.”

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“Each class explored the college site on a mile-long walk.”

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Year Like No Other

The Summer Term started with the National Lockdown, which meant the advent of online learning and Key Worker Provision in the Pre-Prep.

The children, teachers, parents and carers all had a part to play in its success and it was fantastic to see how well

everyone coped with each new challenge. Support for the NHS was paramount and the amazing ‘Rainbow Collage’ created by Mrs Overy and the Year 1 children, along with many other individual tributes were definitely highlights.

Greta from Reception and her Mum came up with the idea for a ‘Rock Chain’. This grew outside the school gates as children left painted rocks to show their support for each other. It gave them the chance to connect with their friends and the school, even if they couldn’t be there in person.

The phased return to school was welcomed by everyone and by the end of the term, all but a few of the children were back in the classroom with some inevitable changes to the normal school day. Once again, the children rose to the occasion. Assemblies were held in the playground and thankfully the warm sunny weather lasted the term. Social distancing and hand washing became second nature. It may not have been the Summer Term we wanted, but we were able to end the school year with positivity.

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Valete Ella King Ella King arrived in the Pre-Prep as a final year student in 2017, when she worked with our Reception children at Forest School collecting evidence for her dissertation. Having gained her degree, Ella joined us officially and worked in the Nursery before moving on to become a Reception teacher.

Miss King was hugely popular with children and staff. Ella’s Early Years passion always shone through when she was working with children as did her sense of humour. She leaves us for a job in London and we wish her well.

Steph Wiese Steph worked in the Nursery and had a special interest in outdoor learning and became a Forest School Leader. Her interests in the outdoor environment have led her to pursue a new career.

Stephanie Archer Steph worked in the Nursery and had a special interest in outdoor learning which led to her becoming a Forest School Leader.

Kirsty Flook Kirsty’ kind and gentle nature always meant she was surrounded by children in the Nursery. She relocated to Wales and continues her career in Early Years education.

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Megan Bailey and Yuka Ashizawa Megan and Yuka - Thank you to our hard working GAP students this year. Yuka and Megan worked across the school supporting the children in a wide variety of activities. The children enjoyed their company and benefited hugely from the excellent support they gave. We wish them all the best as they head off to take the next steps in their future careers.

Rebecca Hill Becca joined the Pre-prep in 2014 as our Matron. She soon made the job her own as she threw herself into all parts of life in our school. Becca cared for many children in her role as Matron and inspired many others with her various hobbies and interests. She would often be found in the Music room, or joining in the Fun Family sing on a Friday in the hall. Becca had endless patience and enjoyed supporting children in the classroom too. Our singing Matron left to train to be a Teaching Assistant in a school closer to home.

“Becca had endless patience and enjoyed supporting children in the classroom.”

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Art 38 | Pre-Preparatory School 2020

Year 5 Willow Workshop On Thursday 10th October willow artist Julie Starks visited the Prep School to work with Year 5.

Julie creates artwork that reflects her fascination with ecosystems, sustainability and the fractal nature of our world.

Much of her work emphasises the beauty of structure, texture and pattern in natural objects using willow.

Julie has worked with a diverse range of client groups such as the NHS, Greenpeace, The National Trust, Westonbirt Arboretum, Bath International Music Festival and Womad Festival.

As part of their Art project on insects, Year 5 visited the Bug World at Bristol Zoo, where they completed drawings from direct observation to inform their beautiful sculptural outcomes.

During the workshop, Year 5 students were given the opportunity to work with willow to create large scale insect sculptures. They all learnt several new skills culminating in the completion of beautiful willow insects.

Year 6 Illustration Workshop

her recent work are murals for The Royal Shakespeare Company and Pervasive Media Studio. She works regularly as a live sketch artist and visual journalist, presents to corporate organisations live sketching conferences, and designs Infographics for reports and books. She is also an experienced political cartoonist for magazines.

Jasmine worked with the Year 6 pupils to produce a comic book style illustration. The pupils used prompt cards to create inspiration for their stories and illustrated them in a variety of media.

Year 6 pupils were visited by illustrator Jasmine Thompson.

Jasmine is a Bristol-based illustrator, mural artist, and designer. Her practise embodies using traditional art methods (illustration) that tell stories of people and places. Amongst

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Year 7 Graffiti Workshop On Thursday 3rd October, Year 7 took part in a graffiti workshop run by Rob Wheeler. Rob is a local print maker and graffiti artist. He has painted several murals for venues across Bristol, working for the Wild Place and H&M amongst many others.

During the workshop, Year 7 pupils learnt about the history of graffiti and how to create their own piece of graffiti artwork using key graffiti techniques.

They were also given the opportunity to work with indoor spray paints and stencils.

As you can see, we have some budding Banksy’s in our midst.

“Students were also given the opportunity to work with indoor spray paints and stencils.”

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“The pupils developed the ability to use oil paint with confidence.”

Year 8 Art Scholars Oil Painting Workshop On the 13th January, our Year 8 Art Scholars attended an oil painting workshop run by Chablis Wolff.

The young artists looked at the work of contemporary artist Felicia Forte and still-life master, Caravaggio. Concentrating on creating still life paintings demonstrating Chiaroscuro, the pupils developed the ability to use oil paint with confidence and have hopefully begun a life long journey in the medium.

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Year 8 Art Scholarship Showcase 2019/2020 Chiharu Sano

Poppy Janke

Henry Packham

Aimani Albakova

Ellie Murray

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Matilda Dembo

Leia Dzikowski

Emily Hall Emily Hall

Karen Ma

Nico Zhang

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Tatiana Kapitonova, Year 8

Elisa Moran, Year 4

Ellie Weston, Year 7

Darcy Rudrum, Year 5

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Eloise Kenyon, Year 5

Sophia Carey, Year 6

Matthew Lane, Year 7

Daniel Gorianov, Year 7

Emilia Landham, Year 4

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This was another busy year of music which didn’t go quite according to plan, but nevertheless did keep going until the end!

In October, the House Song competition was the usual exciting and colourful occasion

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with all Houses performing well and we were lucky to have Mrs Pip Gillam from the Pre-Prep to adjudicate. She was impressed by all the performances but eventually chose North Town’s rendition of Rag’n’Bone Man’s ‘Giant’, sung with gusto (and kazoos!) as the boys’ winners and Mansfield’s, conducted by a very convincing Miss Trunchbull, singing ‘Revolting Children’ from ‘Matilda’ as the girls’ winners.

Well done to all the Houses, both children and staff who rehearsed them, for a most uplifting and enjoyable of performances.

We then hosted a whole school guitar evening, run smoothly by our guitar teachers, Mrs George and Mr Chetland. This was an engaging mix of ensembles, including one with every guitar pupil from the Pre-Prep to 6th form playing, and individual performances; a most relaxing and memorable evening and lovely showcase for the pupils involved.

seventy pupils in the Pre Prep and Prep Schools taking part and providing a day of enjoyable music making showcasing the talent in the school.

Our second Eisteddfod, with adjudicator David Mitchell from St John’s-on-the Hill, was another success with around

The Winter concert gave the various ensembles, headed by the Orchestra, a chance to perform and was an enjoyable

Of course, our regular Informal concerts allowed children of all ages and stages of their musical experiences to perform and shine, they were all delightful occasions.

Music

occasion. The Swing Band also played impressively at this and the following Rotary Concert.

The Pre Choir provided wonderful music for this and also our Carol Service in Chapel with the Junior Choir also performing, being accompanied by our very own String Quartet in a Pachelbel Canon-based Christmas Carol.

In February, the annual Anne Guy Music Concert was a delightful and memorable occasion, as always. Our year 7 & 8 Music scholars all performed, entertaining and impressing their appreciative audience. Henry Gittings won the competition with a breathtaking performance of Kreisler's Praeludium and Allegro on violin, which he

followed, in complete contrast, by singing Gilbert & Sullivan's 'I am the Pirate King'. But all must be proud of their performances; well done to Henry, Edmund, Hannah, Amy, Ines and Joung Youn and our thanks to Mr Drinkwater for his expert accompanying on piano.

Congratulations also went to Ben Ross, David Chan, Ellie Weston, Austin & Jerome Barnes on being awarded 11+ Music Scholarships.

But then, the consequences of the virus started to have an impact. We just managed to get the ABRSM exams in (the last two days before the Exam Board closed!), but lost the planned Joint Choirs Concert (Highlights from Handel’s ‘Messiah’) and the Spring School Concert.

“Informal concerts allowed children of all ages and stages of their musical experiences to perform and shine.”

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Lockdown! Suddenly everything stopped – what could we do?

Well…

We entered the ‘new’ world of Zoom; over half our 1:1 lessons carried on over this format with both teachers and pupils rising to the challenge It was eerily quiet in the Music Department at this time, not hearing the variety of music going on in the various rooms.

BUT, it didn’t mean to say that nothing was going on; far from it - we entered the ‘new’ world of Zoom; over a hundred 1:1 lessons carried on over this format with both teachers and pupils rising to the challenge and various ensembles put pieces together. And, of course, there was plenty of time for practice!

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The Choir recorded individual parts for a virtual performance of Rutter’s ‘Gaelic Blessing’ and members of the Pre Orchestra joined forces with their counterparts in the Upper School to record versions of Brahms’ Rhapsody in G minor and then Vaughan Williams’ Prelude to the 49th Parallel, both excellently compiled by Mr Drinkwater.

As we had no live concerts or exams to aim for, we decided to offer and compile a virtual Informal Concert. Recording yourself playing or singing a piece of music is a very different challenge and a hard one if you’re not used to it, so we were very proud of those taking part and who were brave enough to go for it and show what they have been up to this term. In

fact, we were overwhelmed by the positive response to take part, from pre-Prep to Year 8 and a range of experience from beginners to our seasoned professionals, as well as our Percussion and Saxophone Ensembles.

It was also a last chance for Edmund and Henry, our year 8 music Scholars, to perform for us in the Pre. They have both contributed much to the music in the school (in Henry’s case since year 4!) for which we are very grateful, and we wish them all the best as they move on to the Upper School Our thanks, as always, go to the sizeable team of dedicated VMTs who taught individual music lessons every week, as well as running the various ensembles

that provided opportunities for children to make music together.

Ultimately a year not likely to be forgotten and one in which we actually achieved quite a lot in the face of adversity.

Julian Edgell

“Members of the Pre Orchestra joined forces with their counterparts in the Upper School to record versions of Brahms’ Rhapsody in G minor.”

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The Lion King Jr. The Year 5 production of The Lion King Jr. was a roaring success!

After rehearsing for three months, the students showcased their amazing vocal skills which included solos from Jonty Pitt (Simba) and Mia Thorpe (Nala).

The Rafiki Brothers, a fantastic double-act played by Archie Catchpole and Sid Elan opened the show with a powerful and

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confident performance of ‘Circle of Life’ and, throughout the show, popped up to encourage Simba to return to the Pridelands. The ensemble stampede choreography was seamless and a stand out moment, showcasing the pupils ability to perform with lots of emotion. Eloise Kenyon (Timon) and Rory Williams (Pumbaa) brought humour to the production, showing the audience that Hakuna MAtata really is the best moto. A massive congratulations to the Year 5s and all the staff involved.

Drama

Strike a Pose This term the Year 8 pupils are exploring Physical Theatre in Drama.

Becoming confident with movement and using their bodies to communicate various narratives not only helps to broaden their drama skills, it also helps to promote positivity towards body image and the interactions they have with their peers. By working as a team, the students were able to create some unique images.

“The performance showcased the pupils ability to perform with lots of emotion.”

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Our annual Book Week was an extravaganza of book-related events and competitions.

Mr Tierney’s 'Pretty Perplexing Potter Paper' (Harry Potter Quiz) was fiendishly difficult but the winning team of Year 8 girls scored an incredible 127/130 to become our quiz champions.

Well done Maddy, Sophie, Alicia 52 | Pre-Preparatory School 2019/20

and Sophie for knowing the answers to questions such as which ten subjects Hermione studied for her O.W.L.S? (and which one of these she only got an ‘Exceeds Expectations” for).

You have shown yourselves to be true fans!

Also as part of Book Week, debut author and illustrator Jamie Littler visited as part of his national tour with his illustrated, wintery adventure fantasy book Frostheart. Pupils from Year 3 and 4 were joined with visiting children from St John’s Primary School. We enjoyed learning

all about Jamie’s inspiration and he led us on some special Frostheart draw-alongs.

The whole school was treated to one of the most hilarious, inspiring and energetic visitors that we have ever hosted, when award-winning poet Karl Nova entertained and informed us with his poetry and stories about his life. Years 7 and 8 then had poetry workshops with Karl where they wrote their own poems and gathered top tips from Karl about how to write something witty, memorable and moving.

Library The Prep School was full of cool creatures from the world of children’s literature on the final day of Book Week as pupils came to school dressed up in aid of Children In Need. Our annual costume competition was won by the following pupils:●

Yr 4 Nicole for Lt Judy Hopps

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Yr 5 Joaquim for Fawkes

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Yr 6 Hannah for Black Beauty

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Yr 7 Milo for Thing One

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The ‘Create A New Word Competition’ which has been running in the Library was won

by Daniil for the word Molit (adjective). Definition: being impolite to someone, especially someone less powerful or younger than you e.g. “Stop being molit to him Peter”.

A big thank you to everyone who supported and took part in our Book Week activities.

Yr 8 Charlie for Toad of Toad Hall

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Sharna Jackson visit Year 6s welcomed author Sharna Jackson to the Prep School. We heard all about Sharna’s life as a writer, got to know her child detective duo Nik and Norva better, and even helped to solve some crimes. We have some budding detectives in Year 6 it seems, so if you need a mystery solving you know where to come!

Chris Vick visit Author Chris Vick spoke about the power of telling a good story well on Saturday when he visited the Prep School to talk to Years 7 and 8. Many of our pupils enjoy writing and his advice to them was inspiring, practical and encouraging. Chris also spoke about his recent book Girl. Boy. Sea which has been nominated for the Carnegie Award 2020.

The Hay (Virtual) Festival The annual Hay Festival went digital last year and there has been a whole host of author events for schools released that are now on the Hay Player, including the Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, Onjali Q Rauf, Liz Pichon and the poet Karl Nova, who entertained us so much during our Book Week.

Mock Election 2019

Random Acts of Kindness

Prep School pupils might be too young to vote in the General Election but here at Clifton College, our Upper School pupils ran their own campaigns in the Clifton College Mock Election. All of our Prep School pupils then had chance to watch their partypolitical broadcasts and cast their votes.

During lockdown, pupils were asked to tell us about their “Random Acts of Kindness”.

Eleanor sent us a photo of the cheery painting of a rainbow that she made for her Granny, Fraser and Darcy took food to their local Food Bank, and Ned made fridge cakes which he took to staff in the DT Department, who were busy making PPE for the NHS. We’re really proud of you all.

It was a resounding landslide victory for Bella Green for the Green Party, who secured over 50% of the vote. Many thanks for the time and effort that all of the Upper School candidates put into their campaign, it was heartening to see our pupils so engaged.

National Poetry Day We celebrated National Poetry Day with a day of sharing poetry of all kinds. Poems were read in assembly and classes, and pupils could choose poems from a ‘Poetry Lucky Dip’ box in the Library. Poet Beth Calverley ran workshops for our Year 6 pupils and wrote special bespoke poems for the winners of our poetry competition using her ‘Poetry Machine’.

Congratulations to Libby Laredo for winning the Upper-Pre Poetry Competition and to Kevin Wang, for winning it for the Lower-Pre. Chloe Miller also won a ‘Highly Commended’ prize for her poem. Beth judged the competition for us and said that she was very impressed with the standard of the entries, so well done to everyone who entered.

“Poet Beth Calverley ran workshops for our Year 6 pupils and wrote special bespoke poems for the winners.”

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Year Like No Other 2019-2020 was a school year like no other.

As with schools all over the world, we were forced to adapt our academic provision to suit remote delivery. This challenge presented a unique opportunity to consider our content and practice in teaching and learning, and we look back with pride at what our pupils achieved.

The year began much like any other, with the majority of the first two terms passing in their usual busy blur of academic and extra-curricular fervour. It will be remembered, however, for the school’s closure, which was enforced in late-March as the Covid-19 pandemic gripped the UK. The school remained closed to the majority of pupils throughout the Summer Term, eventually opening to selected year groups in the final few weeks.

During the lockdown, we adapted our timetable and conducted live lessons via Zoom every morning in the examined subjects. Younger pupils had daily live sessions with their form teachers and everyone was given a series of differentiated independent tasks in the nonexamined subjects. Extra care was taken to ensure all pupils could participate in online learning safely and responsibly.

Alongside online lessons and assignments, we developed a unique series of optional activities and media to maintain our co-curricular offering. These were collated on the tailor-made Lockdown Hub website, which continues to offer a bountiful selection of varied educational resources alongside podcasts and assemblies from senior staff.

Exams were cancelled, with assessment conducted more informally than would normally be the case at the end of the year. Year 8 pupils

who had been preparing to sit Academic Scholarship exams to the Upper School, instead completed projects on the theme of Liberty, which were universally thoughtful and highly impressive.

We know that, amidst ongoing uncertainty, our experiences in 2019-20 stand us in better stead than ever to provide a diverse, engaging and first-rate curriculum that is both resilient and relevant in the modern world. I would like to thank all the staff, pupils and parents, who demonstrated great flexibility throughout this unprecedented period.

I must extend the warmest tribute to our leavers, who lost out on the culmination of their time in the Prep School. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours and are very grateful for all they have contributed to College life.

Ted Lougher Deputy Head Academic

“Extra care was taken to ensure all pupils could participate in online learning safely and responsibly.”

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“I must extend the warmest tribute to our leavers, who lost out on the culmination of their time in the Prep School.”

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The Houses

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The sporting year was very much a game of two halves.

The year began promisingly, with the girls and boys enjoying pre-season hockey and rugby, supported by their Prep School coaches and the hockey and rugby professionals. With such great enthusiasm from players and support from coaches and parents alike, the teams enjoyed success in many of their matches and often learnt most from the closest games against the toughest opposition. The rugby season promised much for the 7s competitions of the Lent Term while the hockey teams for both girls and boys enjoyed success on a regional level.

The U11 boys scored freely at the Avon School's tournament to finish runners up, while the netballers reached the final of the Severnside competitions at U11, U12 and U13 age groups.

The U11 girls progressed

through Regional Finals to qualify for the National Championships on 20th March...a date that would not see any netball played across the country but would become fixed in all of our memories as the last full day in school before the Covid lockdown began.

The pandemic impacted not only the National Rugby 7s competitions and Netball Finals, but also the National Prep Schools Cross-Country Championships. Everything leading up to the Finals had seen great improvement in fitness levels of all our runners from the Severnside competition at the start of the season.

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Sport continued Success followed for teams and individuals with Halbie being crowned County champion and the U10, U11 and U13 girls teams winning their respective events at Tockington and Kingswood relays.

Throughout the year, the Equestrian Team have enjoyed a huge amount of success, winning the National Schools British Show Jumping championships in Wales in November. By the end of the year, they had picked up numerous rosettes and awards before ending the season by winning 2 national titles at the British Schools Show Jumping Championships at Bolesworth.

to be involved in a dynamic environment where children learn to cope in an unscripted environment…

The summer passed in a blur of on-line challenges and competitions against other schools, and the pupils rose to the challenge every time. The levels of participation were very high and the opportunity for

competition was relished. In addition, there were a number of House challenges that saw teachers and pupils competing to race to a virtual finish line in Paris or climb to the top of Mont Blanc. It was testament to the resourcefulness and enthusiasm of the entire Clifton sporting community.

The Summer Term arrived and the world changed, but we were not surprised that we all missed team sports so much.

We realised that it was not only the obvious benefits of learning to work as a team, to lead, to listen, be physically active and away from screens, but we also missed the camaraderie, the pure enjoyment and the chance

“The U11 boys scored freely at the Avon School's tournament to finish runners up.”

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“The Equestrian Team have enjoyed a huge amount of success, winning the National Schools British Show Jumping championships.”

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U13's Football player Dylan

“The U11 footballers reached the quarter-finals of the Bristol Schools' Coronation Cup before lockdown as well as winning our own school's tournament.”

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U13's Football player Diego

“The U13A girls’ hockey team won the Prior Park tournament at the start of the season and qualified for the IAPS Nationals.”

U11 Boys Hockey winners

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Valete Jake Tierney

Ellie Matthews

Jake joined the Prep School as a Graduate Assistant in September 2018, living in Hartnell’s House and participating heavily in the sporting and co-curricular programmes. An accomplished scientist, his STEM club was very popular with the pupils and led Jake to the role of Prep School Lab Technician, which he fulfilled with distinction, sharing his passion for all things scientific with staff and pupils across the school. Jake is now formalising his teaching experience with a PGCE at Bristol University and he will be an asset to the profession.

Ellie joined us from Dean Close as a teacher of Maths and Science in September. A real all-rounder, her widespread contributions and unfailingly cheery disposition made her a highly popular presence with staff and pupils alike. She became a resident tutor in Poole’s House and contributed much to life there too.

We are sad to see Ellie go but wish her well as she and her husband relocate to London, where she will work as a Year 6 class teacher at Eaton House the Manor in Clapham.

Graduate Assistants We are very grateful to the year’s crop of Graduate Assistants, who played an invaluable role in the boarding Houses, on the games field, in the playground and, indeed, throughout the school. Sam Woods has elected to stay on for a second year and the others are all now continuing with their pursuit of careers in teaching. Chris Gil, Amy Preece and Emily Locke are undertaking PGCE courses at Worcester University, Exeter University and Trinity St David respectively. Rhydian Stokes is doing an in-school PGCE in North London and Chelsea Houghton continues her studies in the field of educational psychology. We wish them all well for the future.

“Her unfailingly cheery disposition made her a highly popular presence with staff and pupils alike.”

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Together, we are Clifton Clifton College 32 College Road Clifton, Bristol BS8 3JH T. +44 (0)117 315 7000 E. info@cliftoncollege.com cliftoncollege.com

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