Fireworks Display

November started with our customary fireworks display down by the Kitchen Garden. There is a tradition of Year 8 parents leading the display and we were all amazed and delighted with a really super presentation which brought enjoyment to the whole community. It was followed up with hot dogs, toffee apples and mulled wine down by the Dining Room. With growing numbers of parents from the nursery and Lower School mixing with some parents and children returning for an annual event, it was certainly a lovely family affair.

Colour Sport

Colour sport continues to be a big highlight for the children in the Upper School. As well as the usual major sport competitions, there were some very exciting and well fought minor sport competitions, including a competitive cross-country relay for each age group and a testing colour duathlon on Horris Hill day, that involved a run-swim-

Burns Night

At the end of January we celebrated Burns Night, with as many of the trappings as we could muster for a young audience. With a keen bagpiper in our midst we were keen to pipe in the haggis, even if the food was a culinary challenge for our senior pupils. This year we welcomed a new catering team from Thomas Franks and they always produced fabulous food on all occasions. This celebration was no exception.

Horris Hill Day

We departed from tradition in quite a spectacular way this year, putting up a marquee on Lower Field that allowed two fabulous days of celebration. We started with the Prizegiving ceremony that combined awarding prizes with some notable LAMDA and music performances from the children. That evening we held a live lounge, where children, staff and parents got up on stage to play and sing. The musical theme continued on the Saturday with a fabulous Summer Concert preceding the picnic lunches. Earlier in the day we had the fete on Lower Field and the Lower School Sports day. The day culminated with a staff v parents cricket match, which was won by the hosts.

Chinese New Year

run format. We also made great use of the recently refurbished sports Hall, with table tennis, basketball and dodgeball all featuring in the range of sports competitions this year. The dominant Colours this year were green and red, with the latter winning two of the three termly competitions.

Remembrance Day

The Lower School produced a colourful display of poppies for the front entrance to their classroom block and it marked the start of a series of memorials for Remembrance Day. These included the Last Post and 2 minutes silence on the PB grounds outside the Music Block and then a Remembrance Day Family Service which included a series of poems and readings based around Anthony Seldon’s journey across Northern Europe. That journey traced the line of trenches and battlefields memorialising the Fallen of the Great War.

With a large number of our boarders coming from Asia, Chinese New Year is now a very important festival in our Calendar. We introduced a range of topics connected with both the Festival and the country as part of our teaching on the day. The kitchen was also able to prepare some delicious Chinese food. Perhaps the most fun part of the celebration was in the evening before the New Year when a group of our Chinese parents introduced some games and activities for our Year 7s and 8s that brought the occasion to life.

Lords Trip

Towards the end of the Spring Term our Year 7s and 8s had the privilege of visiting Lords Cricket ground. With some illustrious cricketers having attended Horris Hill, it was appropriate for our players to prepare for the cricket season ahead with a trip to the ground, the Long Room and the museum to see a number of items and places associated with the game. Hopefully the sight of such a hollowed ground will inspire many of them to play cricket to a high level at their senior schools.

Carol Service

We welcomed Mr Bennett back to help give some gusto to the singing for the Christmas Carol Service. The service always takes place on the last evening of term with the Christmas holiday beckoning bringing a wonderful jollity and sense of festivity. A combination of staff and pupil readings, poems, carols and anthems made it one of the richer cultural occasions of the year. The service was followed by mince pies and mulled wine and the staff Christmas social. One of the nicest features of the choir is the beautiful red robes they wear for big occasions such as this.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Year 4 and 5 play at the end of the term was a jazzy and enjoyable version of the classic Roald Dahl novel. Some wonderful Oompa Loompa costumes were combined with a dazzling surreal set to make this a fun and stimulating play in which many of the cast made their acting debut. The casting was very clever, with the five lucky children displaying all the ghastly and wonderful qualities that makes the story so memorable and enjoyable. It was a lovely way in which to finish the term.

Upper School Trip to Oxford

Another innovation in the Spring Term was a trip to Oxford which involved all of Year 4 to Year 8. With all the staff supporting the trip, different year groups visited different parts of the city with younger children visiting the Botanic gardens and the University Music Department, whilst older children visited colleges, the Covered Market and the Ashmolean museum. Despite the rain, it was a memorable day which we hope will become a staple for the school calendar, with a different city chosen each time.