Gayhurst 2018 Yearbook

The

Stormont

Yearbook

2017/2018

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3

Contents 5

Welcome from the Head

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Nursery Review

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EYFS Review

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Nursery Sports and the Big Toddle

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RB Review

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RS Review

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RW Review

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Year 1 Review

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Nursery, Reception and Year 1 Concert

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Year 1 Nativity

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Year 2 Review

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Junior School Sports Day

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Year 2 Productions

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Year 3 Review

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Year 3 Campout

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Year 4 Review

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Year 4 Bushcraft

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Year 4 Gallery

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Year 4 Production - Little Red Riding Hood

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Year 5 Review

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Year 5 Trip to Skern Lodge

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Year 6 Review

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Year 6 Residential to Paris

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Year 6 Leavers’ Programme

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Year 6 Production – Mary Poppins

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Sports Review

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Sport Accomplishments

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Team Captains

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Senior School Sports Day

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Art Review

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Choir and Art Tour

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Young Musician of the Year

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British Values

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Stem Week

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Activities and Clubs

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GPA Review

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Alumni

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Staff News

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Individual Stories

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Leavers

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Welcome from the Head

by Mr Gareth Davies

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o all readers, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this year’s edition of Stormont.

Once again, it is a fine representation of the busy and rewarding school that I’m sure you all identify Gayhurst as. The vibrant pictures and additional commentary provide a great insight to the range of varied opportunities that have been offered to the children over the last year.

During that time, we have added an overarching commitment within our school aims on ‘Enriching learning and developing resilience, independence and confidence.’

Whilst it is hard to provide a tangible measure of this, I am sure that this yearbook will give you a full appreciation of how we strive to deliver this and more importantly, how the pupils are responding so positively and seizing such opportunities.

As we celebrate 110 years of existence since our foundation in 1908, and 10 years of coeducation, this edition of Stormont captures some of the school’s longstanding traditions and also some more recent initiatives such as our very first STEM week and our inaugural Gayhurstian event at school. We continue to observe traditional courtesies whilst balancing the need to progress, adapt and deliver an education suitable for the 21st century and I am hopeful that this balance is well-reflected and evident within these pages. This edition also captures the value of

co-education with boys and girls interacting, learning and achieving happily alongside one another, preparing them superbly to become confident, respectful citizens.

The content also reflects the sense of community that embodies the school. We really are a happy, fun-filled environment and for that, I must thank all of the teachers for their efforts, the parents for their support and the children for being themselves – they really make the school what it is.

A final word of thanks goes to our editor, Michelle Upton for the effort she has shown in collating all of this content into such an excellent record of yet another very successful year at Gayhurst. It is never easy to provide such a comprehensive record that fully reflects school life but through her careful planning she has managed to cover most aspects; well done and thank you, Michelle.

Please enjoy reading this Stormont and I hope that it provides many positive memories for you all.

Mr Gareth Davies Head

NURSERY

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Nursery Review

by Mrs Helen Williams

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n September we welcomed 22 excited children to Gayhurst Nursery, some confidently strolled through the doors, others entered with a little more trepidation. All settled quickly, excited to start their Gayhurst adventure and to make new friends.

The first few weeks were spent getting to know each other and learning the routines of Nursery life. Before we knew it Harvest Festival was upon us. The children all rose to the occasion and beautifully performed the songs they had learned in their music lessons. As the weather turned colder the children tried hard to become independent and practised putting on their coats, with the help of the ‘Nursery Coat Trick’. We brightened up a rainy November with amazing firework pictures and rockets as we learned about bonfire night and Diwali. As December arrived so did a special visitor from the North Pole.

Father Christmas sent us one of his elves to help Nursery prepare for Christmas.

The children were very excited every morning to find where the elf was hiding and tried their best to behave beautifully under his watchful gaze! The Nativity was a lovely traditional mix

of tinsel, straw, tears and laughter as the children dazzled in their costumes and enthusiastically entertained their parents.

After a good rest the children came back in January ready to start the Spring term. The cold weather led to lots of snowy adventures around the school, snow angels, snowmen and the discovery that snow melts if you put it in your drawer to take home! It wasn’t long before the Nursery children got their first visit to the Reception classrooms.

This left the Nursery empty so we could invite some younger children to come for an afternoon Stay and Play session to experience how much fun it is to be at Gayhurst Nursery. During the Spring term the children were invited to join the Junior School for their weekly assembly. Each week a few Nursery children were chosen to be Nursery Star of the Week and proudly collected a sticker from Mrs Terrar and a well earned round of applause from the older children.

All in all, another great year in Nursery.

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Early Years Review

by Mrs Joan Terrar

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t the end of the term we reflect on what has been a busy, happy year in Nursery and Reception.

The Reception children have now been in their refurbished building for just over a year. They are very much at home there and have made the most of the space, light and the outdoor learning environment.

We have opened the Nursery for an afternoon each half term to younger children so that they can ‘Stay and Play’. We hope that they will join our Nursery when they reach three years of age. The children have developed confidence and independence with their various activities. Recently, as part of the topic of ‘People Who Help Us’, some parents have been very generous with their time and have visited the children to talk about their various jobs.

Our youngest children are very much part of the school and move around the whole school site with ease. They enjoyed watching the older children at their

games lessons and we are sure they are picking up some tips for the future.

The children in Year 1 and 2 delight in hearing of the successes of the younger children, particularly on Fridays in Celebration assemblies. They clap heartily when a Nursery child is a ‘Star of the ‘week’ for sharing a toy with another child or helping to tidy the Nursery or when someone in Reception has made great progress with the early stages of reading. Brothers and sisters participated in the sibling race at Nursery Sports and little ones seemed to ‘fly through the air’.

There are so many moments to look back on, but now we turn to the future and look forward to welcoming new Nursery children and receiving our current Nursery children in Reception.

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Nursery Sports and the Big Toddle

by Mrs Beth Dibble

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ursery Sports The Nursery children all arrived very excited on the morning of the 20th June ready for their sports day.

Luckily the rain stopped just as we were ready to head off to the field. The children all sat beautifully on their group mats until it was time for the races to start. The first race was the beanbags in the bucket. The children waited eagerly for the ‘get set go’ and they were off!! They raced to each beanbag in turn, taking it to their buckets before collecting the next.

The crowd cheered them on, with only a few children slowing down to see who was calling them before they continued to race!!! Once the buckets were full the sprint to the finish line was on. Well done Nursery, fantastic first race. Each of the three groups took it in turn to have their go. Following the beanbag race was the egg and spoon, where children slowed their pace and carefully walked down the track, not being put off by having to replace their egg occasionally.

The sack race, where they showed off their bouncing skills.

The quoit on your head, where only a few hands were seen trying to hold the quoit in place and the bouncy hoppers, which caused many giggles as children bounced off, twisted round or were even seen travelling backwards over the finish line. Then the ‘serious’ races started. Once the races were over the children gathered to receive their medals, looking carefully at Mr Davies rather than down to the ‘gold’ and most remembered a big thank you as well. Well done from the proud Nursery staff.

The Big Toddle The last afternoon of the school year had arrived which meant it was time for the Nursery and Reception children to take part in the Big Toddle to raise money for Barnardos. Many parents and younger siblings came along as well to join in the toddling or to support from the sidelines. The children, wearing their headdresses created with items from nature, walked quickly, no running allowed, three times around the school field. They then had a quick drink of water before they collected their medals from Mr Davies. A fantastic afternoon enjoyed by everyone.

RECEPTION

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RB Review

by Mrs Angela Atkinson-Thurtle

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he children of RB have had a wonderful year, full of fun learning experiences. In the Autumn term the children focused on nursery rhymes, Harvest, Festivals of Light, Remembrance Day and Christmas. During Spring term they learnt about New Year celebrations from around the world, Winter, senses, Easter and lifecycles. In the Summer months the themes in RB were animals, growing, people who help us and keeping fit and healthy. The children have learnt so much about each of our topics, but have also developed confidence in life skills such as becoming independent in their own self-care and in working on the social skills needed to think about others and the environment.

When asked about their favourite memories from our Reception year, Amar, Carter and Elizabeth agreed that the trip to Willow’s Farm was their highlight! Carter was fascinated by the Shire Horses, Elizabeth enjoyed feeding the sheep and Amar liked the tractor ride!

Zain, Emily and Jamie have enjoyed developing their Maths and Literacy skills; Zain said his favourite thing all year has been writing and maths, Emily loves to draw and write, and Jamie is very proud of his handwriting! Alicia said she had enjoyed meeting new friends, whilst Pravir said that his favourite thing to do each day was checking the weather and changing our class calendar! Oscar has thoroughly enjoyed PE and has been very interested in a variety of sports. The rest of RB have great memories of imaginative play, arts and craft work; Arun and Laura have enjoyed developing their imagination whilst role playing in the ‘Fire Engine’ and dressing up for the Royal wedding (although not at the same time!) Aarav has enjoyed using a wide range of construction materials and building models. Inara said she has enjoyed her work in music and is very proud of her singing!

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RS Review

by Mrs Charlotte Stanhope

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he girls and boys in RS have enjoyed a wide variety of activities this year. Their developing friendships, and growing confidence to explore the school, have resulted in some wonderful adventures.

Child-led learning has enabled the children to instigate their own investigations and continue their research over a number of days. The variations in weather and temperature have enabled the children to notice changes in their environment and also in the adaptations they need to make to prepare for the changeable British weather.

The children have also enjoyed making observations of our class tree, and their imaginations have run free as the girls and boys have developed stories about the plants and animals they have seen.

The children have enjoyed a multi-sensory approach to learning to read.

This has included completing treasure hunts for letters and words on the adventure trail, and practising

forming letters using chalks on the playground.

As the year has progressed, children have used interactive story telling experiences as an entry point to writing, for example when they acted out scenes from ‘Rosie’s Walk’, using large toys to create a pond and a wagon. Classic fairy tales have been used as a platform to link literacy and mathematical concepts. As the children learnt about ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, they used 3D shapes to build scenes from the story, and even grew and measured their own beans!

There have been further opportunities for the children to use technology in all aspects of their learning, and many children have focused on using the interactive screen to communicate their understanding of a learning concept, for example by playing a game or using the drawing programme.

Recognising that they are part of the Gayhurst School community has enabled the children to get to know teachers and staff around our school. They were thrilled to meet Catering Manager Mr Harding, and Mr Martindale from the Premises Team, to learn about the preparation of lunch each day, and the work that goes in to keeping our school a wonderful place to be. Visiting Mrs Harper and Mrs Kay in the school office was an opportunity for the children to reflect on how visitors are welcomed to the school. The children were also very interested to deliver questions to the Head Mr Davies, including the many ways in which he keeps everyone at school safe.

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RW Review

by Mrs Sandra Whitaker

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eception have had such a busy year that it is hard to know where to start so Mrs Whitaker thought that she would ask the children!

The Autumn term started off by getting to know each other and learning to dress in and out of our tracksuits independently. Then we learnt about Harvest with our Harvest Festival and Emily really enjoyed making bread and watching the bread rolls rise. We had a visit from the “Stories and More “ ladies and helped them with their exciting pirate adventure! For Remembrance day in November, we made a huge red poppy and joined the rest of the school on the Astro playground to listen to some prayers and the Last Post. Nikita was proudly holding the class poppy.

The Spring Term started off with snow! But we made the most of it by bringing some into the classroom and Ronnie was examining it very closely and we also made some Ice Art! Our collaborative project in the Spring term was to try to build a boat in pairs. Henry really enjoyed this activity with Emma, as did Athena with Lewis. Both these teams learned the value of sharing ideas and working as a team. We also learnt all about our 5 senses and Rocco really enjoyed exploring the sense of touch…with his feet!

The Summer term was glorious with many sunny days, including one spent at Willows Farm. We had caterpillars in the classroom and lots of the children measured them daily until they turned into chrysalises and then butterflies! We also had some chicks in school and the children watched them hatch out of their eggs and then each had a turn at holding one. Emma loved this experience. Luckily the chick did not make a mess on her ballet clothes!! With Sports day looming, we went outside to learn some distance vocabulary and Aida proved to be an expert at measuring!

YEAR 1

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Year 1 Review

by Mrs Camilla Ross

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t has been a busy year in Year 1. The children have learnt a great deal and had lots of fun too.

In the Autumn term the children developed their writing skills inspired by Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They explored the woods, imagining what the bears saw to inspire creative writing and enjoyed making and tasting porridge to help them write a porridge recipe!

It was in the Autumn term that Year 1 started history and enjoyed learning about what is was like to be a child in Victorian times. Making a cup and ball toy was a highlight.

enjoyed a retelling of The Princess and the Frog from a visiting theatre company, followed by an interactive drama workshop.

After learning about Chinese New Year and creating models it was a great opportunity to visit the Senior School and see some of the lovely Chinese New Year work there.

As the end of term approached the children enjoyed some Easter craft including making booklets about the Easter story.

The Summer term was busy and exciting!

Fireworks night inspired some fun and messy artwork, with super results.

In science the children enjoyed experimenting with all five sense and had fun matching animals and their young.

The children enjoyed preparing for the Royal Wedding by creating lovely commemorative plates. They used the school grounds to learn about plants in Science and draw them in Art. After learning about the features of castles and creating their own the children had an exciting trip to Windsor Castle.

The Spring term started off cold and inspired sparkly, frosty, Winter tree art. The Science focus was materials and they all enjoyed experimenting with magnets as well looking for materials all around us and then sorting them. The children

Towards the end of the year Year 1 enjoyed creating their own non-fiction books about dinosaurs. One of the highlights was drawing their own dinosaurs on the playground outside using chalks.

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Nursery and Reception and Year 1 Concert

by Miss Petronella Kereszturi

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ursery and Reception Concert Nursery and Reception had worked hard preparing for their Summer Concert where they performed The Enormous Turnip. The children in Nursery were dressed up as flowers and they sang a song called ‘Hello Mr Sun’ on their own with actions as well as the songs from the play.

Some of the children in Reception were narrators or dressed up to represent each of the main characters in the story who all had their individual lines to say. All the other children were dressed up as farmers and turnips and they all had accompanied the songs on a variety of percussion instruments.

It was a real treat for the audience to see how much the children enjoyed performing.

Year 1 Concert Year 1 has enjoyed preparing and performing The Three Little Pigs for their Summer Concert. The children have recited their lines with confidence. Some children were dressed up as the characters that they represented from the story. All the other children had the opportunity to accompany the songs with great enthusiasm using a wide range of percussion instruments, sometimes keeping to the beat of the songs and other times playing the rhythm of the songs. The concert was a huge success.

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Year 1 Nativity

by Miss Victoria Ashby

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he Year 1's performed a brilliant Nativity play this year.

It was called 'A Miracle in Town' and was a twist on the original story. Each child worked very hard to come together for the final show, which went down a treat with both parents and teachers alike. The costumes were beautiful, and they really looked the part from the angels to the wise men.

The backdrop that the children performed in front of was decorated to perfection and really helped the children create a wonderful show. The songs were sung brilliantly in the show, with a lot of hard work put in by the Year 1's. We are all very proud of the children for how they performed in the Nativity.

YEAR 2

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Year 2 Review

by Mrs Joanne Martin

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he first Geography topic was the rainforest. The children enjoyed finding out about the animals, people and countries of the rainforest. They had a visit from Amey Zoo, where they learnt some interesting facts about spiders, snakes and other reptiles. Some girls and boys were even lucky enough to hold a creature.

The children enjoyed finding out about hot places and cold places as part of the Geography curriculum. All the children researched and planned a presentation about a polar animal which they presented to their class. This was a highlight of the year and the children very much enjoyed their presentation.

In the Spring term, the English curriculum focussed on the stories of Roald Dahl. We enjoyed a visit to the theatre in Aylesbury to watch a performance of George and his Marvellous Medicine which inspired the children to make up their own versions of medicine stories.

In the Summer Term the girls and boys had a wonderful day at Shortenills Outdoor Centre, where they completed some tricky maths problems when working out the age of trees by measuring their circumference. They also had fun hunting for mini beasts and making a graph using pine cones.

History has been great fun. The classes found out about the Plague and the Great Fire of London, discovering how these events changed the lives of people. The children enjoyed a topic of significant people learning about the lives of Louis Braille, Emily Davison, Rosa Parks and Florence Nightingale.

A favourite topic was World War II, where the children loved finding out about evacuation, the Blitz, rationing and key figures of the time. All the children made a model Spitfire plane and an Andersen Shelter.

In the Spring term the English curriculum focussed on the stories of Roald Dahl. We enjoyed a visit to the theatre in Aylesbury to watch a performance of George and his Marvellous Medicine which inspired the children to make up their own versions of medicine stories.

The children visited the gallery at Aylesbury Museum for some hands on fun. The guides at the museum told the children about the life of Roald Dahl and gave some children the opportunity to dress up.

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Junior School Sports Day

by Mrs Gillian Kelly

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he sun was shining on Junior Sports day as the children prepared themselves for a wonderful afternoon of sport.

Our energetic students took part in various fun activities and relays such as the stand and jump, tennis racket relay, shoot the bean bag in a hoop and hurdles relay, to name just a few.

The children cheered for their Houses and great sportsmanship was shown at the end of each race with congratulatory handshakes to the opposing Houses.

After the fun games and track events were over, the winners were declared and they proudly took their moment, receiving their medal and shaking Mr Davies’ hand in front of delighted parents. Sports day witnessed the enthralling performances and hard work of all the students. Many hours of training and strenuous effort taken by the children and teachers created another momentous day of memories, ever inscribed in the history of Gayhurst School.

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Year 2 Productions

by Mrs Rebecca Marshall

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ear 2 Christmas Celebration Year 2 enjoyed preparing and performing a festive Christmas play written for them by their teachers. It was the story of Father Christmas travelling around the world to deliver presents to children in different countries. The children spoke about different customs and sang festive songs which included singing in German and Spanish! Great fun was had singing the Australian version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. They found out that some ‘naughty’ children in Spain didn’t get presents from Father Christmas, but a lump of coal! Everyone behaved beautifully on stage just to make sure it didn’t happen to them. All the children sang, spoke and played their percussion instruments with confidence and enjoyment.

Later on the children shared their enthusiasm for all things Christmassy with local, elderly people living in sheltered housing.

Spring Performance At the end of the Spring term Year 2 went on yet another journey. This time it was with Eddie the penguin who was out to save the world from global warming. The children learned lots of new songs and words as they discovered with Eddie, the problems of pollution. They met worried polar bears, families who discovered walking or cycling was a better way to travel to school, lumberjacks who learned to plant more trees and the Prime Minister who agreed to encourage changes with regard to litter and re-cycling, so that things can be done to improve and care for our precious world. All the children adopted their roles with understanding and were pleased that they were able to tell an important message through their entertaining performance.

YEAR 3

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Year 3 Review

by Mrs Roma Pandya

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t was with great excitement (and a few nerves) that the children moved up to Year 3 in September. They quickly settled in, however, and were soon used to finding their way to new rooms for lessons, completing Prep on time and carrying their own trays in the Dining Hall!

Inside the classroom the children worked extremely hard, enjoying the challenge of some new subjects, such as French, and also learning in the new environments of the Science Lab, ICT Room and the Art Room.

They demonstrated an ability to work effectively with each other in groups and also to complete independent work of a high standard.

Outside the classroom new sports were learnt with great enthusiasm and the children were proud to represent Gayhurst against other schools in rugby, netball and cricket. Great fun was also had as the children experienced their first Senior School Sports Day, where they competed strongly and displayed great sportsmanship.

Some memorable moments for the children were trips outside of school, starting with an outing to the theatre in the Autumn term to see ‘Awful Auntie’ and a Science trip to the Living Rainforest near Newbury. In the Summer term the visit to Verulamium proved a great success, with the opportunity for the children to handle Roman artefacts and learn more about life in Roman times. Year 3’s first ever experience of the Amersham Field Study Centre took place at the beginning of June and the children loved investigating different types of rocks and soils for their Science topic. Finally, the Year 3 camp took place on a beautiful sunny evening and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The year ended with fantastic performances from all the children as they took part in their Form Assemblies, showing just how confident they had all become since the start of the year.

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Year 3 Campout

by Mr Stuart Sutherland

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he Year 3’s had another exciting adventure camping on the field around the pavilion. After the campers were assigned with their tent buddies the campers built their own tents - which proved to be more of a teamwork effort then they first imagined! For the rest of the evening they enjoyed activities including - camp fire building; archery; and an extreme ‘water fight’ quiz event! They loved the key ring designing and making activity - after having been given a roughly hewn piece of wood they proceeded to transform it into a beautiful and useful keepsake. After a hearty meal of wood fired pizzas they were treated to dessert - they actually made their own ‘smores’, roasting their own marshmallows on the campfire. the intrepid explorers went on a night hike through the forest - the forest was awash with light as they were able to test out their torches for the first time! When they woke up, they were treated to a delicious breakfast with hot chocolate. The next morning, only the bravest took part in a Bushtucker Trial.

The campout remains a highlight of the year and skills learnt will remain with them for a lifetime!

YEAR 4

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Year 4 Review

by Miss Melissa Legg

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e have seen yet another busy year for Year 4 pupils at Gayhurst and it seems that each year passes more quickly than the previous!

The children were very keen to get started in their new classes in September and this year there were four Year 4 classes all situated together in the original part of the school building.

There have been many trips and visits which the children and staff have enjoyed together. These started with the annual theatre outing for all Middle School children to see a production of David Walliams’ book ‘Awful Auntie’ which was on show in Oxford. We even Tweeted the author himself to give him our immediate review! The children learnt a lot about staging a production and were keen to apply their own skills in the Year 4 production in November.

In October, we had a fantastic day out at LEGOLAND in Windsor as part of our ‘STEM’ week experiences and the children have enjoyed sharing their class work with their parents on the Open

Afternoons during the year. As part of their studies in PSHCE on Safety the children visited Hazard Alley in Milton Keynes.

and tournaments, maths competitions, debates and undertaken LAMDA and peripatetic music exams very successfully.

As the Autumn drew to a close we celebrated the season of Advent with a fabulous Carol Service at St James’ church where the children performed superbly to a very appreciative audience.

The year has culminated in the inaugural ‘Trips and Visits Week’ which included the residential overnight camp at Bushcraft, an activity day at Longridge as well as many other fun filled opportunities.

Spring arrived and the weather worsened but we continued to enrich our learning with trips to the Wycombe Chair Museum and the churches in Fulmer and Gerrards Cross as well as a superb day with a visiting artist during Art week.

Throughout the year the children in Year 4 have put on a good show for whole school special event days and charities and have always been keen to represent their year group well at these times! They have also performed very well on stage in the Musician of the Year and Prose and Verse finals as well as presenting their own form assemblies to their parents and peers.

They have attended sporting fixtures

We have also been very lucky to have visitors into school including a visiting author and I know that two of the most popular were Sir Linkalot and The History Man. As I said at the start - a busy year for Year 4 and all of the above on top of their academic studies! Well done to all of you for playing your part in making this another happy year to remember!

We have grown greatly and are ready to undertake Year 5 with confidence, a greater sense of independence and, of course, resilience.

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Year 4 Bushcraft

by Mrs Amanda Keeney

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uring the month of June of this year, our Year 4 children were taken back to nature in deepest darkest Oxfordshire woods on our annual Bushcraft trip.

Along with fire making, where the children then cooked their lunches on the fire, trap building so they could catch their own food and camouflaging so they could blend into the environment the children were then taught how to build their own shelters with some of the children even deciding to spend the night in the shelters that they had built themselves!

Games and songs around the campfire late into the night allowed for the children to build a strong sense of camaraderie The independent skills coupled with the group tasks allowed the children to learn new skills linked to the environment and to know how important it is to “leave no footprint� when departing the site. Great fun was had by all!

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Year 4 Gallery

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Year 4 Production Little Red Riding Hood

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YEAR 5

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Year 5 Review

by Mrs Tara Williams

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t seems a long time since September 2017 when Year 5 first met their new form teachers – Miss Carr, Mr Brown and Mrs Lingley – to officially start their time in ‘Senior School.’

Although it may have seemed a daunting prospect, there is always excitement, as well as a few nerves, at the beginning of a school year. New opportunities were on offer in the form of lessons, activities, different teachers and routines.

As a year group, Year 5 have taken on academic challenges, explored new skills, been persuaded to use their own thoughts and ideas, learnt from failure and had lots of fun both in and outside of the classroom!

Pupils in Year 5 have also won national competitions, had their creative writing published, won sporting tournaments, learnt the skill of Journalism, produced lots of pompoms and started up their own business – in addition to the talents we saw on display in the ‘GX Factor’ talent show.

Without doubt, each member of Year 5 has grown in Confidence, Resilience and Independence throughout the year.

Skern Lodge will give them lasting memories of terrific times in Year 5.

They are fully prepared and ready for the challenges of Year 6, where 11+ and school entrance exams are a feature from very early on in the term.

Leadership opportunities await and they will no doubt respond positively to new expectations.

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Year 5 Trip to Skern Lodge

by Mr Will Pendered

O

ver 200 miles, 4 hours, 2 stops including several toilet breaks and a few dodgy countryside smells later, Year 5 arrived at Skern Lodge. With the weather set to be pretty good all week, everyone packed plenty of sun cream although remembering we were still in England, woolly hats and raincoats were also brought along just in case.

Without any time to waste, once introduced to our guides and shown our rooms, we headed straight out with our boards to catch some waves in Surfing. Absolutely exhausting work including trying to get wetsuits on! But, seriously good fun and for many the highlight of the trip so far, although this was the only activity we had done since arriving.

Tuesday saw our various groups split between River Kayaking and the Climbing Wall. With 2 people to every kayak, working together was a key skill for the

activity and once this was mastered, the paddling became a lot easier and going round in circles was easily avoided. Climbing to the top of the wall and the abseil down were certainly not easy and looking down from the top made it seem suddenly so much higher than it looked from the bottom. Nevertheless, everyone attempted the climb and showed great courage in the face of such a daunting challenge.

Our big day out Coastal Walking at Hartland took place on Wednesday. We had the chance to explore the coastline and scramble across the rocks along the beach. Although we were slightly unfortunate with the tides, some of the groups did manage to fit in an abseil down the cliff face which had quite a different feel compared with the climbing wall the day before.

On Thursday we tackled the High Ropes and River Rafting.

Again, being faced with challenges at such height required bravery and provided a significant test of nerve. The rafting allowed us to shape and develop our teamwork skills with our ability to listen to and follow instruction under the spotlight. Everyone did extremely well and by the end we had learned the key skills involved and were rewarded with the opportunity to jump into the river and attempt to throw some of the teachers in (with mixed success).

With Friday being our last day, we remained on site tackling the Assault Course and Zip Wire. This helped us to further develop our personal and team skills as various tasks were set and problem solving skills really came to the fore.

Having been very well fed throughout the week everyone was sad to be leaving but equally upbeat to be returning home. Upon reflection, a variety of different challenges had been set to shape our confidence. These were overcome daily and with great appetite for adventure. The trip was a huge success and has been an excellent preparation for the Year 5s as they transition into the most senior year of the school.

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S KER N LODG E G AL L ERY

YEAR 6

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Year 6 Review

by Mrs Wendy Cook

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his year has been incredibly busy for Year 6. Starting with the official 11+ entry tests, where the resilience of the children was justly rewarded by a brilliant day at Chessington World of Adventures. Their hard work then continued, the focus changing to the individual Senior School entry exams.

Three very memorable class assemblies entertained us during the winter.

6W kicked them off with some thoroughly inspirational people, 6K entertained us with music and tales from Africa, 6C then completed the set with their Gayhurst Adventure.

Some notable personal spotlight moments this year have been: Dylan playing the Last Post, George beating Mr Kearns at the Fun Run

and Dan, Luca and Nicholas becoming the first ever Gayhurst Digital Leaders.

Without ever needing an excuse to dress up, the Year 6’s have participated with boundless enthusiasm having several opportunities from spots and moustaches to crazy hair and book characters. Year 6 have also shown us their responsible side, from serious debates to being outstanding guides during Open Afternoons.

Form Times have provided opportunities for mindfulness, peer mentoring, team building and, the most popular of all, free play! The pool table, chess sets and table football being the most sought-after activities.

What an incredible, action-packed year this has been. Great memories to take on to Senior School.

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Year 6 Residential to Paris

by Mrs Sue Wilmot

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ear 6 spent their cross curricular summer residential week in Paris. This provided an exciting opportunity to experience French life and culture, to visit some important World War One battlefield sites and to participate in a varied programme of activities.

We travelled by coach and ‘Le Shuttle’, arriving at the Campus Sainte Therese outside the city. En route, the pupils had fun making croissants, supervised by a comic, mock scary baker!

At a snail farm, they learnt about the life cycle of the intriguing creature and sampled dishes, many tasting snails for the first time. The farmer thought the children’s French was très bien!

Two days were spent exploring some of the impressive sights of Paris, with highlights including viewing the enigmatic Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum and a boat ride on the River Seine, gliding past the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral, with much enthusiastic arm waving at passers-by. In Montmartre, the pupils ran up all two hundred and twenty steep steps to

the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, led by an energetic Mr Davies, for a magnificent view of the city.

A tour of the Somme region and Arras provided time for quiet reflection. At the Thiepval Memorial, the children had the chance to trace records for relatives from the Commonwealth who bravely died in battle. Tin hats were donned to go underground at the Wellington Quarry for a fascinating look at an immense hidden barracks.

In the evenings, Year 6 enjoyed a range of activities including a quiz, a fashion show with wonderful outfits created from bin bags, board games played in French and a hilarious bedtime story with sound effects! They also produced fantastic Parisian tetrahedrons, inspired by the glass pyramid at the Louvre.

The children returned suntanned and laden with souvenirs, after a packed week full of new experiences. They had practised their French communication skills, seen history come to life, enjoyed all the thrills of Disneyland, worked in teams and above all, had many opportunities to grow in confidence, independence and resilience.

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Year 6 Leavers’ Programme

by Mr Gordon Harris

F

or the Year 6 leavers’ programme the children were treated to a vast range of different activities, both inside and out of school. They have had various workshops within school: including anti-bullying, wellbeing and transition to Senior School entwined with days out to the Globe Theatre where the children were lucky enough to

see a rehearsal of Othello, the Williams Racing Factory and Museum where some of them had a chance meeting with Sir Frank Williams himself and to Thorpe Park for a final treat before they leave Gayhurst. Alongside all the activities they’ve done in school they have had some lovely evening activities.

The Year 6s wowed the audience with their performance of Mary Poppins, they were treated to dinner and a disco and finally a lovely evening of activities and speeches on their second last day at Gayhurst.

The children have also created a couple of different pieces of artwork that will be displayed at school once they have left. This will not only act as a lovely display for the current children to look forward to making, but also something to be proud of when they come back to visit Gayhurst as the newest Gayhurstians.

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Year 6 Production – Mary Poppins

by Ms Sandy Kearns

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his year, the Year 6’s took on the very challenging production of Mary Poppins. Set in Cherry Tree Lane and the rooftops of London, the children recreated the famous story with singing, dancing and acting.

Many weeks were spent learning the songs with Miss Carr and then an intensive two weeks of rehearsals took place. Amelia Garner was perfectly cast as the ‘practically perfect’ nanny who came flying in on a Segway with her parrot head umbrella and carpet bag in tow.

Her task.. to tame the mischievous Banks children, Jane and Michael, played brilliantly by Alice and Oliver Fleming.

They managed to win the hearts of the audience with their ‘butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth’ faces and their gorgeous singing voices. Dan Graham played the role of Bert and took on the character so well. His swagger and cockney accent, made the role come alive. William Barker brilliantly portrayed the very serious and often very moody Mr Banks, and his fantastic singing made him one of the stars of the show.

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The principal characters were supported by the rest of Year 6 playing various parts from park strollers to kite flyers, from chimney sweeps to bank clerks and from honey bees to statues. They sang their hearts out and put on what can only be described as a spectacular show.

The show was a visual masterpiece and the amazing scenery and backdrop was once again created by the extremely talented Miss Crosbie. The singing and dancing was coordinated and directed by Miss Carr and Ms Kearns who worked tirelessly to ensure the children were prepared to give the performance of their lives. And that’s exactly what they did; it was praactically perfect in every way!

SPORT

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Sports Review

by Mr Simon Kearns

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s we wish farewell to our Year 6 leavers I do feel that we have succeeded as a Games Department in line with the aims of the school. I see confident children, very close to being young men and women now, who have enjoyed all aspects of school life especially their sport.

These boys and girls have embraced sport and given of their best at all times regardless of what team they were in. We have taught them to be confident, independent and resilient children through all sports and the importance of being part of a team. They have had fun along the way and have forged friendships not just amongst themselves but with children from other schools and have created memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

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Sporting Accomplishments

AUTUMN TERM

SUMMER TERM

Half Colours Hockey: Hannah Jukes, Anya Everett

Full Colours cricket: Finlay Webster, Alice Fleming

Full Colours Hockey: Alice Fleming Half Colours Rugby: Harrison Adams, George Beddoe, John O’Neill, Stefan Lubliner Full Colours Rugby: Dylan Line, Finlay Webster, Finley Connolly

Half Cricket Colours: Raghav Batra, Dylan Line, Zenia Ali and Anya Everett Full Colours Athletics: George Beddoe Half Colours Athletics: Finley Connolly, Thomas Field

Full Colours Basketball: Finlay Webster, Harrison Adams and William Barker

SPRING TERM Half colours Netball: Hannah Jukes Full Colours Netball: Alice Fleming, Anya Everett Half Colours Football: Jude Tohill, Christian Cotter, Luca McCormick, Jake Bloor Full Colours Football: George Beddoe, Finlay Webster Half colours Cross Country: Christian Cotter, Jake and Louis Bloor, Stefan Lubliner, Finlay Webster Full Colours Cross Country: George Beddoe Full Colours Skiing: Finley Connolly Half Colours Skiing: Jake and Louis Bloor

The Girls team won the St. Bernard’s hockey tournament this year The Year 6 girls played for the first time in an IAPS hockey competition at Pipers Corner A Mixed team and boys team competed for the first time in the IAPS ski race competition in Italy in March with our Mixed team winning the Mixed Plate competition Our basketball team came 3rd in the IAPS Basketball Competition at ACS Cobham

OTHER Congratulations to Dylan Line on being awarded a sport scholarship to Haileybury College Our children continued to build links with the British School of Paris and hosted them in a Multisport weekend.

Full Cricket Colours: Alice Fleming, Finlay Webster

Our boys competed in the IAPS Triathlon competition in Kent and performed well It was our first year of Mixed cricket teams with Alice Fleming playing in the Colts A team Our Cross-Country Team won on a few occasions at the interschools competitions, not only have we competed well at tournaments and competitions but our children have had success across the board in fixtures.

They have fought tooth and nail during Interhouse competitions with the following houses winning the termly competitions: Hockey and Netball - Stafford Football - Taylor Rugby - Gibbs Congratulations to Taylor on winning the Sports Day by half a point.

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Team Captains

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he highlight of the year has been the introduction of Sports Captains. They were Alice Fleming, Hannah Jukes, Anna Stalder, Finley Connolly, Harrison Adams and George Beddoe. These children took on the responsibility of being leaders and were outstanding in their roles. They have assisted the Director of Sport and games department with different duties and have been great role models for the younger children and a credit to the school.

This is not a farewell but a thank you for all that you have done at the school. We hope to see you all come back to visit the school in some form whether it is on work experience, alumni events or a visit just to say ‘hi’.

I wish you all the best as you move on to Senior school and hope to see you all take sport on in some form for the rest of your lives. You have been outstanding on the sports field and we are so proud of the effort you have put into your sport.

We will miss you tremendously.

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Senior School Sports Day

by Mrs Rachel Giles

O

n Friday 22nd June, children, staff and parents headed up to Pease Field, under a glorious blue sky, for the annual Senior School Sports Day. The sun shone all afternoon and a stall organised by the GPA kept the parents refreshed with delicious Pimms. The afternoon started with all children taking part in a range of field events, sprints and middle-distance races. The events included various jumps, throws, a tug-of-war and races. The throwing events for Years 3 and 4 involved the cricket ball and vortex throw, whereas Year 5 and 6 competed in the discus and shotput. The jumping events consisted of the long jump, high jump and the triple jump. All the children took part in various sprints, middle distance and relay races.

There were

some memorable performances from the children with Oliver Kilbourn in Year 4 jumping a fantastic distance in the long jump to beat the previous school record. Another notable performance was Devyani Patel who broke the school record in the 60m sprint. Congratulations also go to Max Vergopoulos on winning the Victor Ludorum and Lucy Rawlings on winning the Victrix Ludorum.

The children then congregated around the track to watch the 4 X 50 m relay finals and the Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 sprint finals. The children cheered on their Houses in some very closely fought races. The highlight of sports day was the exciting finish with the House competition going down to the last relay which was won by Taylor. Taylor ended up winning the competition by just half a point. Once all the races were complete it was time for the various individual medals to be awarded, followed by the announcement of the winning house, Taylor, resulting in exuberant celebrations from Taylor House.

ART

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Art Review

by Miss Sorsha Crosbie

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utumn term projects began promptly, immersing the children in creative activity, in and out of the Art Room. Year 3 settled in to their new Art Room with a project called ‘Surreal Stories’ with the aim to engage them in discussion, imagination, drawing and design processes.

The Year 4 children visited the Wycombe Chair Museum as part of their chair design project ‘Character or Occasion’. Year 5 designed a collagraph based on the inner working of clock in preparation for their printing activity, and Year 6 designed and constructed African Animal Masks.

Year 4 recreated colours and textures from artists’ work, taking inspiration from famous landscape painters such as Vincent Van Gogh and Georges Braque.

Art week also took place in Spring, hosting visits from a selection of talented artists including Tim Davies, Cloe Vos, Paul Priestly and TV’s Max McMurdo.

Year 5 created abstract sculptures based on a chosen word and inspired by the art of Wassily Kandinsky, and Year 6 visited the National Gallery to gather ideas for their collaborative religious artwork ‘Nativity Story’.

The Summer Term overflowed with creativity. Year 3 enjoyed learning about textiles and created their own bobbin to use for French Knitting. Year 4 worked right up to the end of term, experimenting with mixed media and combining collage materials to create rainforest imagery, finishing with a large collaborative painting. Year 5 also worked on textiles, building on their skills learned in Year 4. They created ‘Woollen Worlds’ for their mini beasts. And last but not least, Year 6 enjoyed creating Identity Portraits to reveal at the Leavers Event.

Spring term was quickly in full swing. Year 3 explored pattern, learning to draw from observation and collect ideas for a final composition.

“What an amazing year! The children have enjoyed such a broad experience in Art across all year groups. They have had the opportunity to engage with Artists and build on skills approached in previous years. Next year, you will see new projects and creative activities aimed to inspire and instil a love of art in the children.” – Miss Crosbie Head of Art

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Choir and Art Tour

by Mr Ben Stevenson

O

n Wednesday 2nd May, the Senior School choir travelled to Vienna on the Choir and Art Tour, with Miss Carr, Miss Crosbie, Mr Stevenson and Mr Pendered. After landing in the beautiful Viennese sun, we spent the first day exploring Die Naturhistorische Museum with the children sketching famous art pieces. On the second day, we spent the morning at the picturesque Belvedere Palace, home to ‘The Kiss’ painting and a number of pieces by other famous artists, such as Van Gogh. Miss Crosbie provided all the children with a sketchpad, which they filled with many excellent drawings.

After lunch it was performance time at St. Michael’s Church, the first of the stunning churches we performed in.

The children delivered an excellent performance in front of a lot of people, led by Miss Carr.

On 4th May, the tour visited the Musikverein, the most famous concert hall in Vienna. We saw the Gold Hall, where the New Year’s concert takes place each year and were able to see some of the orchestra warming up.

This was followed by some time at the Nachtsmarket, Vienna’s market, where the children bought some food. Our next stop, was the stunning St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the most important religious building in Vienna. The children performed in the side stalls in front of hundreds of visitors to the Cathedral.

The children were amazing, earning all of their many compliments. A beautiful performance in a magnificent venue.

After a well-deserved ice-cream, the children were off again, joining a strudel making class. They made some delicious desserts for themselves! Finally, we had a musical tour of Vienna, including stops such as Mozart’s house and Demel.

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The Saturday began with a tour around the SchÜnbrunn Palace, exploring the rooms of the Austrian monarchy, before enjoying the labyrinth in the large gardens. We were then whisked off to the Vogelkirsche, another striking church, where the choir delivered another amazing performance, despite competing against a music festival nearby! The Hundertwasser museum was next, exploring Hundertwasser’s unique style, both in painting and architecture.

We visited the Haus der Musik to start our last day. The children enjoyed all of the activities, including playing piano on the musical stairs, and conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Then, after a bit of art in the park, we visited the Albertina, an art gallery with paintings

by Monet, Signac and many others inside.

After a busy few days, our choir headed home, to enjoy a wellearned rest!

C U LT U R E

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Young Musician of the Year

by Miss Jenny Carr

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ompetition for the title of ‘Musician of the Year’ has always been fierce, and this year was certainly no exception! Over 120 children participated in the preliminary auditions for a coveted place in the semi-finals, demonstrating a huge amount of dedication and talent on a wide range of instruments across both Middle and Senior School. 4 children from each round were selected to go through to the next round of the competition, adjudicated by Mrs Terrar. Children were amazed and impressed to find that Mrs Terrar herself is a Grade 8 trombonist! Comments and feedback were given to each child on their performance before four children were then selected to progress to the nail-biting finals!

Competing in the Middle School Finals were Zoravar Mann (Guitar), Annabelle Potts (Piano), Alienor Perrin Cocon (Piano) and Angelica AbdenbiSantiapillai (Voice), and in the Senior School Finals were Charlie Wright (Voice), Nicholas Storey (Clarinet), Leo Slowikowski (Piano) and Ilaria Artemieva (Piano). The audience of parents, teachers and pupils sat captivated as each musician took to the stage and performed two contrasting pieces on their instruments, ranging from Jazz, to Classical, to Musical Theatre! Mr Simon Couldridge, the Director of Music at Merchant Taylor’s School in Northwood was given the very difficult and unenviable task of adjudicating these final rounds of the competition whilst the audience sat on tenterhooks. Finally, a decision was made...

After much deliberation, Angelica Abdenbi-Santiapillai was named the winner of the Middle School round, and Ilaria Artemieva the winner of the Senior School. After a heartfelt round of applause for each worthy winner, it was then time to announce the name of Gayhurst’s Musician of the Year 2018...

Congratulations, Ilaria Artemieva, Musician of the Year 2018!

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British Values

by Mrs Ruth Lingley

B

ritish Values underpin everything we do at Gayhurst.

Our thriving School Council is a clear example of democratic elections and listening to children’s voices and opinions throughout the Senior School. Through our School Council, we have had successes such as changing some of the food for our lunches, the purchase of a bike shed and our highly entertaining talent concert. All were results of the ideas suggested by the School Council.

Within the PSHCE curriculum, we also engage in activities outside our school boundaries. Year 4 in particular studied charities and charitable bodies. In Senior School for our Harvest celebrations this year, we collected many different types of produce to give to the food bank in Slough. Our Head Boy and Head Girl were proud to represent their school in giving these donations.

Year 5 became eco-warriors and wanted to ‘save the planet.’

Their excellent ideas and commitment at home to cut down on the use of single use plastic really grabbed their consciences to make the planet blue again. We are hoping that here at Gayhurst, we can cut down our use of this type of polluting waste.

Year 6 were excited to be punters and dragons for an afternoon. After thinking carefully about a product or service with a unique selling point, they tentatively, and in some cases audaciously, pitched for some cash to grow their businesses.

A wonderful lesson learnt in supply, demand, cash flow, profit margins and suitability of the product.

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STEM Week

by Mr David Bushnell

I

n October the whole school took part in STEM week.

Children took part in many different activities including bridge building, tower design and construction, Maths mysteries and more. There were visitors with 3D printers, robots, problem solving activities and scientific stories.

We were delighted to also welcome some of our skilled parents to school, who delivered masterclass sessions on an array of different areas relating to STEM. Thursday was ‘Trip Day’ for pupils in Years 3 to 6. Year 3 visited the Living Rainforest, Year 4 LEGOLAND, Year 5 The Science Museum and Year 6 were coding at Bletchley Park.

It was an incredibly enriching week for all children, staff and visitors, culminating in our first ever Open Afternoon for current parents on the Friday afternoon. Pupils were able to show off all of their learning and creations, whilst giving their parents a personalised tour of the school.

A fantastic week, which we look forward to doing all over again this October.

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

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Activities and Clubs

by Mr Sam Brown

W

hat a year it has been with regards to the clubs and activities running at Gayhurst. In both the Junior and Senior parts of the school, more pupils have been signing up to activities on offer than ever before with plenty of pupils trying out new activities for the first time this year.

In the Junior School, pupils have been able to enjoy old favourites such as Mousewizards, Short Tennis and Judo, whilst the introduction of Chess Club, Strictly Dance and Funky Fitness, Tetra Brazil Football and Cookery have been well received by children from Reception to Year 2. Some highlights from this year for the Junior School are, the Year 1 and 2 Art Club, who have produced some excellent pieces over the course of the year, in particular their dragons, in celebration of Chinese New Year!

Further success has been seen in Chess Club, where pupils have taken part in chess tournaments throughout the year, we even had pupils finish 1st in the Under 7 Girls and 1st and 2nd in the Under 7 Boys competition at the Buckinghamshire Chess Mega-Finals in May.

In the Senior School, pupils have been able to take part in a wide variety of activities, running before, during and after school. This year has seen Fencing return to Gayhurst for the first time in over 10 years; Archery has been introduced for the first time at the school; Pompom Club has been a popular choice in Year 5, with Pompoms popping up across form rooms and the office. Basketball Club has continued to be a popular choice across all year groups, with the Year 6 pupils finishing 3rd in the IAPS Basketball competition in January.

The hard work and resilience of our pupils in Ski Club has also started to reap rewards, with boys and girls representing the school in great fashion during the IAPS Ski Competitions held in Italy and the UK during the Spring and Summer terms.

After such a busy year with a great deal of activities on offer for pupils across the school, it is hard to envisage 2018/19 being more successful. However, staff across the school are already preparing and planning their sessions for the Autumn term which is looking jam packed and full of great options for pupils to make the most of their time outside of the classroom.

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GPA Review

by Mrs Rozet Shah

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ello from the GPA! It’s been another busy year for the GPA. We kicked off the Autumn term with a Wine Tasting event for parents, particularly those who were new to the school. This was followed by the annual Autumn Fair, at which the bottle and toy tombola were the star attractions. The Fireworks Night was sold out and everyone not only enjoyed the meal options from the kitchen, but also the impressive fireworks display. To finish off the term, the Junior School were treated to a pantomime performance and Father Christmas popped by to check who was on his naughty/nice lists!

The highlights of the Spring term were the Quiz Night for parents and the two Movie Nights for children in the Senior School.

The GPA also supported two “spring clean” initiatives: there was a competition across School to see who could carry out the

most spring clean activities at school and at home, plus we arranged for Bag2School to collect unwanted items.

The Summer term schedule included two new events for parents – the First Aid Course and the Makeup Workshop – both of which were favourably received by those who attended.

To finish off the school year, the GPA has planned a Summer Fun Day for families to enjoy.

The main beneficiary of GPA fundraising is the school. During the Autumn term, the GPA spent just over £22,500 on new woodland play equipment, new outdoor table tennis and table football tables, a new piano for the Music Room and new PA equipment in Gibbs Hall. The GPA also funded the Junior school Christmas treat afternoon and updated some of the school’s Christmas decorations. The main project for the Spring term was to support the introduction of an Accelerated Reader programme (ARP) (more details can be found at http://www.renlearn.co.uk/accelerated-reader/) as well as fund the two Movie Nights (costing around £9,000). Most recently, the GPA has approved the purchase of new outdoor play equipment for the Nursery and the purchase of a new stand up chiller unit for the kitchen (circa £3,000).

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the 2017/18 class reps and committee members for their hard work and hope that the good work continues into the next academic year.

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Alumni

by Mr Craig Phillips

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ayhurst is delighted to announce the recent formation of an alumni association known as the Gayhurstian Association (GHA) which coincides with the 110th anniversary of the school's founding.

Membership of the GHA is open to all ex pupils of all ages as well as past members of staff, all of whom will be known as "Gayhurstians".

The Steering Committee is now putting ideas together for future events and will communicate these to alumni in due course.

The aim of the GHA is to build a community of alumni through events and reunions, to provide opportunities for networking and to collate articles of memories, stories and photographs of the past.

To find out more about the GHA please go onto the school's webpage and find the GHA tab.The GHA page gives further information and there is a registration form which alumni are requested to complete in order to be formally enrolled as alumni.

The GHA Steering Committee was established to form the GHA and one of the first important items it needed to agree upon was a bold logo. It was decided to give this responsibility to the Year 6 pupils. Many creative and thoughtful designs were submitted to the Steering Committee who had the difficult task of deciding which to choose but who voted for the joint finalists' logos being amalgamated.

C S S

AYL R 1908

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The inaugural alumni gathering took place on Saturday 16th June on the Headmaster's Lawn. Refreshments were laid on and tours of the school were conducted by current pupils.

Over 100 alumni attended, several over the age of 70. It was fascinating to hear about their tales of life at Gayhurst after the ending of the war.

PBE

TAFFORD

One Tribe

I BB S

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2 years on since leaving Gayhurst by Lily Barker.

I was nervous about making new friends and finding my way around Challoner’s, my new school, as it is so much bigger. I felt sad to be leaving Gayhurst and my good friends who were going to other schools, but I was excited for what lay ahead. As my most favourite subject is and was PE; Mrs Shaw, Miss Robertson and Mrs Hall were all very good teachers at Gayhurst, and inspiring. I loved the subject and they made all the lessons and matches great fun.

The sizes of the schools and number of pupils are the main differences. I have a much bigger class (30 compared to 16) and a year group of 180 girls. The school is much bigger, although it didn’t take long to find my way around. Going to school by bus was quite daunting initially, but now I love the independence.

Coming from Gayhurst, I was used to having to organise my homework, having a locker and moving around the school to different lessons and teachers, although these things were all very new to many of my friends at the beginning of Year 7. I have a great set of friends at Challoner’s and enjoy the independence we have at break and lunchtimes. It’s been interesting studying new subjects such as Latin, Drama and German. I still see my Gayhurst friends. When I do come back to school, though, it all seems very small!

A year on since leaving Gayhurst by Matthew Ault

I finished my time at Gayhurst last year and joined Merchant Taylors’ School. Moving from Gayhurst to Merchant Taylors’ was a bit weird at first because you go from being the oldest and biggest to being the youngest and smallest, but you get used to this really quickly. When I changed school I was really excited, the only thing that ever worried me was the fact that I would not have any friends at Merchant Taylors’.

On the first day of term I made friends really quickly and there was no point in worrying at all.

The main difference between Gayhurst and Merchant Taylors’ School is that Merchant Taylors’ is a lot bigger. This meant that is was harder to remember where your classrooms were! The way to find your way around is to ask the older boys, but after a week you will be able to find your classrooms easily. The other big difference is the amount of pupils, there are a lot more, but that is ok as everyone is really friendly.

The teachers that inspired me at Gayhurst were Miss Carr because she is an amazing teacher and made music and being in the choir fun. She took us to Florence to sing in some amazing churches. Mr Brown was another of my favourite teachers because I loved doing games and P.E. and he was a great teacher.

I really like my new school, I am really enjoying science and all the fun experiments we get to do. I love all the sports and playing matches against other schools in hockey, rugby and cricket. In DT we are making some really cool things and it is really fun using all the great equipment especially the 3D printers!

A year on since leaving Gayhurst

by Warren Greaves

I moved on from Gayhurst in Year 6 in 2017 to Clairs’ Court. When I moved to Claires’ Court from Gayhurst I felt extremely nervous however after about a week I made lots of new friends and became familiar with the school layout. At Gayhurst my favourite subject was Religious Studies because it was something I found very interesting and was good at, and furthermore I particularly liked being taught about Buddhism. Also the teachers that most inspired me before moving on were; Miss Legg and Mr Bushnell, I was enthused by them due to their passion for teaching, also their firm but fair ways of maintaining order in class and a friend if I ever needed one. There were quite a few differences between Gayhurst and my new school such as being more independent by getting a coach to school every morning, being able to choose my own lunches on a daily basis in addition to being taught by many more male teachers than at Gayhurst. At first I felt these changes were daunting because I did not know anyone at school and was pushed out of my comfort zone by a new layout and new level of independence. I really am enjoying Claries’ Court now I have settled in well by making many friends, and am especially loving art because I love being free and creative, which has become a hobby of mine outside of school. This September I am moving on to year 8 and cannot wait for the academic year to commence. I look forward to coming back to Gayhurst in the future to catch up with all my old teachers. Best wishes for the new year.

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Staff News

by Mrs Maria Kay

T

he Gayhurst staff have been very sporty this year! Just to mention a few of our charitable and sporting endeavours - we started off with Mr Kearns completing the Berlin Marathon in September and included Mr Whitaker’s charity bike ride in January from London to Amsterdam as well as a 24 hour charity cycle (on a static bike) for Prostrate Cancer.

April saw Mr Plant (Finance Manager) take on an epic journey on two wheels, which in distance was akin to “Gerrards Cross to Gretna Green with Everest in the way!” and raised money for MDS (UK).

As a school we entered a children’s team and several staff members in to the Gerrards Cross Fun Run in May – it was a very hot day but great fun and lots of money was raised for the Epilepsy Centre in Chalfont St Peter and the Medical Dogs Unit.

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Some new additions to the Gayhurst family were baby Theo (Mrs Hall), baby Imogen (Mrs Atkinson-Thurtle) and baby George (Mrs Bremner). We were thrilled to meet them when their Mummies brought them in to visit.

We would like to thank Mrs Atkinson-Thurtle for her endeavours whilst covering Mrs Bremner’s maternity leave.

Ms Kearns who has taught here for seventeen years is moving on to become Head of Science and Head of Pastoral Care at Heatherton House in Amersham. We will miss her vibrancy and mad experiments!

Mr Sutherland and his wife and son are moving to Shanghai where he has secured a teacher’s post. We wish them all the best with this exciting challenge!

After eleven years of teaching at Gayhurst, Mrs Marshall retires at the end of this school year and she is looking forward to enjoying lots of time in the countryside walking and cycling.

Mrs Fardy, one of our Teaching Assitants, left to relocate to Mumbles in South Wales.

We thank all our leaving staff for their hard work and dedication and send them our best wishes for the future!

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Individual Stories

by Miss Michelle Upton

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e have so many stories posted on to our website, Facebook and Twitter that sometimes some very special personal triumphs can go by unnoticed.

I thought I would highlight a few of our children’s individual and personal successes on the next couple of pages…

Luca McCormick has had an incredible year in Year 6 at Gayhurst.

Not only did he win a Major Academic Scholarship to Merchant Taylors’ and was part of the trio that had great success at the TCS Oxford Computing Challenge but, among other successes, he was awarded a certificate of Highly Commended after entering a competition entitled ‘My Place in History’. He was awarded with his certificate at The Oratory School’s Carton De Wiart History presentation day.

Year 6 pupil Matthew Munn was awarded second place in a National Writing Competition which was open to children up to 18 years of age. His piece was entitled ‘How Can Religious Understanding Bring About Peace?’ and had to be kept under 300 words. Miss Legg who set the task was bursting with pride!

Luca McCormick (on the right)

Lotta Ross continues to win awards for her dancing that she undertakes out of school. At the beginning of this year Lotta won 3 trophies at the IDTA's. She was awarded 4th place in the Two-Step, 4th place in the Salsa and came 3rd in her favourite Cha Cha. Lotta also shared with her class some Norwegian goodies on the 17th May, which is Norway’s National Day, as Lotta has a Norwegian Grandmother.

Jocelyn Davies

Lotta Ross

Matthew Munn

Jocelyn Davies, stunned her classmates when they were all researching their respective family tree by bringing in a handwritten family tree that dated back to the 1200’s. The diagram showed that Jocelyn is distantly related to Sir Francis Drake.

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Robbie Borwick

We do love to put to rest gender stereotypes here at Gayhurst. The title of 2017/2018 Times Tables Champion has to go to Year 5 pupil Ilaria Artimeva as she smashed the Inter-House Times Table record.

She completed 100 questions in 80 seconds. This was five seconds faster than the record which had previously been held by a Year 8 pupil.

Sienna Rice

You may remember that some time ago Sienna Rice had the huge honour of having her design of a Lego Playset actually chosen by Lego as the overall winner. In September she was super excited to see her design come to life and be shipped to toyshops and sold. Of course, Sienna had her own model, which she brought in to school to show her classmates.

Two of our pupils, Matthew Tredgett and Alice Laventure, had their reading skills celebrated at their local library. Matthew won a Christmas reading challenge at the Gerrards Cross Library and in another competition run at the same Library, Alice also completed a reading challenge that meant she was put in to a raffle which she won. Of course both received prizes of new books – great news for these bookworms!

Matthew Tredgett

Alice Laventure

Robbie Borwick is an athlete to keep your eye on for the future. He competed in The Blenheim Palace Duathlon in June. He completed a 800m swim, 1200m bike ride and a 400m run – he was thrilled to bits to come first in his age group – what an accomplishment!

Ilaria Artimeva

Craft enthusiast, Anja Sticklen used her skills learnt in Pompom Craft Club and held a charitable stall selling her creations to raise funds for her favourite hedgehog saving charity, Tigggywinkles. Anja raised almost £50 for her prickly friends. She even made a pom pom hedgehog as a mascot.

Anja Sticklen

Hector Lamb

Way back in December 2017, Year 4 pupil Hector Lamb had the shock of his life when he bumped in to our new Head of Science, Mrs Inshaw at the Boxing Day Test Match in Australia! I thought teachers enjoyed time away from their pupils during the school holidays!

LEAVERS

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Leavers Harrison Adams 6W

Zenia Ali 6C

Carson Andrews 6C

Edward Ault 6W

William Barker 6K

I have really enjoyed my time here at Gayhurst School. I started in Year 3, which back then was still in the Junior School and my first teacher was Mrs Robbins-Begg.

I have enjoyed all my subjects but my favourites have been Games and History, because I really enjoy playing sports and I find learning about things that have happened in the past fascinating. I like all the teachers I’ve had at Gayhurst but if I was forced to choose my favourite teacher has to be Mr Whitaker - he even manages to make Maths fun! I’m going on to Chesham Grammar School and I’m really looking forward to it. My closest friends at Gayhurst are Nicholas, Olly, Edward and Finlay and even though we are all going to different schools I really hope we will keep in touch. I’ve got to say my happiest memory was when I scored 5 baskets against one team at the IAPS Basketball – it felt incredible!

I can’t belive that 2 years have gone by so quickly! I will miss the girls in my class and playing with them. My best friends have been Alice Fleming, Hannah Jukes, Simran Bhogal, Danella Jones and Amelia Garner. My favourite teachers have been Mrs Cook, Mrs Waters and Mrs Inshaw because they were always supportive and kind. Something I will always remember is being awarded Head of Taylor! It is the best House, GO TAYLOR!!! My favourite subjects were Games and Art. My favourite school trip was going to Kew Gardens. My favourite residential trip was going to France. We had lots of adventures including going to Disneyland and going on The Tower of Terror with my friends, I also really enjoyed Florence! I will really miss Gayhurst where I have met amazing friends and teachers, and I will hope to see them again! Next year I am looking forward to new challenges at Wycombe Abbey, my new school.

My favourite subject is maths and my favourite teachers are: Mr. Harris, Ms. Carr, Mrs. Waters, Mrs. Cook, and Mr. Whitaker. Some of my favourite memories are: The Paris residential trip, winning the house prize, being in the play Mary Poppins, and being with my friends. My best friends are: Leo, Felix, Marcus, David, Dan, Leon, and Anoop. I will miss my friends more than anything in the world because I am moving back to America and going to Legacy Prep and I will probably never see them again.

My favourite teachers are Miss Legg, Mr Brown and Miss Carr and Mrs RobbinsBegg because they are kind, funny and helpful teachers. My favourite subjects were Drama, Music, Art, ICT and English. I really enjoyed Drama because it is interactive.

I will be going to Merchant Taylors’ School in September, i am really looking forward to going there. My friends were Olly Fleming, Nicholas Storey, Jude Tohill and Solomon Chohan. We are all going to different schools, but i really hope we all stay friends. My happiest memories from Gayhurst were Thorpe Park and the choir trips to Florence and Vienna because I spent time with my friends.

I joined in Nursery and some of my favourite teachers throughout my time at Gayhurst have been Mr Harris, Ms Williams ( my Mum) Mr Kearns , Mr Brown, Miss Carr, Mrs Keeney and Mrs Waters because they are all very nice and helpful.

Some of my favourite subjects are ICT, Music, Drama and Games/PE. The next school I am going is Dr Challoners’ Grammar School. My best friends at Gayhurst are Finlay, Finley, Max, Jenson, Olly and Amelia Garner.

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Raghav Batra 6W

George Beddoe 6W

Simran Bhogal 6C

Louis Bloor 6C

Jake Bloor 6K

I really enjoyed my 5 years at Gayhurst and made lots of great friends. It was tough at first because everyone knew each other and I was a new boy, but I soon started mixing with the other boys especially on the playground where football at play times were great fun. My favourite subject in the first days was ICT and I remember using an App called Pivot where we controlled stick men. I also really enjoyed music lessons with Miss Carr and started guitar lessons with Mr Stungo. It took me a while to get to enjoy the guitar, but when I switched to learning the electric guitar, it was really fun. I remember a school production when I played “Yellow Submarine” but it was a little loud and not very recognisable!! I have improved a lot and achieved the “Strings Cup” at the end of Year 6. My best friends over the years were the Field twins, whom I had my first play dates with, the Fleming twins, whom I knew from Nursery; William, who just kept growing and growing; the two Finlays, who competed at everything; Jenson who was the friendliest kid in school; and finally Johnnie who is the most laid back person I know!! I am off to the Beacon in Year 7 and 8 and hope to keep in touch with my old friends. Finally, my happiest memories at Gayhurst was winning 4 medals at Sports Day in Year 4 and participating in the Year 6 production of Mary Poppins. Wishing everyone all the very best for the future.

I have been at Gayhurst since Nursery with Mrs Lennon who I liked. My favourite teacher in the Junior School was Mrs O and my favourite teacher in the Senior School was Mr. Brown. I am going to Dr Challoners’ Grammar school, where my older brother Joseph is. My best friends at school were Matthew, Webby and Jenson. I liked playing sport with Mr Kearns, especially the cross country club. My best football memory was winning our last match in Year 6 against Berko and The Beacon. My proudest moments were winning the Gayhurst County Cross Country and playing The Last Post on Remembrance Day.

I can’t belive 2 years went so quickly. I only came in Year 5 but I’ve made really good friends. My best friends from Gayhurst are; Zenia, Hannah, Alice, Danella and Amelia. My favourite teachers are; Mrs Cook, Miss Carr, Mr Harris and Mrs Keeney.

My favorite memories are the Kingswood trip, Kew Gardens, Vienna and France. My happiest memory was going to Disneyland. My favourite subjects are Maths, Art, History, Science, Games/EE, ICT and Drama. I’m going to St Mary’s School. I will miss Gayhurst so much, I’ve cherrished every moment.:)

My favourite part of Gayhurst is when I escaped from Nursery with my twin brother, we managed to get to the blue gates! One of the teachers found it funny but the rest didn’t! My best friends in the school are John O’Neill, Kyle Stanley, Thomas Field, Christian Field, Armaan Brar, Jude Tohill, Finlay Webster, and my brother Jake. My new school that I am going to is Berkhamsted. My favourite teachers are Mr Kearns, Mrs Keeney, Mr Harris, Mr Pendered, Mr Whitaker and Mrs Cook. My favourite subjects are definitley Games because all of the staff are so nice and History because it is so interesting and it has one of the best teachers. My happiest memory is the French trip and Mary Poppins because they were both really really fun!!!

I joined in Nursery and since then I have had an amazing time! My biggest memory that I will always remember is when on my first day of Nursery ,Louis and I climbed over the fence and escaped Nursery! My favourite teachers are Mr Brown, Mr Kearns, Miss Robertson, Mrs Terrar, Mrs Ross and Mrs Wilson who used to teach Nursery. All of these are my favourite teachers because they are all really nice and funny. My favourite subjects are… History, ICT, PE, Games and RS. In September I am going to Berkhamsted. All of my friends were Finlay, Thomas, Kyle, Kai, Christian, Johnnie, Finley, Christian. Some of my best memories are receiving all of my badges and the Yr 6 residential to Paris and the best part of that was Disneyland I also liked the Yr 4 residential to Bushcraft because it was our first residential.

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Armaan Brar 6W

Soloman Chohan 6W

Christian Cotter 6W

Nia Davies 6K

Anya Maria Everett 6K

Thomas Field 6K

I loved this school very much, I had a great time here. All the teachers were very nice and extremely jolly. My favourite subject was Maths because of how fun it was especially with Mr Whitaker. My favourite teachers were Miss Legg, Mr Whitaker, Mrs Keeney, Mr Pendered, Mr Bushnell and Mr and Mrs Kearns. My best friends were Jake and Louis Bloor, Kyle Stanley, Thomas and Christian Field, Johnnie O’Neill and Nicholas Storey. I am going to Berkhamsted as a secondary school with some friends, I have already made new friends from Berko. One of my oldest but favourite memories was the Queen’s Jubilee in Reception and also when we put a time capsule in the ground. I have a lots of other favourite memories, like when I first started playing the clarinet and piano with my two favourite music teachers Mr Robb and Miss Kereszturi. Also joining the clarinet bands. I loved Gayhurst School and had a great time here.

My favourite time during Year 6 was the Thorpe Park ride “Stealth”. I can still hear the screams ! I was very proud to be selected to be Head of Taylor. Generally I was friends with the whole year, but to name some particular guys, Oliver ( Fleming) Edward (Ault) Nicholas (Storey) and Jude (Tohill). My favourite teacher overall was Miss Legg, however Mr Whitaker has encouraged me with my Maths. My favourite subject was obviously maths! I am going to go to Davenies and I am extremely excited to make new friends and meet new teachers. My happiest memory is the feeling I was part of Gayhurst and also winning Best Chess Player Yrs 5 & 6.

I joined Gayhurst in Year 3 and immediately made lots of friends and settled in quickly. My favourite teacher was Miss Legg, as she always supported me and was very kind. My favourite subject was games because sports at Gayhurst were amazing and I improved a lot. My best memory is from Y5 when I created a rugby position called ‘The Cotter’. I will miss Gayhurst and all of the lovely teachers and my friends and I’m looking forward to the next few years at RGS.

When I joined I made friends with everybody but my best friends are all the girls.

My favourite teachers are Mrs Keeney, Miss Legg and Mr Pendered and Ms Kearns because they are all very kind. My happiest mermory from Bayhust was going to Chessington and Disneyland Paris.

My favourite teachers are Miss Robertson, Miss Carr and Ms Kearns, I like them because they are very helpful and they are funny. My happiest memory at Gayhurst is from Nursery, I was on the climbing frame with my best friend Jenna (she left at the end of Nursery). At the residential trip we went to Disneyland Paris and my favourite rides were the Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster and Indiana Jones.

My favourite subjects are: ICT, PE, Games and Drama. This September I will be going to Beaconsfield High School with Alice, Matilda and Amelia G, I will miss my other friends and I will miss Gayhurst.

I joined in Reception with Mrs Dibble, Mrs Williams and Mrs O’Flanagan. My favourite teacher is Mr Kearns because he is very funny and sporty, Mrs Dibble because she was really nice to me and Mr Harris because he was the best English teacher and he’s really nice. My absolute favourite subject is GAMES! Because I really really really love sport and especially football. I was in As for Rugby and Football and Bs captain for Cricket. In September I am going to Berkhamsted it is a really nice school. My best friends are Klye Stanley, Jake Bloor, Louis Bloor, Finlay Webster.

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Christian Field 6W

Alice Fleming 6C

Oliver Fleming 6W

Amelia Garner 6C

Dan Graham 6C

My favourite teacher is, by a mile, Miss Legg, because she has always been there for me. My favourite subject is GAMES!!!!!!!!!! I am going to Berkhamsted and I hope I will fit in. Gayhurst was like another home for me and I am sad to let it go but I know I will thrive and enjoy my next school. #Gayhurstians #Berko Boys #Gayhurst-for-life. Everyone was really my friend but the ones who were always there are Kyle, Jake, Louis, Armaan, Olly, Johnnie, Webby and lots more. I have had an excellent 7 years and many wonderful memories but a couple of my favourite memories include: seeing the Eiffel tower for the first time while we were in Paris but easily the top one was coming to this school in the first place and having the experience of being here.

I can’t believe my time here at Gayhurst has gone so quickly. My best friends over the years have been: Danella, Hannah, Akaal, Theadora, Zenia, Simran and Amelia G because I have made so many great memories with them. My favourite teachers have been: Miss Carr, Mr Harris, Mrs Waters and Mrs Cook. I also like the new changes that Mr Davies has made by adding Captains/Heads. I was lucky enough to be Sports Captain once and Head of Stafford twice (GO STAFFORD!). Games is my favourite subject because I love being active. I have been on many residential trips and my favourite ones have been Vienna, Florence and France. I cannot choose my favourite memory because I have had so many. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at Gayhurst and will miss it greatly but I am also looking forward to starting a new adventure at my new school Becky High.

My favourite teacher was Miss Carr because she was always cheerful. I liked most subjects but Drama was my favourite. I am going to RGS in High Wycombe.

Everyone was my friend but my best friends were Jude, Edward, Nicholas and Soloman. My happiest memory was singing Once in Royal David’s City at the Carol Concert.

Being at Gayhurst has shaped the beginning of my life.It has been a fantastic journey and adventure, I have made many friends and most of them I will never forget. The teachers are so lovely and will always remain so. My most memorable memory is the number 78 in maths (Johnnie O’Neil will get it). I have made many memories with friends for example, Mini Fee Club House Friends (Only a few will remember) or friends like Olly and Alice Fleming and the Xme clan. I have friends like Charlie Wright, Nicholas Storey, Dan Graham and many many more. But these friends made me who I am so I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I cannot paint a picture in only a few sentences but I hope it does paint something. Drama has been a big part of my life and I love it. I have faced many challenges especially in my role as Head Girl but it did not drag me down, don’t let troubles drag you down.

Keep going and someday you will achive your final goal. Have a fantastic year. I may say goodbye to Gayhurst now but it will forever be in my heart. Lots of love ♥ Amelia Garner

I’ve been at Gayhurst for 7 years and have learnt so much and have made lots of friends like David Hayes, Leon Rudak, Amelia Garner and Olly Fleming. The Choir trips were amazing (apart from losing my passport, losing my expensive sunglasses, not having lunch on the same day and losing my notebook at the tower of Pisa.) and Miss Carr (the best teacher because she is fun) ran them.The school has prepared me for Dr Challoner’s (the school I’m going to) and am confident in subjects like ICT and Maths (which are my favourite subjects). Thank you for reading this.

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Adam Halpert 6C

David Hayes 6C

Jenson Ives 6K

Anoop Johal 6C

Hannah Juke 6C

Amelia Kashis 6K

I very much enjoyed Year 6. All of the responsibilities were very interesting. I joined in Year 5 (2016). I came to England without one word in English and almost everything that I remember from Year 5 was the amount of support I got and I appreciate it so much. My favourite subject is English I find it very fun and I like writing and my favourite teacher is Mr Bushnell. Im going to LVS Ascot and I got an Art Scholarship. My best friends are Max and Marcus. Max helped me with my English when I was new and was the only one that took the responsibility and Marcus was a very good friend since the end of Year 5.

My favourite teacher during the whole of Gayhurst is by far Mr Pendered because he is fun, kind, encouraging and he plays badminton with me on Friday lunchtime. My best friends are Dan, Carson, Leon, Anoop, Jayden, Johnnie, Louis, Jake, Amelia, Charlie, Soloman, Arman, Finlay and Kyle. My favourite subject by far is definitely Maths because it’s fun, not too hard but not too easy. My favourite time at Gayhurst was the leavers’ trips. My next school is going to be Berkhamsted!!

My favourite teacher was Mrs Baker because she was really kind and helpful. I also liked Mrs Keeney, Mrs Waters, Miss Legg and Mrs Inshaw plus Miss Carr. My favourite subjects were English, Drama, Art, Music, Games, R.S and History. I am going to Merchant Taylors’. My best friends were Max, William, Finley, Stefan, Finlay, George, Luca, and Matthew. My favourite memory was performing with Jenny Junior (my superhero pen sidekick) in the school talent show.

My favourite thing was when my friends, Louis and Jake escaped from Nursery but I tried to and I got caught! Going to Kingswood that has amazing activites and nice rooms. Going on my last ever Choir trip to Vienna and eating at Hard Rock Café. My favourite teacher are Miss Robertson and Mr P!!!!!

I can’t believe my time at Gayhurst has gone so quickly. I joined Gayhurst in Year 4 with Mrs Waters as my teacher. I have made lots of great friends like Alice, Danella, Simran, Zenia and Amelia G. My favourite teachers have been Mrs Cook, Mrs Waters, Mr Harris, Mr Pendered and Miss Carr. My favourite residential trip was France where we had lots of fun especially at Disneyland Paris. My favourite subject is Games, I was lucky enough to be awarded Sports Captain. I cannot chose my favourite memory because I have had so many. I will really miss Gayhurst but am looking forward to more challenges and adventures at my new school RMS ( Royal Masonic School)

I first joined Gayhurst in Year 2 in Mrs Marshall’s class and I was scared to speak in front of everybody. But that didn’t last! My favourite memory was Kingswood on the 3G swing. It was very understandable why some people didn’t want to go to the full height, but I did!! My favourite subject was Science and my least favourite was French. My favourite teacher was Mrs Ross in the Junior School. She was very understanding to all the girls and their troubles and she solved several disputes between most of 6k and most of 6c. Amelia G and I were rarely involved! My best friends where Nia and Simran. I will miss them very much.

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Matilda Lamb 6K

Dylan Line 6C

Stefan Lubliner 6W

Krish Magar 6K

Luca McCormick 6W

When I first joined I was nervous but I made friends with Anya on the first day and I wasn’t nervous anymore. My favourite teacher was Mrs Marshall because she was my form teacher and stopped me from getting lost on the first day but now it is Mr Pendered because he is fun and plays games. My favourite subject is Games because I like sport particularly cricket. I am going to Becky High with Anya, Alice and Amelia Garner. My best friends are Nia, Anya, Anna and all the other girls in Year 6.

My happiest memory is from Year 6 residential at Disney Land Paris when I went on lots of rides and Anna and I got lost. It will feel weird leaving Gayhurst, I’ll miss my friends a lot.

I have had a great time in Gayhurst from the good and the bad. One of my best years was Year 3 because my favourite teacher Mrs Smith taught me. She was my favourite teacher because she was always nice and she was always doing the best thing for me.

I really liked Mrs Smith. Year 3 was my first class that I was going to stay in until Year 6. One of my favourite trips in Year 5 was at Kingswood. It was great because we did lots of activities like the 3G swing and the robot experiment. I went with Jake Bloor, it was nerve wracking but it was good. My best friends were Louis Bloor, Jake Bloor, Johnnie O’Niell and Finlay Webster. My favourite subject was Sport. It has been a great 8 years at Gayhurst, I have loved my time here. I’m off to Haileybury in September on a Sport Scholarship.

Going back to September in Year 6 was weird because I just wasn’t used to being at the top of the school and you had a new form teacher, a new classroom and everything, the school had changed a lot! On my first day at Gayhurst I was extremely nervous but at the same time I was very excited because it was a new school, which means new teachers new friends new everything! It ended up being a great day and I extremely enjoyed it! My favourite teacher at Gayhurst was Miss Legg because when I first joined the school she was super welcoming and made me feel at home during the first couple of months. My favourite subject was probably English. I am going to Dr Challoner’ Grammar School. My friends were Jayden Shah, Max Palmer, Christian Cotter, Finley Connolly and Thomas and Christian Field. My happiest memory of Gayhurst was going to Thorpe Park, it was awesome!

My favourite teachers are Mr Kearns, Mr Brown, Mr Bushinell , Mr Harris, Mrs Keeney, Miss Legg, Mrs Waters and Miss Carr, because they are all really kind to me and make me laugh and are really generous. My favourite subjects are Games, PE, RS, English, Art and History. I am going to the Beacon.

I joined Gayhurst in Year 3, and have enjoyed 4 happy years of fun, laughter and tremendous experiences during my education. Mrs Sims (English) was my favourite teacher because she gave me confidence in my own abilities and nurtured in me a love of writing. I also loved Science with Mrs Inshaw. I really looked forward to Art and Drama lessons because they were a chance for me to be creative and relax in a less structured environment. On the other hand I also enjoyed Maths, English and Science. I felt lucky to be in a really nice class for the whole time. My best friends are Jayden, Matthew, George, Jenson, Finlay Webster and Edward. My happiest memories at Gayhurst were being the first person to win Mrs Sims’ English Cup, and playing football at break time with the ‘Patatas Fritas’ team. I am really looking forward to going to Merchant Taylors’ School where I hope to make Gayhurst proud!

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Matthew Munn 6W

Johnnie O’Neill 6C

Max Palmer 6K

Kai Patel 6K

Marcus Rollafson 6K

Leon Rudak 6K

My favourite things to do in Senior School were attending cross country meetings; going on the French trip and winning the 600m at sports day. I have been here since Nursery. My favourite things to do in Junior School were painting and dressing up in Nursery and playing during break with my friends on the adventure trail. My favourite teachers were Mrs Wilson, Mrs Walton and Mrs Lennon because they helped me with the basic things like reading, writing and speaking. When I first got to Gayhurst I wasn’t good at speaking. My favourite subject was RS. My new school is Doctor Challoner’s Grammar School. My best friends at Gayhurst were George, Luca, Finlay and Jenson and my happiest memories are playing with them at break, whether on the astro, adventure trail or on the field.

My favourite memory at Gayhurst School is when in Nursery we were playing hide and seek , and I creeped out of the Nursery and went into the Art room no one noticed me. The whole school were looking for me but I came out eventually. It will be sad leaving my friends especialy Louis and Jake Bloor.

I joined in Nursery, my favourite teachers are Miss Legg, Mrs Baker, Mrs Robbins -Begg, Miss Crosbie, Mr Kearns, Mrs Keeney, Mrs Inshaw and Miss Carr because they were all really helpful, kind and super funny. My favourite subjects are English, Drama, Music, Art, Games, ICT, History and RS. I am going to a school called Reading Blue Coats. My favourite friends were William, Marcus, Adam, Jenson, Stefan, Finlay Webster, Finley Connoly, George and Kai. My happiest memory was when I was running round the field in Nursery. I ran away and they couldn’t find me for 10 minutes. Now that I think back on it, it is hilarious.

I have enjoyed my time at Gayhurst school, I am going to a school called Merchant Taylors’ School. My favourite teachers are: Mrs Keeney, Mr Kearns and Mr Harris but all the teachers are nice. My favorite subjects are ICT, PE and Games. Some of my best friends are Marcus, Max, Jake, Louis, Thomas, Kyle and William.

My favourite teachers are Miss Crosbie, Mrs Cook, Miss Carr, Mrs Williams. These are my favourite teachers because they are funny, active and creative. I am going to Thorpe House School because it is a little like Gayhurst and it is a fun school. My favourite subjects are RS, CT, Science, Maths, English, Art, Music and Drama. My best friends are Max, Kai, Jake, William, Jenson, Finley, Krish, Adam, George and David. My favourite time at school was the France trip because I got to hang around with my friends and go to Disneyland which was very fun and exciting we got to go on lots of rides and the best one was Tower of Terror.

My favourite memory is when I won 2(!!!) races at Sports Day as I never ever won a race before. Some of my best friends are David, Dan, Leo, Snoop (aka Anoop) and Carson. I am going to Chesham Grammar after Gayhurst. My favourite subject is probably ICT and maybe Maths and my favourite teacher is Miss Legg because she is nice and the fact she sometimes winks at me and ruffles my hair and Mr Pendered (also known as Mr P). A really embarrassing moment was in Year 2 when I didn’t know that my class (2M) was inside the classroom so I went to the lunch hall and they weren’t there so I hid under the table tennis table and waited (also someone from year 5/6 saw me and said hi) but they eventually came back.

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Jayden Shah 6C

Leo Slowikowski 6C

Anna Stalder 6K

Kyle Stanley 6W

I joined in Year 1 and was a little bit scared, but when I joined Seniors School I found school really fun. My favourite lesson is Games and my best friends are Finlay, Johnnie and Stefan also I do not have a favourite teacher because they are all great and make sure everyone has the help that they need. Now I am going to John Lyon in Harrow and I am very happy. My happiest moment was when Mrs Clarke put chocolate sauce onto my chips.I don’t know anyone who is going to John Lyon and it is going to be very sad leaving all my friends behind. My favourite year was Year 5 because I think I improved in all my subjects and had a very fun time.My favourite trip at Gayhurst was Kingswood even though there were ants in our room ! I thought the rides were very fun. I have enjoyed my time at Gayhurst and it will be very sad to leave it behind.

My favourite teachers are Mrs Waters because she was a really fun form teacher, Miss Carr beacause she is is really fun, Miss Crosbie because she is really nice, Miss Legg because she is really nice and teaches the subject really well and Mr Harris because he was our form teacher in Year 5. My best friends are Carson, Felix, Leon, Dan, Anoop and David. My favourite subject is Music because my Mum played the Clarinet to Grade 8 and I want to do that too! My happiest memory is Bushcraft in Year 4 and I am going to Shiplake College with a Music Exhibition. I will miss Gayhurst very much.

It is really hard to think of a favourite teacher because I liked loads! Mr Pendered however is really up there. He is funny and kind and always takes great lessons. My favourite subject ended up being Games and P.E. When I started at Gayhurst I had never played Hockey or Netball and I didn’t feel very confident at all in these areas but the Games staff changed all of that and taught me lots of new skills. I shall begin Year 7 at Pipers Corner school and I am really looking forward to it. I made lots of great friends at Gayhurst and I know I will stay in touch with quite a few of them.

I have lots of happy memories but the Residential trips to Vienna and Paris were brilliant. The teachers were great fun and you get to know everyone really well.

Who was your favourite teacher and why? - Mr Whitaker because he made the lessons enjoyable. What is your favourite subject? – Maths. Where are you going? Dr Challoners Grammer School. Who were your friends? - Too many to name all but mainly Jake , Louis, Thomas, Christian, Armaan, Johnnie, Kai. What is your happiest memory? – World Book Days and Red Nose Day as we got to have loads of fun doing various activities.

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Nicholas Storey 6W

Jude Tohill 6W

Finlay Webster 6W

I have made so many incredible memories which I will cherish forever from the trips to in the classroom. When I first joined Gayhurst in Reception I immediately felt welcome and that this was the right place to be. The teachers I will always remember are the Junior School ones especially Mrs Baker and Mrs O’Flanagan. As they were always there for me and helped me so much to really find who I was. Some of my favourite memories at Gayhurst have been the outstanding trips that we have been on, in particular the Choir and Art tours around Europe as you learnt so much, got to sing in amazing places and you get to stay in a room with your friends which is great fun :). Also, at lunch Soloman always used to be very funny as he cut himself with a breadstick and he dropped a lemon and forgot about it and when he went to leave he stood up and slipped on the lemon. It was hilarious! (for us anyway.) ‘What is your happiest memory?’ This one really got me thinking about the amazing times and the small things that made your day but out of all it has to be the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration where we all had to come in in hats and my hat was a cake which was supposed to have 60 candles for 60 years but my friends and I counted and it had 61 which I was not at all happy about. On that day there was lunch on the astro which had bunting and everything festive you could think of. That is my happiest memory! My next school will be Dr Challoner’s Grammar School which I am looking forward to greatly but also, I will miss all the amazing friends that I have made at Gayhurst that I shared all my memories and happiness with. Thank you, Gayhurst, for an amazing start to my life. I have truly loved it.

I moved to Gayhurst from Jakarta, Indonesia, I spent Years 5 & 6 in the school. It was my first time to live in the U.K. My favourite teachers have always been Mr Brown and Miss Carr because they were both very nice and kind to me. My favourite subjects were Maths, History, P.E and Games. I made many friends in Gayhurst and I think we will remain friends for a long time. I will begin Year 7 in the British School of Bucharest. My happiest memory was my 11th Birthday party in my garden at home with all my closest friends from Gayhurst.

I joined in Reception and my time has been amazing. My favourite teachers were Mr Harris, Mr Brown, Mr Kearns, Miss Robertson, Mrs Keeney, Miss Carr. I really enjoyed having lessons but my favourite lesson was definitely games. My next school is going to be Berkamsted. My friends were George, Matthew, Jenson, William, Max, Connoly, Thomas, Jayden, Jonnie, Christian. , Jake, and lots of other people.

My happiest memories at Gayhurst is being awarded Head Boy and playing sports at Gayhurst for the A team. Everyone from Gayhurst has been great and I have had a great time. I love sport and I am in A team for all sports. Sports has been the best thing here at Gayhurst. Thank you!

Gayhurst School Bull Lane Gerrards Cross Buckinghamshire SL9 8RJ 01753 882690 enquiries@gayhurstschool.co.uk www.gayhurstschool.co.uk