Preppers Annual 2021 - 2022

2021-22

Contents

Welcome to our first Preppers Magazine which I hope will be a welcome roundup of the academic year 2021 to 2022 and a memento for you to keep of these special years in your children’s school adventures.

This is a celebration of the events of the year as we have returned to many more of the exciting elements that help to make a superb learning experience for the children.

It has been wonderful to see the children engage with such vigour and seize every opportunity available within our diverse and incredibly broad educational provision. This is a worthy tribute to our fantastic pupil body and their insatiable desire to embrace life in all its fullness. In my first year as Head, each and every day I have seen that the happiness of the children is the beating heart of the school and it is the warmth of our community which binds the children, staff and parents together. These are truly authentic qualities that define Sherborne Prep which gives me pride, as Head, and as we strengthen our values and move forward as one, the future of the School is bright.

Team: Zoe Sheffield and Lizzie Watson

Our home from home

It has been wonderful to be back with the boarding house in full swing! This year has already provided us with so many memories that it is hard to know where to begin, or even remember where the year began...

As well as our full boarders, we have welcomed back our weekly and flexi boarders, which has meant that our weekdays have been busy and fun filled, with a pleasant vibe in the evening and plenty of opportunities for the children to reacquaint themselves with each other- clearly a major aspect of their childhoods that they have missed out on and one that we are thrilled to be able to support.

Whether out on the astro or playing pool, a quick game of table football, Jenga, Mario Kart or just Uno in the common room, the children are clearly enjoying and growing in each other’s company. To facilitate this, we have expanded and opened up a second Common Room; now providing one for games (and a little noise!), and a second for a more relaxed atmosphere for those who want it.

We have also enjoyed providing a selection of year group sleepovers throughout the year,

allowing each year group the opportunity to dip their toe back into a boarding environment.

As per usual, our campouts have proved to be a success and the excitement amongst the children of a night in a tent out on the front lawn never fails to amaze me! This year we have had to move to a junior and senior campout to allow for all the year groups to fully benefit from the opportunity.

Our weekend activities have continued to be an exciting draw for many children, and we have been fortunate enough that the weather has held for the majority! Mind you, a couple of the grottier weekends weatherwise have proved the most enjoyable - West Bay in the rain provided a memorable swimming experience!

As always, family has been at the heart of the boarding house and it has been fantastic to see not only my own children enjoy reintegrating to the boarding community again, but the children themselves, whether full or flexi, quickly remember what being part of the Sherborne Prep Boarding family is all about.

Thinking back to September, a particular highlight of the year was our welcome meeting, where many children and parents were able to gather in the sunshine to reconnect after so many months of separation.

Many parents hadn’t even seen the PrePrep buildings due to Covid restrictions so it was a great pleasure to welcome everyone back onsite.

This year, forest school was added to the weekly timetables of all Pre-Preppers and it has been so much fun to explore nature in more detail, build fires, make dens and develop our stamina for walking. It was also lovely to be able to return to Gore Farm and visit the animals there.

In October we said a sad farewell to Miss Newport and Miss Lindsey who had both been teaching assistants with us for many years but we were happy to welcome Mrs O’Donnell who has been a fabulous addition to the Pre-Prep staff team.

In November, we held our first music concert in the Tindall Recital Hall –music in Pre-Prep is thriving and it was wonderful to have such a fabulous venue to perform in.

Our Christmas events were numerous as always, with the Christmas tree festival at Cheap Street Church, Nursery and Pre-

Prep nativity plays, Christmas fair, whole school lunch, party and carol service in the beautiful Sherborne Abbey.

Mrs Berry fell off her bike in January and broke her arm, which gave us access to some interesting x-rays to study for our fascinating topic about bodies.

Our performing arts workshop in February demonstrated how many opportunities the children have to explore skills outside of the classroom and our violinists, recorder players, gymnasts and dancers all excelled.

In March, year 1 and 2 ventured out to Dorchester to see the treasures of the Tutankhamun exhibition and were fascinated by the mummies on display. Year 2 all worked hard on their English Speaking Tests and passed with flying colours.

Easter came around quickly and was celebrated with fantastic egg hunts organised by the Friends of Sherborne Prep, a superb talent show and Abbey service.

The summer term began in bright sunshine and a new topic for year 1 and 2 about rainforests was launched. Reception and Nursery got seriously into gardening and had fun collecting tadpoles from the Pre-Prep science pond. Reception suddenly began to produce prolific amounts of writing, showing that their hard work through the year on phonics and handwriting was really paying off.

In May, Pre-Prep all travelled to Port Regis school to take part in a gymnastics competition and everyone performed very well, with visitors praising how well our children celebrated each other’s success.

Children worked hard to learn lines for the summer play ‘Tattybogle’ and we heard strains of Nursery preparing for their end of year concert.

As I write, we look forward to beach trips, farm visits, a trip to the sub-tropical gardens, an athletics festival, sports day and so much more.

We have packed many wonderful things into the year, reinforcing our ethos that children learn by experiences and when they are happy and engaged, ably supported by our fabulous staff team.

Our performing arts workshop in February demonstrated how many opportunities the children have to explore skills outside of the classroom and our violinists, recorder players, gymnasts and dancers all excelled.

ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS FOR OF STUDENTS

Scholarships

This year we had a huge number of academic scholarships with 50% of our year 8 leavers gaining coveted awards to schools including Sherborne Girls, Sherborne School, Kings Bruton, Wellington School, Canford and Cheltenham Ladies. We are very proud of all our year 8 pupils for their dedication and commitment to their studies and thank all the wonderful staff who prepared them so well in the fact of often arduous examinations!

Accelerated Reader

Introduced at the start of the year this scheme helps pupils to choose appropriate texts which challenge and further their understanding, whilst fostering a love for literature. Staff monitor pupils on their rate of reading and check their understanding of the texts on a weekly basis.

Impressively, 50% of teaching groups have increased their reading age by over a year and with our Home Connect platform being frequently accessed by parents it’s clear that our children are choosing to read more, both in school and at home. This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on writing and literacy skills across the curriculum and we are thrilled with the impact it has made already.

Curriculum Update

We are tweaking the junior curriculum slightly so that years 3 to 5 will spend more time with their form teacher. This change will see science, humanities, personal development along with English and Maths taught by the same teacher. In year 3 we are introducing Italian and year 4 will be taught German. French will continue to be taught from year 5.

Year 5s will receive forest school (continuing on from years 3 & 4)

ICT

Our 21 new touch screen devices in the ICT Suite allows both tactile and intuitive learning for the KS1 children, whilst also retaining the key skills of keyboard and mouse use that will continue to be required in both educational and workplace settings for the foreseeable future.

Access to Teams and Office 365 has become the norm for every ICT lesson, with lessons taking place online and on OneNote so blended learning becomes the norm for both those in class and remote learning. This happens from year 3 up.

5 Top Trends in Schools

From diversity of learning and flexible communication to life skills and pastoral care in today’s fast-paced world – Natalie Bone reveals all.

Diversity of learning

Children today have a vast array of engaging and exciting entertainments that compete for their attention, impacting on the nature of their approach to learning and their ability to concentrate and focus. Many children find it difficult to sit through an entire film, programme or conversation, often choosing short, high impact, highly visual media to watch such as Tik Tok, YouTube clips or games. Teachers need to increasingly focus on the experience the child receives and be ever more creative to capture and hold their attention.

Teachers also need a wide repertoire of delivery and activities to suit different learning styles such as auditory, visual and kinaesthetic/doing and allow for a rich tapestry

of ability; guiding children to persevere and achieve their goals – however small they seem. Allowing children to discover facts, procedures, and insights for themselves also often brings incredible and insightful contributions and a new dimension of vibrancy – a huge motivator for learning success.

Trying new things without fear grows resilience and creativity, and to learn how to fail is vital; we focus so much on succeeding that children get the wrong message – we actually learn more from our failures than our successes and children need to see that mistakes are learning opportunities.

Removing the general stigma associated with purely academic ability emphasises a deeper respect for celebrating individual strengths

and talents, and normalises the challenges associated with having to work a little harder in some areas than others.

Investing in this acceptance keeps children grounded with a respect of all abilities, without judgement, throughout the whole of their lives.

Connection

It is important that children are aware of what is going on around them and of themselves. Part of any child’s self-assessment toolbox is to be able to effectively work with others and have the opportunity to reflect on how valuable a skill this is; facilitating the opportunity to bounce ideas around enables really good discussion and dialogue.

Layered support is important; having a dedicated adult whom they can speak to, but also knowing that they are valued and cared about by several people. If children feel safe, happy, nourished and secure then they are going to make the best progress possible. Form teachers are vital: they have connections with the children every day and they are their first port of call. They oversee the pastoral and academic progress of each child and because of this they flourish.

Flexible communication

Parents are busier than ever and when you have a lot of information to send out, as schools do, you must look at ways to streamline that information to make communications efficient and easily accessible. But it is not just about information sharing, it is about reassurance and care with a personal touch. Having daily and weekly dialogue with parents allows teachers to be responsive to parent’ needs and requirements – and not just within school hours.

Pastoral care in our modern world

Healthy technology use is very much about discussing our relationship with it. Children

need to know how to use it as a tool and feel safe and it is about balance and this goes for every relationship we might develop such as exercise, food, friendships etc.

E-safety is e-motional safety. Some children are really tech savvy, but if they cannot cope emotionally with the volume of information, or content they are processing, then we need to allow for greater awareness and understanding and give children the chance to discuss this objectively. They’re still little children, despite greater technology exposure and inevitable desensitisation.

Life skills

To grow into loving adults, children need to feel loved. They need to learn how to show and understand their emotions and the emotions of others to self-regulate as they grow up. A school’s core values, like kindness, perseverance, awareness, generosity, honesty and independence, which become their foundations for the future, make it very easy for our children to see this in action.

Real conversations with eye contact from birth develops the basis for literacy. Having stories read to them teaches them so much about grammar and rhythm, and a love of stories leads very naturally into a love of reading. However, children need to see their adults reading to know that it is valued.

Children also need be taught how to take care of themselves and make time to relax. Our lives are far too frenetic and if children have only this modelled by parents, they often also fill their time with activity and not make room for wellbeing and much needed neutral head space. In the same way exercising regularly and eating healthily is fundamental for future health of body and mind.

Natalie

Bone written for Muddy Stilettos

Whether in the classroom, the laboratory or outside among nature, there is a buzz among pupils in every Science lesson.

Investigation is at the core of the curriculum and the children have explored so many interesting topics through practical experiments and research led by an enthusiastic team of Science teachers.

Highlights in year 3 have included growing their own plants from beans, comparing how well they

When year 5 look back on their year, many remember the visual, if vivid, dissection of a sheep’s heart in the Spring. Showing the pupils this important organ made it even more relatable to describe how we can stay healthy and what the benefits of exercise and a balanced diet can be.

to show the different dyes. In Biology, a true highlight was the creativity when they were asked to create a model of an animal cell. The children used Lego, origami, papiermâché and even the videogame Minecraft to create detailed models of the cells and their components.

Year 6 have had their first year exploring the separate disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Their first foray into the senior Sciences involves many practical investigations and independent ideas. In Chemistry, the pupils have

At the top of our school, year 8 have been able to carry out intricate experiments to demonstrate complex ideas, such as reacting metals with acids. A particular joy was watching them learn more about the natural world with a focus one

have grown in different conditions in the classroom and hopefully many will be inspired to help with the garden at home this summer.

The children in year 4 have learned more about the physical and chemical processes we see every day, from melting chocolate to burning candles. They have also looked carefully at the natural world and many imitated Sir David Attenborough in observing minibeasts around the school grounds.

made their own indicators from red cabbage to test for acids, alkali and neutral substances. In Physics, one memorable lesson involved making rainbows with refracted light just as Sir Isaac Newton had done to show the spectrum of light.

Pupils in year 7 launched into learning about separating mixtures, applying the knowledge to separating the inks in their pens with chromatography. The colourful chemistry creates beautiful patterns

ecology. Understanding the delicate balance between populations of a species and their habitat has brought home just how precious life on our planet really is. The year 8 pupils have looked carefully at how conservation is applied in situ and have written thoughtful pieces on the role of humans as caretakers of this miraculous world.

In Biology, a true highlight was the creativity when they were asked to create a model of an animal cell. The children used Lego, origami, papier-mâché and even the videogame Minecraft to create detailed models of the cells and their components.

Investigating, experimenting and analysing

We had a rather exciting project to conquer in English this year: to rethink the way that we approach reading across the whole school.

The aim was simple - to ensure that all pupils were reading regularly and for enjoyment. After much research and conversation, it was agreed that Accelerated Reader (AR) should be implemented to allow all teachers to track, monitor and support every child in their reading week in, week out.

The first stage was to transform the Library. We decided to split the room into three ‘zones’, so that all year groups were accessing books that were appropriate and relevant to their age

group. Every book in the Library needed to be ‘stickered’ (oh – there were so many stickers) with their AR information labelled on the back. The beautiful BookSpace furniture was ordered in the October half-term and by the end of the Christmas holiday, we had reached the second stage; providing a stunning new space for the children to enjoy (we love the reading toadstools!) and then teaching everyone how to choose a book from their own, personalised ‘reading range’.

The final stage took place over the Lent term. Pupils (and their teachers) immersed themselves in the scheme, following the process of choosing a book, reading a book and then completing a quiz on that book. By April, the results spoke for themselves. In just

four months, every year group had increased their average reading age by at least 7 months, some by over a year! As more top tips on books are shared amongst the pupils, there is a buzz about reading across the school and it is wonderful to know that all subjects are benefitting from this project.

Whole school annual events such as Poetry by Heart and World Book Day are incredibly special at SPS and it was exciting to have all year groups get together for the 2022 celebrations, where we could share our passion for stories, characters, books and poetry – both pupils and staff alike!

In just four months, every year group had increased their average reading age by at least 7 months, some by over a year!

Exploring the wonders of English

Letter to a Child of the Future

Reading doubles your life, over and over. You enter other worlds and encounter different people. Are the characters just like someone you know, or perhaps they are you? The world of books is the world of imagination, both believable and unbelievable. The characters are lifelong friends, forever ready and waiting to take you by the hand and lead you into their reality. They are constants in your life, at your beck and call, always on your terms. You will never be alone with a book in your hand and words in your head. When you read a story you step into someone else’s shoes, seeing their world from their perspective. You become them. Reading gives a powerful, concentrated type of understanding. Your feelings, and the characters’ situations and emotions, mixed with a special type of literary fairy dust, make for vivid perception. Intrinsic to books, this alchemy of second-

hand/first-hand insight creates deep empathy.

Books are a place of safe retreat when life gets tough. Taking you out of yourself, stepping into the familiar reliable world of an old favourite provides an invaluable source of comfort and healing. Your mind escapes and returns refreshed, stronger than ever. Your world may change but the worlds in your books will not. Emma Watson says, ‘When times get really dark and times are really hard, stories give us a place where we can go, where we can rest and feel held.’

Reading emphasises life’s pattern, leading to recognition. A thrill of connection is felt on discovering that someone has read the same book as you. If all the books you have ever read were piled up in a room,

would anyone else have read the same books, in the same order? The combination of books you read is as unique to you as your fingerprints. Books tell that we have something in common, that we are not alone. Have you ever read a poem and thought, ‘I’ve had that exact feeling and here it is expressed perfectly in so few words’? Your special books, the ones that nurture and shape you most, leave their imprint so indelibly that even many years later they remain fresh in your mind. Often, the way you felt about the book lends it significance. Where you read it may be part of the memory placing the important book on your life’s timeline. As a child I read The Hobbit all night, by torchlight, lying on a military camp bed downstairs in a transit flat in New Zealand. It took my breath away. How could a book be this good?

Vera Nazarian

When you thread your time through with books, your life from ‘kiddie-car to hearse’ as Nancy Mitford puts it, will be not only enhanced and enriched, but far more fun.

‘Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow more light in.’

Vera Nazarian

‘There is no Frigate like a Book. To take us Lands away…’

Emily Dickinson

Tamsin Holroyd, Teacher and Librarian written for The Sherborne Times

‘Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow more light in.’

Another wonderful year in History has flown past, with so many enriching and exciting learning opportunities for our children to engage in. Highlights have been many, and pupils have continued to enjoy the investigative nature of a subject that specialises in analysis and evaluation.

Over the last three terms, year 3 have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into their chosen

curriculum, with the highlights being Dinosaurs, Fossils and Early Man. Many of 3H were so inspired by the topic that they brought in their own fossils. Study then turned to the Celts and the Romans, and they are currently investigating the Vikings!

Activities have been interactive and varied and year 3 now have a rather knowledgeable understanding of these civilisations and the way they lived.

Meanwhile, and in order to keep within chronological context, Year 4 have been fascinated by their study

Death - I can only say, most were truly disgusting!

Tudor England has captivated year 5 this year and the children have enjoyed many interactive learning opportunities. From the Battle of Bosworth to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, year 5 have demonstrated their absolute fascination in the period and its most influential people. The high point of the year being Historical Hot Seating, a re-enactment of the Royal Court of Henry VIII, and Tudor Crime and Punishment which saw all of year 5 guilty of a selection of horrible crimes, cruelly convicted and in ‘the Stocks’ awaiting their punishment!! Wet sponges in the face, the children loved it!!

their personal allegiance to within the English Civil War. Arguments have been written, opinions hotly contested, and battle lines finally drawn – all that is left is for year 6 to join the English Civil War, 1642!

of Medieval England. The Norman Conquest and 1066 still proving as memorable and as exciting as ever, the children have enjoyed every aspect of the period. As budding historians and investigators the children have analysed and considered every detail of who would and should succeed Edward the Confessor and take the English throne. They have marvelled at the details of the Battle of Hastings and created their own Bayeux Tapestries.

Domesday Book surveys have been conducted and they have even created their own cures for the Black

The chronological nature of History here at Sherborne Prep is incredibly important as it not only secures prior knowledge, but also provides our students with a rich contextual understanding. Therefore, this year has seen year 6 continue chronologically into the Stuart period. As children progress up the school the study of History becomes more rigorous in terms of securing technique and teaching skills of analysis. Understanding interpretation, recognising bias and propaganda, deciphering a source of evidence and acknowledging the importance of provenance all begins here in year 6 and the Stuarts are the perfect monarchs to practice these skills upon. Children have ‘loved’ learning about James I, Charles I and the Duke of Buckingham and painstakingly deliberated over whom they might pledge

Year 7 have immersed themselves within the Industrial Revolution over the last three terms and have created some wonderful work. Presentations around the topic of Industry have been illuminating - with every child presenting and speaking knowledgably and confidently about their chosen subject. Year 7 have then gone on to study Agrarian Reform within the period and understand the importance of this within the Industrial Revolution as a whole. Of late, focused study has surrounded the Transport Revolution 1750-1900 and a highlight has been evaluating the socio-economic influence/impact of such innovation on Industrial Britain. Our trip to Bristol and our visit to the SS Great

Britain generated much interest and enjoyment, especially as the influence of Isambard Kingdom Brunel can be seen/felt so strongly there, particularly as children walked across the Clifton Suspension Bridge, not only marvelling at the magnificence of engineering, but also the wonderful views!

Finally, our year 8s have been working harder than ever in History in preparation for their senior exams. Many have primed for scholarship and have analysed the most challenging sources and written a great many essays, concentrating on their quality of evidence, analysis and evaluation. Other children have been enthralled whilst learning about the First World War and have created a wide selection of brilliant work, which demonstrates their clear understanding and effective analysis. Presently, all of year 8 are learning about ‘Russia in Revolution 1900 to 1917’ and even though this may be a somewhat emotive subject at the moment, the children have been pleased to gain some contextual understanding of Russia and its Empire at the turn of the 20th Century.

As you can see, the History Department here at SPS is a busy and vibrant one and I truly believe our children very much enjoy the history that they learn and engage in. I therefore very much look forward to continuing the exciting adventure with all the children, as we venture back through the years, in an attempt to understand and piece together the past!

Numbering off

Our maths has gone from strength to strength this year.

We continued with the Inspire Maths Framework from years 1 to 5 and are seeing the benefits of this scheme in the children who pass through into Years 6, 7 and 8. There is strong evidence of more consolidated mathematical learning through embedding concepts using the concrete, visual and abstract approaches.

A large number of year 7 and 8 pupils were entered into the UK Maths Challenge this year and were rewarded with high levels of success in the Junior category (years 7-8).

Scholars in year 8 this year have had outstanding levels of success in maths, and this is evidence of the very strong grounding that they have been given through their time at Sherborne Prep. Examiners frequently commented on their strong algebraic understanding which is the bedrock of so much of the maths they will do at their senior schools.

Higher up the school we have developed more investigative work and we are beginning to

adapt our year 6-8 curriculum towards the upcoming PreSchool Baccalaureate (PSB) approach for September. With the Common Entrance exam being dropped next year, the PSB will undoubtedly give us more flexibility to broaden and deepen mathematical understanding through practical application and investigation.

A question I am asked a lot in maths by the older children is ‘Why do we need to know this?’ and I sense the PSB will give us a response to this perfectly reasonable but incisive argument. Real-world maths using genuine contexts is important in helping children see the relevance of the subject in the world today. With all of us nowadays needing a heightened ability to determine numerical fact from fiction, skills to discern patterns, trends and statistics will help the next generation stay self-informed, rather than relying on sourced data or analyses. Introducing PSB will be exciting in its potential to bring about a distinct shift in children’s abilities in data analysis, pattern awareness and statistical understandingcertainly these are some of the tools they are going to rely on in the future.

Real-world maths using genuine contexts is important in helping children see the relevance of the subject in the world today.

Finding our place!

With Geography fieldtrips back up and running we have reignited our passion for all things environmental!

Noting the societal change in attitudes towards our stewardship of the planet and learning about the challenges we face and how we might overcome them.

Our seniors visited Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door to practice some of their fieldwork techniques and consolidate work on coasts. Part of the fieldwork involved asking the public questions, to which many people commented how polite and charming the children were. After a day of working hard in the sunshine, the children had a chance to demolish a good amount of

ice cream, rounding off a successful trip to the coast!

Back in school, topics ranged from weather and climate, map skills, settlements and rivers. To bring the river formations to life the children worked together in groups to create 3D river dioramas, showing the long profile of a river. This allowed the children to unleash their artistic and problem-solving skills when creating these models. There were some fantastic efforts and some wonderful creations.

In the Lent term, topics ranged from polar environments and explorers (both historic and modern), energy resources, plate tectonics to population and migration.

The seniors always get excited for the population topic as they know that means the appearance of jelly babies. They have a game to play with them first, which shows the factors that affect the population structure, a lot of self-control is needed before they are given the opportunity to eat them. Apologies to the teachers who had classes with them afterwards!

The juniors learned about plate tectonics and helped create a home-made volcano erupt in class! We discovered that when it works well, we can hit the ceiling! Others also got the chance to get creative trying to construct earthquake-proof buildings using jelly, marshmallows and spaghetti. There were a lot of sticky fingers and marshmallows that

magically disappeared (!), but there were also some amazing structures and creations. We finish off the year focusing on more environmental issues such as fair trade, plastic pollution, climate change and sustainable housing. The seniors have been working hard to create presentations about sustainable housing on the Somerset Levels, the need for more flood-proof housing and more energy efficient and affordable homes. The juniors are exploring the impacts of trade and food miles and how we can be more sustainable as individuals, as a school and as a global community. As I write, our popular fieldtrip to Chesil Beach for fieldwork practice lies ahead and I’m sure an ice-cream or two!

Our seniors visited Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door to practice some of their fieldwork techniques and consolidate work on coasts.

Creativity and innovation

In Design Technology pupils across the year groups have looked at a range of diverse projects, learning skills and becoming adept at using tools and our machinery.

Pre-Prep have designed and made rockets, created a royal carriage, picture frames, wooden puppets and have designed and made board games. Notably year 2 are making good progress on their Trebuchet project.

During the Pre-Prep Technology club, Christmas Wreaths were made followed by animal Pom Poms and now pupils are using papier-mâché to make masks linked to creating emotions.

Year 3 have developed their knowledge of tools and equipment and developed accuracy in their work, applying individual thoughts to their puppet project.

Year 4 completed their first project to make a birdfeeder, working with both wood and metal and we hope some hungry birds benefited over the winter months! Moving on to work on completing glove puppets, pupils’ individual designs have come to the fore.

Year 5 designed and made a ‘steady hand game’ involving working with metal, wood and electronics, pupils looked at a variety of

mechanisms whilst developing their accuracy and problem-solving skills.

Year 6 generated a mould for pewter casting learning about the different categories of metals and some of their potential uses. They are now completing the electric buggy project.

Year 7 have developed their design skills in the production of a vacuum forming mould to produce a clock. Through this, they have learnt about plastics and experienced working with a thermoplastic. After experimenting with a variety of wood joints they will select the ones that they wish to include within their own storage design.

Year 8 sought to produce a creative design for a passive amplifier to magnify the sound of a mobile phone. After completing the vacuum formed clock project they moved onto an electronically based project, producing an illuminated thermometer in a creative packaging solution to house it.

Pupils attending Enrichment sessions have been working on restoring some Go Karts. The Greenpower Go Kart, the jewel in the crown, has had many repairs including its steering and braking system. It was discovered that a safety fuse had blown; the battery was proven sound, but the mystery of the overloaded circuit, at the time of writing, needs discovering!

Chariots of fire? No, but our passion for Latin burns brightly!

Latin and Greek have a wonderful chance to grab children’s interest.

What on earth, or rather, what on Mount Olympus, were all those gods and goddesses up to? Did Achilles really exist and have a weak heel? What about the Romans and the chariots and the gladiators

in horto. What was that all about?

and the dinner parties and the mind-befuddling empire they built? And then there were the plays and the Colosseum and the Parthenon and that strange oracle at Delphi which always confused people, and then Vesuvius erupted and, in amongst all that, if I remember rightly, there was Caecilius...yes, that was it...Caecilius est

Here at Sherborne Prep, I hope against hope that we celebrate and revere the wonders of the Classics, letting the children from year six upwards rejoice in mini-plays, Ancient History, Roman dinner parties, Greeks v Romans debates and much, much more. But I also hope just as fervently that we honour the Latin language as the source for so many of our modern languages, and, inter alia (as they say!), as a wonderful help in providing structure and clarity to English grammar.

We begin learning from the rightly famous Cambridge

Latin Course from year 6, but quickly advance to set the children on track towards scholarship in the language which sees many of them by the middle of year eight master almost all the linguistic programme needed for GCSE. At this point they will know ninety per cent of the GCSE vocabulary and several different uses of the subjunctive, as well as knowing verbs in the active and passive in five tenses and will be able to translate into Latin well. They love the challenge, and it is wonderful how many of our students here carry on with Latin at senior school. Indeed, at Sherborne School next year, four old Preppers will be embarking on Latin A level, all from the same year. All are accomplished linguists.

In amongst the myths and legends, and the stories of the ancient world in year six, the seeds for those A levels were sown and planted here. Long may it continue.

Spotlight on a School

From marshmallows around the fire to theatre and painting, Sherborne Prep offers pupils a ‘happy place’, writes Richard Pyman.

Written for Independent Schools Management Plus Magazine.

“And all were as happy as happy can be With the Quangle Wangle Quee.” So sang Edward Lear.

As you all remember, the Quangle Wangle was lonely until his friends came to live on his hat. After that, all was amazing. If ever there was a further advertisement for society, or rather the perils of its enforced absence, the past eighteen months has offered it.

If you don’t agree, come to SPS School at eight o’clock one morning, and observe the tsunami of joy and positivity that skips through the gates. The children are rejoicing in each other’s company, thrilled that the normality of music and art and drama and sport have all miraculously returned. Thank heavens.

And happiness and gladness are the central themes of SPS. It’s off to a flying start by being in a beautiful place, the Abbey bells a stone’s throw away, the honey-coloured stone of Sherborne all around. It is nestled between Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls, a community which offers an exceptional range

of challenge and fun at a very high level. But place is less important than people.

“The art lessons are filled with a creative buzz, a place where beauty can thrive.”

Let’s dive in and start with those who love art at SPS: if you had seen the exhibition put on by the students of the charismatic teacher Fernando Velazquez last summer, you would have been amazed, not just by the standard, but by the breadth of inclusion and enthusiasm. The art lessons are filled with a creative buzz, a place where beauty can thrive.

“For many of our students, expression in paint is their greatest joy,” says Fernando. As he does so, another child rushes up waving a picture of a landscape: “Mr V, Mr V,” they shout, probably unaware either of the extraordinary reputation of their teacher as a modern painter, or of the distinguished lineage of the name they have abbreviated! For some children, traditional learning, especially the emphasis on the written

Our seniors visited Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door to practice some of their fieldwork techniques and consolidate work on coasts.

word, is a chore, or, worse, a worry. Here, however, there is an exceptional learning support team. They don’t just do what every other wonderful professional in this critical area does — they look at the knot from every possible angle until they see how it may be undone.

“Learning support teachers look at the knot from every possible angle until they see how it may be undone.”

“We have had some fabulous joys,” says Briony Harris, head of learning support, “Children full of creative flair, with such interesting stories to tell, but unable to demonstrate it on paper. By finding the right toolkit to adequately express themselves, they have banished the frustration and thus many of them have gone on to shine at senior schools and into the great outside world. What a huge privilege it is to have played a part at such a critical time.”

SPS is justifiably proud of its record with the highest academic attainers: over the past four years, thirty-one students have achieved academic scholarships. A wideranging enrichment programme is offered to all examinees, the focus being on the scholarship candidates in the early part of the year and the Common Entrance in the second.

Early evenings or mornings will find year eight students relishing the challenge the exams offer, joining small groups in preparation. Head of humanities Janine Gates runs an inspiring course training highly analytical historians; the science labs are filled with ambition, fostering, among other things, a seemingly high percentage of aspiring medics.

“A veritable tented village is going up on the front lawn for the ‘Big Camp Out’”

There is a very high percentage taking Latin from year six. “Over 50 per cent of our students go to Sherborne School or Sherborne Girls,” says Natalie Bone, the new head, “both of which are highly academically ambitious. Canford, King’s Bruton, Bryanston, Winchester, Cheltenham Ladies and Marlborough are also common destinations. We seek to prepare the children for the demanding academic regime these schools offer.”

As I write this, a veritable tented village is going up on the front lawn in preparation for the “Big Camp Out”. Dan Chiappa-Patching, head of boarding, lays on an understandably hugely popular night for scores of children. They arrive in the late afternoon, pitch camp, have a barbecue supper, roast marshmallows round a fire, camp the night and wake up to a big breakfast. Dan’s incredible enthusiasm and tireless energy convey in foot high letters the key message: this is a time of happiness. “For the boarders, we seek to have a community like an extended family. At weekends, people are often mentally tired, so we switch off, walk the hills, have a hot chocolate and re-charge the batteries.” Dan is too modest to say that his own batteries seldom have the luxury of a re-charge, but his immense positivity is joy to all around.

In the aftermath of recent theatre-less times, exceptional actor and head of drama Vicki Green has six shows in the year ahead; the joy of being back on the stage is a blessing. She has directed some memorable performances in recent years, often in cahoots with the music department, led with panache by Yvonne Fawbert.

“I love the children to take ownership of their performance, to feel that it is their triumph.”

Vicki is rightly proud of the inclusive nature she has created, every child in the school performs in a production, each year. Time in the school year is tight, with shows frequently being put together. This year Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future will magically be conjured up in two evenings.

“I love the children to take ownership of their performance, to feel that it is their triumph,” says Vicki. Over the past three years, some Year 8 students have performed Shakespeare in the open air: a two hour Hamlet, with horses, was a high achievement for thirteen year olds, as was a Romeo and Juliet shot in lockdown in many beautiful gardens.

SPS is now part of the Sherborne School Group: “The chance to use some of the group theatres and performance spaces has already been transformative,” says Yvonne, whose multitudinous ensembles, trios, quartets, vocal groups, choirs and orchestras ensure that there is always fantastic music resounding round the school.

It is impossible to cover the ground comprehensively in so short a time; sport is managed with a wonderful emphasis on inclusion, the boys and girls playing together where possible. There have been some astonishing successes in girls’ hockey and the cricketers are in good hands with ex-England Test player Laura Harper on the staff.

“The joy at being back at full throttle outweighs by a distance the last lingerings of the pandemic’s constraints.”

The school has its own special yard game, “Four Square”, played from years three to eight in breaktimes. The pastoral side is

meticulously managed by Annie Gent, living and promoting the school’s “Dragon Values”, with kindness at the centre. The school motto- “not for ourselves alone”- captures this, as does Joe Biden’s encouragement not to “show me an example of your power, but the power of your example”.

One of Annie’s fellow PSHE teachers came to the school after a successful career in both the army and business, another after a spell teaching in Africa. They bring a fabulously broad perspective.

Maybe you are beginning to see the picture: the school echoes with laughter and we certainly fill Kipling’s unforgiving minute with sixty-seconds’ worth of distance run. Natalie Bone, formerly head of Sidcot, former dressage international, inherits a powerful springboard as she takes over the reins. The joy at being back at full throttle outweighs by a distance the last lingerings of the pandemic’s constraints.

We are back together. Hooray. Edward Lear is right — home learning was far from gay. More fundamentally, the world is far from gay. A small school, however ambitious, cannot eclipse the fears of famine or war, or cool the planet back down. But it can, most certainly, hold these cares at bay for its students, and offer them a happy place in which they can have fun, and achieve their very best. That is what SPS does, and what it will continue to do.

Strings to the bow

This past year has been a busy and exciting one for the Computer Sciences.

With our fantastic ally adaptable staff grasping their Surface Pros and new skills and our 21 Microsoft touch screens being installed in the ICT suite Computer Science rose in profile and importance it is fair to say!

With the children exploring both the suite of Office software, USB ports, Input and Output devices, webcams and touchscreens are all used daily; encouraging the children to not only feel comfortable using the technology, but also providing them with an understanding of its function as a tool to access learning.

From the early years, we are teaching the children about email etiquette, out of office, pop ups and notifications, how to turn off devices, down time and finding a healthy balance so they are better able to manage their own ‘Screen Time’.

The second string to the Computer Science bow has been to bring the children up to speed on aspects of coding and programming that they have missed. The joy of coding is not just in the ability to create a programme that does something, but the understanding it provides of basic mathematics and logic circuits. Problem solving skills are used regularly throughout the curriculum, providing an excellent foundation for inter-disciplinary links to all subjects.

A busy and exciting year indeed!

Problem solving skills are used regularly throughout the curriculum, providing an excellent foundation for interdisciplinary links to all subjects.

Creativity has again permeated all areas of the school, allowing our pupils to develop their ideas freely, to both discover their own talents within our community and to celebrate individuality.

Pupils have continued to show their incredible ability, imagination and talent this year, culminating with the Summer Art Exhibition where every pupil at Sherborne Prep had the opportunity to share their artistic ability.

Artist of the week

Continuing to be a feature during our weekly assembly, ‘Artist of the week’ is a public celebration of individual responses to independent projects. It is wonderful to see our pupils’ art every week, bringing colour and joy to the start of the

Young Artists Summer Show Royal Academy 2022

SPS submitted twenty pieces of art for the show which is a project where young artists aged 4 - 19 years can exhibit their work online and on-site at the Royal Academy. We were incredibly proud to present the creative talent of twelve of our pupils, a demonstration of the work done throughout the school. The powerful images submitted talk about character and vision.

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced”

Vincent van Gogh

Laura P, year 4

Tommy P, year 6

Crystal Z, year 8

Rupert R, year 7

Lucy S, year 7

Sherborne Community Advent Calendar in windows

We were delighted to participate in this super community initiative with our festive window display created by pupils and our amazing artist Constance Pollard. It certainly added to the magical sense of Christmas and the countdown was made even more special by the lovely comments from those following the trail as they came onto our site to view the window.

Art School for Parents

Whilst the children were occupied with their exciting selection of Saturday morning activities, parents set up their easels and picked up their charcoals and paints to produce wonderful pieces of art during the Lent term. The laughter and chat in the relaxed and encouarging atmosphere of the art room made the activity hugely enjoyable.

Super Sunday Art Workshop at Sherborne School

The Art Department at SPS contributed to Sherborne School’s ‘Super Sunday’ admissions event in June running workshops called “Art 360” based upon observation and personal responses to the site. Pupils and parents were encouraged to decide the subject of the drawing/painting as well as taking a personal approach according to what they saw or imagined.

ART PRIZES

Junior Art Prize: Magi I and Dominic G

Senior Art prize: Crystal Z and Fiona Y

2021-2022 ART ACTIVITIES

• Annual Sherborne Preparatory School Art Exhibition 2022

• Printing and design Enrichment Club

• Ceramic Workshops at Sherborne School

• Year 6 Day Trip and Art Activity at Haynes Motor Museum

• Year 8 Art Programme

• Art School for Parents

• Clay Modelling Club

• Young Artists S aturday Activity

• Young Artists Summer Exhibition Royal Academy

• Art for Ukraine

• Platinum Jubilee Art Competition

• National Portrait Gallery Competition the Nation Picture Book

•

Super Sunday Art Workshop at Sherborne School

• Sherborne Community Advent Calendar Art

• Year 8 visit an Art Exhibition at Sherborne Girls

Sir, I Can’t Draw!

Art, of course, is in all of us, manifesting in many different ways.

Throughout my teaching career, I have had the privilege to meet many children who are naturally inclined to draw whilst having fun. However, I have also encountered some who are convinced that they cannot draw. My first response to this is to simply ask, ‘So what? Do you want to draw?’ And, more importantly, ‘Why do you want to draw?’ Invariably, they look puzzled. So far, not a great lesson, some would say! The truth is that what they mean is that they cannot draw photographically, accurately, realistically. At this point, I remind them that we are not machines and, that if all of us drew the same way, art would be boring!

What drawing primarily requires is a willingness to make marks on paper, to slow down the process of looking and seeing the world around us. It is about embracing the ability in all of us to create images, however imperfect they may be. It is also about managing the expectation to achieve desired results

whilst making small decisions along the way. At the Prep, we believe in the value of individuality in the process of creating and in the power of drawing as part of the journey of learning. We live in fast-paced times; everything is expected to be done quickly and, yet, drawing continues to be a discipline that takes time. As Paul Klee would say, ‘Drawing is taking a line for a walk.’ Indeed, drawing is a journey from one point to another, a way of constructing a building of lines that creates personal interpretations of reality. Our children today can process visual information at an astonishing rate, responding to what they see faster than ever due to the power of technology. Drawing slows that process down, allowing different perspectives and true enjoyment. Their appreciation and response to art is not better or worse from that of other generations, just different. It is up to us to adapt to their views,

facilitating opportunity and creating an environment free from judgement and constraints.

‘But sir, how do you draw a bird?’ My answer is a question: ‘What kind of bird do you like?’ maybe followed by more questions, ‘What does it look like?’ I ask the children to describe the shape with their hands, and, as they do, they start drawing simple shapes in their mind, and then the next little shape, and the next, until, like magic, a bird starts to appear on the paper. I see this as just the beginning of a journey towards confidence, positivity, freedom, and joy.

‘Sir, I didn’t know I could draw!’ The child smiles and feels empowered whilst the teacher feels proud of his pupils. They are ready for more adventures. ‘Can I draw something else, sir?’

Fernando Velázquez, Head of Art written for The Sherborne Times

Lucy & Anton, year 7

Florence H, year 7

Tilly A, year 6

Amy D, year 7

Raff W & James, year 8

Martha & Mattie, year 8

The music department has had the most amazing year.

It has been wonderful to have normal concerts with appreciative audiences and the children have given of their all. The Friday concerts, under the direction of Mr Arkwright have produced some outstanding performances, both individual soloists and small ensembles. What an experience for the children to perform in such a fantastic venue, the Tindall Recital Hall, Sherborne School, and a huge thank you to Mr Henderson for being so supportive and accommodating.

The Michaelmas concert gave us an opportunity to highlight our superb choirs, orchestra, and instrumental ensembles. There was great hilarity when a certain percussionist ‘pushed’ me out of the way as I was playing the marimba so badly! The way the children connected with each other for the smaller ensembles was just a joy to experience. They all played without a conductor and used their eyes and ears to communicate showing great maturity and musical awareness.

The services in the Abbey are always a highlight and this year has been no exception. The choirs always rise to the occasion, and I think the Carol

Service was one of the best ever, finishing with an extraordinary brass flourish. It’s always exciting when staff get involved, and this year was so special with so many of the academic staff joining the Chamber Choir in some wonderful repertoire. The Easter Service was equally beautiful with magnificent soloists from year 6 and exquisite singing from the Chamber Choir.

The main highlight must be the Last Night of the Proms concert which took place in the impressive Grandsen Hall, Sherborne Girls’. Mr Jenkins could not have been more helpful and enthusiastic - thank you. Our own talented

children were joined by Old Preppers, visiting music staff, staff from Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls’, parents, friends, and family. To produce something of this quality at a Prep School was quite an achievement. It was a huge collaboration and to have an orchestra of nearly 100 musicians was one of the most thrilling moments of my career. It was quite an emotional evening especially with the performance of Nessun Dorma by Jordan Berry - simply outstanding.

We have had exceptional Associated Board and Trinity Music Exam results as well as Grade 5 theory results this year. The children work so hard for these external examinations and their determination and dedication shines through. We must thank the parents for their support, without this, the children may not have the impetus to continue.

As we come to the end of the year, we have the Summer Concert to look forward to as well as the Commemoration Service. These will showcase all our groups and choirs and I hope for the majority of the school to be involved in both events. My time at Sherborne Prep has been an absolute blast and I will miss everyone very much. Thank you to the staff, parents and especially the children for making my time here so thoroughly enjoyable. I wish everyone the very best for the future and I have been privileged to work alongside some superb musicians. Over and out.

The Michaelmas concert gave us an opportunity to highlight our superb choirs, orchestra, and instrumental ensembles.

An extravaganza for the ears!

The Power of Music

Nine years ago Musharaf ‘Mushy’ Asghar graced our screens in Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire - a Year 13 student struggling immensely with a stammer that virtually left him mute. With an impending speaking exam to pass his English GCSE, his teacher Mr Burton, inspired by the film The King’s Speech where George VI overcomes his own stammer to lead his country through World War Two, guides Mushy to gain a C grade, which at the start of Mushy’s time at Thornhill Academy seemed insurmountable.

What brings Mushy Ashgar and George VI together is how they overcame their personal stammers through the power of music. They unquestionably prove to us the power that music can have on the brain. Music is powerful, it is emotive, it is an incredibly important part of children’s educational pathway and something we take great care to encourage at Sherborne Prep.

Since the middle of the 20th century, researchers and practitioners in music have increased their awareness of music and its relevance to young children, as well as the impact it can have on their further education. In the modern day, it is inspiring to see that

cognitive research has increased dramatically using new concepts and ideas in order to develop suggestions and analogies into experiential research. Although progress may be slow, there are many studies that have transformed thinking – the impact of music upon the brain and the positive cognitive effects. Can music really make you smarter? Music helps to contribute to a broad and balanced school curriculum, but does it positively influence academic gain in other subject areas?

First and foremost, music is principally a mental ability, allowing for it to have a direct result on improving mathematical skills through the use of spatial reasoning tasks. Following different patterns, understanding shapes, differentiating between ratios are skills that have to be overcome by both musicians and mathematicians. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics are an advocate for using different ways in which to promote maths learning through other types of thinking and use music as part of their curriculum focal point. In 2008 the Council began to draw together ways in which maths can be directly related to music; the similarity between counting numbers with how many beats were in a bar, how geometry and identifying of shapes and spatial relationships are similar to notation and the organisation of pitch, and finally how the measurement of objects directly to detecting tonality and changes of tempo.

In addition to helping improve skills in mathematics, there have been several recent studies into the effects of teaching music on literacy skills in primary school aged children. Music and language are often closely associated with each other; with music being a way of expressing a storyline or in some instances, a feeling, it is the language using music that helps this come across.

As early as 1871, Darwin considered how the relationship between music and language might have been the origin of our communicative abilities. Between 2012-13, an independent research firm conducted an experimental study into the effectiveness of the ABC Music & Me on the school curriculum. They found it greatly enhanced the children’s engagement in the classroom, cooperation with others, and development of vocabulary, as well as coordination and importantly their attitude towards learning.

“Music helps to contribute to a broad and balanced school curriculum, but does it positively influence academic gain in other subject areas?”

Joe Arkwright, Music Teacher written for The Sherborne Times

Our Drama show is ‘back on the road’!

It is without question that the last two years have denied the pupils the full, immersive, tangible experience of the performance arts subjects and we are utterly delighted that our children were able to return to this experience, this year.

The year 5s kicked off tour year group productions, with the ‘The King’s Sentence’. The pupils arrived at the hall on Monday morning with a hundred questions, highlighting their nervousness as they approached this new, unknown event. Throwing themselves into the challenge with great gusto, it was a joyful, productive week of spontaneous creativity, teamwork and lateral thinking and learning. Every child in the cast is to be commended for their effort, focus, determination to succeed, and growth

in performance skills. I am not sure who had more butterflies in their stomachs; the actors or the excited audience who knew that they were at last in for a well-overdue performance treat!

Following on soon after, the year 7s brought much-anticipated Christmas spirit with Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. The cast were split into two as we doubled up the roles to give additional performance opportunities. The pupils brought Victorian England alive, maturely delivering the lines with great power, and the live singing, violin playing, and dancing were a joy to behold. Commendations must be given to our two outstanding Scrooges who portrayed Scrooge’s emotional journey so poignantly.

Just a few days into the Lent term our year 3s hit the ground running and rehearsed a show of performance poetry and interactive songs and dances. The children’s happiness of exploring and learning rhythms, rhymes and choreography was joyful! Their singing raised the roof of a packed hall and anyone who walked through the hall could not help but smile and even join in! The year 3s have not stopped talking about it and singing the songs since!

As the weeks of the Lent term whizzed by, the excitement about the year 6 production was not only bubbling, but almost beginning to boil over. It was impossible to walk down

the corridor without being asked multiple questions! The moment the cast walked into Greenfield Hall, our new performance venue, on the Monday morning, will be a moment to be treasured. The joy and wonder on their faces was priceless. Their enthusiasm did not wain throughout the week as they worked tirelessly and effortlessly, learning the lines with ease, remembering, and polishing the choreography and becoming one of the most dynamic, supportive teams I have ever worked with. They performed well for the whole school in the afternoon, but their evening performance was electrifying. It was without doubt an evening to remember.

Just a matter of a few weeks later, the year 4s took to the stage with their adaptation of the story ‘The Day We Met the Queen.’ Once

again, this initially timid, but excited team, quickly rose to the challenge of mounting a play in a week and surpassed any expectations of what these young performers could achieve. Their flexibility, playfulness, joy, mature handling of a topical and very sad situation was remarkable.

Our focus then moved to our eldest pupils and their Leavers’ Show. By this point in the year, many of the year 8s are ready for the challenges that lay ahead in their next schools, but this last performance moment is always a special and often emotional one. An elegant evening of recalling Hollywood’s finest songs is to be staged. As I write this, the set design plans are coming into place, the costumes are being sourced and the songs are beginning to ring down the corridors. They will spend a week singing and dancing, but most

Just a few snaps from our wonderful productions

importantly celebrating their time together at Sherborne Prep.

These productions never fail to show me how important and effective they are for each and every pupil’s growth. Following each show, the pupils seem to walk into class a little taller, with a little more to say and share, they talk more kindly and more confidently listen to each other…and the desire to learn grows.

Our Speech and Drama provision has gone from strength to strength. It is only our second year of offering these lessons, but the demand is high and the results have been outstanding, with every pupil being awarded with high merits or distinctions. We hope to increase this offering next year to enable more to access and reap the rewards of learning how to present and perform with confidence.

Reflecting on the sporting programme at Sherborne Prep over the last twelve months stirs many emotions. Joy, elation, camaraderie, frustration, fun... to name a few. Many memories spring to mind and the wonderful photos scattered through this publication act to highlight the huge number of opportunities and sporting endeavour that takes place at SPS.

There have been many successes this year but above and beyond all of those achievements, the manner in which our pupils continue to approach their Sport speaks volumes for the culture that we have worked hard to generate and protect over the last few years. The atmosphere during games afternoons, the sense of fun, camaraderie and the spirit with which our teams play is an absolute joy to be witness. Winning is not the driving force at SPS: a positive approach to improving and working hard, alongside a balance of enjoyment and sportsmanship is paramount and has been in clear evidence yet again this year.

Fostering a love for physical activity, for life

There have been some wonderful highlights though. The progress of mixed sports along with the continued emergence and development of girls’ cricket, has been wonderful to witness. The trip to Twickenham to watch so many pupils playing in a festival has to be up there and of course, the progress and performance of our U11 boys in reaching the national hockey finals was amazing. Our year 8s have led the way and have really set the tone at the top of the school. On the individual front, there are too many to mention but it has been such a pleasure to share in so many county, regional, national and international successes throughout the year. Our pupils really are a talented bunch!

The group of staff within our programme also deserve a special mention. They always go above and beyond and are so flexible, positive and willing to help. As a team, they have led from the front, supported and encouraged the children throughout and have adapted to new approaches and the constraints of the last few years with a smile. In addition to the visible team coaches, the hard work that Mr Thomas does in the pool and Mrs McFarlane within the PE programme, should not go unnoticed.

This is an exciting time for SPS Sport. The wonderful recognition of our hard work and approach through winning the ISOTY Award for Sporting Achievement was a real feather in

our cap and will help to provide the platform for Sport at SPS to continue to go from strength to strength. This is an exciting time for the school as we move into the next Academic year. There is ever-increasing co-ordination and collaboration with Sherborne School, that will see more and more connections in terms of staffing, facility development and opportunities for the pupils. 2021-2022 has been a real cracker and has certainly showcased all that is good about our sporting programme.

On the individual front, there are too many to mention but it has been such a pleasure to share in so many county, regional, national and international successes throughout the year.

Girls Here Feel Empowered by Our Personalised Sports Programmes

An article in The Times suggested that ‘deeprooted stereotypes’ put teenage girls off sport. Nicola Woolcock, Education Editor writes that, ‘more than a million girls who describe themselves as “sporty” lose interest in exercise after they leave primary school,’ among the reasons being a ‘lack of self-belief and body-image concerns.’

Our robust, award-winning co-educational sport, as featured in The Week this year, shows that we are breaking those stereotype barriers and biases, and girls here feel empowered by our personalised programmes and, importantly, have the confidence to put themselves forward for wider accolades such as county trials and bigger sporting events.

All five girls pictured have been selected to play for Dorset Cricket U13 squads because they feel the thread of inclusivity strongly, and proudly too.

As a school, we take action to level the playing field. On International Women’s Day, we stood in solidarity for these women of the future. Together we can #BreakTheBias

The care of the children and the school community sits firmly at the heart of Sherborne Prep.

Events peppered throughout this academic year have been great fun, thought-provoking and brought children of all ages, staff and parents together. Kicking off with a wonderful House Bonding morning in September, with team building games, imagination and laughter; the year 8s brought a more thoughtful element through their charities presentations that encouraged all the children to consider how our school could help those in need in our local community. Our crafty and creative Community Action morning provided some joy for members of Sherborne who enjoyed the company of some of our year 8s singing, chatting and washing up at the Friday Lunch Club. We also held our inaugural Colour Run, an exhilarating way to start the Trinity term!

Our Community Action group has grown in number throughout the year; we have collected over 30 sacks of rubbish over the Saturdays! We have also spread a little magic and joy for the children in Pre-Prep (fantastic woodland friends everyone!) and planted little pebbles of positivity around the grounds.

The Pupil Listening programme has taken flight. The year 7 children have simply been superb with the Pre-Prep children, providing afternoon entertainment for our littlest charges. The prefects have welcomed many a visitor; they have supported the staff with plays, with the grounds, music events, art – we are proud of our busy children who always make time to support their school. A particular favourite ‘job’ is reading with children in the junior school

in the afternoons- giving up their time to help the younger pupils is such an important part of being the eldest in a school. We will miss them, one and all; they leave such a positive legacy as they have truly served to lead.

The school council has worked to create positive change in a number of areas of school life. A focus on sustainable food and sustainability within our environment has piqued the children’s interest and our resolve is to ensure we are a school that places a healthy environment at the fore. The children have discussed ideas with their forms and presented a number of break time games designed to be inclusive – Octopus or Manhunt anyone?!

‘The Little Room’ is becoming a wonderful hub for children to take some time out of their busy day, to have some quiet or a place to have a chat. It is very much a space for children and we are looking forward to decorating it to create an even cosier environment. We are also excited about the opening of the year 8 common room - a place for the older children to build on their independence skills to prepare for Senior school life.

A focus on sustainable food and sustainability within our environment has piqued the children’s interest and our resolve is to ensure we are a school that places a healthy environment at the fore

Pupil Listeners

At the end of a long 2020-2021 pandemic academic year, we made a proposal to our outgoing year 6 cohort: to be pupil listeners for the children in the junior end of the school. The spec: to support and play with children in our Pre-Prep, to assist the teachers at break times and to help the younger pupils understand our Dragon Values.

Back to School

Everyone remembers their childhood differently, but however you look back on your school days, your prep or primary school years remain some of the most formative of your life. My nine years at Sherborne Prep School were undoubtedly some of the happiest in my childhood, and I look back on them with great fondness – so much so that I decided to come back as a gap student post A-level.

The huge variety of jobs as a gap student – the daily shift from the classroom to the sports field, or the boarding house to the music department – is something I expected from this role, however there is so much more work to be done alongside what the children see.

Preparing information boards, organising the post, and making beds are very much needed to run the school effectively, but not necessarily noticed by the pupils themselves.

I never expected I would spend so much time laminating or removing staples, but I also hadn’t predicted how enjoyable the little moments are. My highlights of the week are rarely the big events or activities; but rather a joke that a pre-prep child made up all by themselves, or when a child scores their first goal in a match, or when a new overseas

boarder starts to properly settle into life here, despite missing home.

This area of work is incredibly rewarding as I can support and encourage the children here, just like I remember previous gap students doing for me, and these moments are what make this job worth having – something I could never have seen as a pupil myself.

There are always a few unforeseen hurdles to overcome, especially when returning to your old school. For example – I will never get used to calling my old teachers by their first names, it will always be strange umpiring a hockey match rather than playing in one, and I invariably feel like I am breaking a rule by going into the staff room!

I could not recommend this job more to anyone considering taking a year out before university. It is a wonderful experience, good fun, and you meet so many lovely new people. But most importantly, I think this is a job with a huge sense of purpose and personal reward, and it has given me the opportunity to give something back to the school that moulded me into the person I am today.

Constance Pollard Residential Gap Tutor written for The Sherborne Times

As with most Prep Schools, we are filled with enthusiastic, keen pupils who are keen to seize any opportunity thrown their way, so we expected to have a few volunteers. The role, as it was planned, carried a degree of responsibility so children who were interested were asked to either write to or talk with their Personal Development teachers to explain why they were keen.

By the end of the day, of their own volition, every single child in year 6 had written a letter – both remarkable and somewhat overwhelming, it must be said! These letters were heartfelt. Comments such as ‘I remember when the big children played with me and it made it the best day ever,’ and ‘I want to help the teachers who helped me’... littered the letters, everyone wanted the opportunity to give back to their school community. Logistics of managing this aside, of course, we would give everyone the chance to wear their badge with pride and make a difference.

So, it came to be that at the start of our new academic year, I sat with an entire year group of children talking to them about what our Sherborne Prep Pupil Listeners would do over the year. Through discussion of what was important – consistency, building strong relationships and learning both for the younger and older children (the children’s thoughts, I hasten to add). The new Year 7s themselves agreed on how best to plot the way forward. By offering ownership of the role to the pupils they were able to plan the year ahead and work out the plan of how everyone

could participate and have the most rewarding experience.

There is a group per term that work together as the ‘Active Pupil Listeners’ for the duration. This allows the ‘important things’ that our Year 7s so eruditely concurred to really develop and embed. Firm friendships are made. Our Pupil listeners learn patience, negotiation, and mediation skills and are rewarded with adoration and a touch of cheekiness from our youngest members!

The highlight so far was the Christmas craft extravaganza. Our pupil listeners spent the afternoon working with their buddies on creating cards and gifts for our local charity – they returned bedazzled with glitter, proud of stepping up to the challenge and having ‘never laughed so much!’ Our next troop have the ‘Eggcellent easter Hunt’ to prepare for and the summer team will play host to the children on our move up morning.

These are friendships that will last and as our year 2s take the step to ‘big’ school that spark of excitement as they walk to the big blue door will shine a little brighter, knowing that already some of those giants in the senior school are their friends who will always look out for them. It takes a community to bring up a child and this is exactly our ethos at SPS.

Annie Gent Deputy Head (Pastoral) written for the BSA Magazine

‘School life through a Lens’

The children look at either a theme, technical aspect or subject matter on which to focus their camera skills.

Liver cells by Harry Lee in year 7

In Science, nothing compares to working with the real thing! Whether dissecting a heart or reacting a piece of magnesium, nothing can inspire a child more than seeing and handling something truly remarkable. In this case, it was when year 7 began their topic of the structure of cells. To see these building blocks of life, they have to become familiar with using a microscope. After viewing incredible pre-made slides, the class had to prepare their own slides of animal cells. Liver from the local supermarket was the sample of choice and by adding a blue dye to their own sample, they were able to clearly see the shape of the cells. The dark spots are nuclei, each holding a copy of the organism’s DNA and the recipe for life. Seeing it in a slide that they made themselves inspired the class to create their own models of animal cells.

Amy D, year 7 Year 7 look at overpopulation

year 6

Corinna P, year 4

Reception made War Memorials and poppy wreaths for Remembrance Day

We’re having a competition!

Everyone can enter, just colour and complete the pictures and send them back to us, either via email to school office@sherborneprep.org, in the post to Sherborne Prep School, Acreman Street, Sherborne, Dorset, England, DT9 3NY, or you can drop it into the school office in September.

Draw around your hand in this space!

Sherborne Prep School

FISHY FRIDAY

FIVE ACRE

PRE PREP

CRICKET

MINI BUS

NURSERY

VIOLIN

ABBEY

MARSHMALLOWS

TENTS

PENCIL

ASTRO

SQUIRREL

PAINT

NETHERTON HEADS UP

ASSEMBLEY

KEY CARD

HEDGEHOG

NELLIE

MRS BONE ORCHARD

JENGA

What will you do?

It’s Impossible to Hum

While You Hold Your Nose

What are Squirrel and Hedgehog taking on holiday, and where are they going?

Can you colour? Can you add more?

Full Name:................................................ Class:.............

This year, Saturday mornings have been enjoyed by all Sherborne Prep pupils in year 3 to 8. The activities are fun and varied, making a refreshing change from the normal weekday at school.

In the Michaelmas term, our children took part in activities ranging from Samba Drumming to Horse Riding to Squash. We added Photography to our programme and the senior pupils took some wonderful photos, capturing the beautiful autumnal colour. Tennis and Horse Riding were as popular as ever this term, with all spaces being booked up almost straight away.

In the Lent term, our popular Junk Modelling Club continued to recycle household objects to make sculptures and replicas of famous UK and worldwide landmarks. The intrepid Forest School group braved the cold forest, learning valuable new skills often accompanied by a hot chocolate round the campfire to keep warm and have a chat.

In the Trinity term, the children enjoyed the warmer weather, with many activities taking place outside. Yoga in the shade of a tree, Cricket Club in the Lower Paddock Nets and Glee Club for those wanting to sing, dance and act in the sunshine. We even added a Cookery Club this term, led by our Chartwells Head Chef. The pupils made some tasty treats, including delicious, fruity crumbles! Yummy!

Our program will continue to evolve and change next academic year to provide different types of learning tailored to appeal to all ages of the SPS, and most importantly – be super fun!

The activities are fun and varied, making a refreshing change from the normal weekday at school.

‘Something for everyone’

Our Sherborne Prep’s Toddler Group has grown in size and popularity under our wonderful leader Jen Waddon.

Toddlers and parents have come along to a variety of activities with interactive play at the heart of sessions. Gardening and outdoor learning, art and craft, sensory and messy play, music and rhyme have all been well-received.

Highlights of the year have included tasting fruit with The Hungry Caterpillar, getting messy discovering frozen paint and planting their very own beanstalk.

With sessions carefully planned around the Early Years Foundation Stage, they draw upon the seven areas of learning and development to ensure children are given plenty of opportunities to learn and develop new skills.

Our very own Mrs McFarlane has run the British Gymnastics programme at Sherborne Sports Centre and on Fridays our ‘stay and play’ sessions see a toddler take over in the nursery building and outside whenever possible. Fortunately, the takeover has not yet resulted in too much chaos.

With a new Monday musical session, Toddler Tunes, starting in September Little Preppers is going from strength to strength. To find out more please visit our Facebook page or our website:

facebook.com/littleprepperstoddlergroup/ sherborneprep.org/pre-prep/toddler-group

Highlights of the year have included tasting fruit with The Hungry Caterpillar, getting messy discovering frozen paint and planting their very own beanstalk.

How could we resist such a brilliant idea when Mr Adams lost his computer mouse, year 6 lost their croissants and Mr Acton lost a charger!

Every week, the in-house staff emails were full of delights that needed their own place in our newsletter, Heads Up. After a bit of sketching by Lizzie, the mouse was born and snippets of our busy school ‘staff lives’ have appeared!

The Staff Room Tails mouse has given some sound advice on Bonfire Night and even made an appearance as Mr Poulain’s version of Mrs Trunchbull from Roald Dahl’s Matilda!

Emilio and I loved going to Little Preppers.

It was a special time for us as it was the only playgroup we did together. What I particularly loved was that there were always 2-3 stations set up with a themed weekly craft that he could do on his own or we could try together, but they also had “regular” corners which encouraged familiarity and consistency; painting corner, indoor “shop” or the play stations.

Then there was the outdoor playground which had so many interesting corners - the mud kitchen and sandpit were always a hit for Emilio (not so much for me!). And not forgetting snack time! Having these experiences has meant that Emilio’s transition to nursery has been extremely easy. Firstly, he was able to meet and get to know the nursery leads at Little Preppers, which meant that when he started nursery, they were familiar faces and friends. Secondly it is an environment he feels very relaxed in as we were able to experience it together for many weeks before he started his nursery journey.

Overall, we are delighted with how easily Emilio has settled into his nursery days and we hope this will set a solid foundation for his learning years to come.

...a taster of our busy school

An Interview with…Paul Curran

Gardener, Sherborne Prep, Sherborne School and Sherborne International

Year on year, season by season, the grounds of Sherborne Prep look immaculate. They are admired at matches and sports days and the children love to run and play on them. However, the work that goes into keeping the grounds at perfection all year round is endless and our grounds staff are the unsung heroes of our beautiful spaces.

Paul Curran joined SPS as Assistant Groundsman in January 2007 after studying Countryside and Environmental Management at Kingston Maurward College. Passionate about learning, Paul later studied for an NVQ2 in Horticulture and Sports Turf and later completed the Institute of Groundsmanship level 2.

Paul enjoys the wide variety in his work each day. He takes pride in maintaining the sports and athletics pitches and especially enjoys preparing Lower Paddock for Sports Day. Often unnoticed perhaps is the weeks of preparation for the one day of celebration but Paul’s sense of pride is clear when he describes the feeling of the whole school community gathering in a remarkably visually aesthetic place.

Keeping track of the events and matches that are coming up and the specific preparation for them is managed by a ticket system as part of the wider Sherborne School grounds team but the ‘everyday jobs’ don’t stop! The extensive regular jobs range from watering hanging baskets and window boxes, to cutting the lawns and pitches, pruning, weeding (and more weeding!), marking sports pitches, setting up marquees for events, planting flower beds, trimming hedges and much more.

Having to work around daily sports lessons and being at the mercy of the weather can make things tricky for the grounds team however there is a tangible sense of

humour and fun that exudes from the grounds staff. Ever cheery and smiley, they tend to be seen in a bunch, tackling tasks as a team and certainly, enjoying the range of vehicles essential for different jobs!

There are long days and hard graft but as the seasons change so do the challenges. Whether the inclement weather of the Michaelmas and Lent Terms or the longer days in the Trinity Term requiring significant cricket pitch maintenance, Jack Robins (Head Gardener), Paul and the team have a great rapport.

Paul is also a firefighter for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue – a commitment that means he could be called to respond to emergency calls at any time. Committing to around 130 hours a week on duty, Paul has to be able to respond to the fire station within 5 minutes and is grateful to the Sherborne Group for their continued support of his commitment to the fire service.

Clearly someone who goes beyond, Paul assisted the NHS and the South Western Ambulance Service during the pandemic by volunteering to join paramedics on front-line ambulances and after receiving additional training from the NHS, he was soon seen driving ambulances all over the South West! Incredibly unassuming however, Paul draws note of the admiration he has for the paramedics and emergency care assistants that do this job day in and day out.

Paul’s best quick and easy gardening tip?

‘Use soluble fertiliser in your hanging baskets and potted plants to make them better than the neighbours!’

Zoe Sheffield written for The Sherborne Times

Fraser C

Henry C

Ryan F

Daniel G

Aimée K

Billy L

Casey L

Will R

Mattie R

Jamie S

Frank T

Fiona Y

Aaron B

Noah C

Eleanor C

Olivia K

Charlotte L

Ned S

Martha T

Matilda T

Raff Wood

Crystal Z

We wish you well...stay in touch!

Milton Abbey

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Thomas Hardye

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Cheltenham Ladies

Ines C Spain

Henry C, Aimee K, Olivia K, Charlotte L, Martha T, Mattie R, Matilda T, Ryan F, Raff W, Frank T, Ned S, Eleanor C, Noah C

Having had a chance to get to know the school over this year, and as we apply reflective thinking and research from the impact of the pandemic, I am convinced of the need to help future proof our pupils and prepare them for what lies ahead.

As part of this we are seeking ways to ensure children are equipped with not only a broad and rigorous curriculum, but also are given opportunities to develop vital skills needed for the next stage of their education and for the future workplace. A knowledge-rich, skills-orientated framework built upon character and learning virtues which is fit for the 21st century is needed to increase capabilities, competence and success in future personal and professional life. We hope to ensure that children depart from Sherborne Prep with a toolkit of skills rather than only a briefcase of grades. Collaboration, communication, independence and leadership will be high on the agenda to ensure that every individual child has the opportunity to succeed and to thrive.

There are exciting developments ahead too as we seek to enrich the offer pupils receive at SPS. We have planned to extend the benefits of the merger with Sherborne School further next year with Music and Sport benefitting from close collaboration, the use of the expertise of specialist staff and co-ordinated facility use. The Director of Music, James Henderson, and Director of Sport, David Guy, will help to oversee our provision in collaboration with our new Head of Music and Head of Sport and this will open up excellent opportunities for our pupils.

Facilities wise, the first phase of our new Sports Centre will open in September with phase two opening the following year, and this will include two full size sports halls, squash courts, fitness studio, sports performance studio, indoor climbing, basketball, indoor cricket nets as well as the swimming pool. In addition, we are opening Netherton House on the SPS campus as our new Performing Arts Centre in September to give Music, Drama and Dance a more inspirational space and to allow these creative arts to develop and flourish further. Our existing Sports Hall will become a collaborative learning and activities space, assembly hall, and will also be available as an on-site theatre in addition to the Powell Theatre and Greenfield Hall at the Sherborne International campus for productions and performances.

I am very much looking forward to continued partnership with you to support the wonderful pupils that make SPS.

‘the best of the best in the UK for sport’

Week, 2022