As a Pre-Prep our aim is to provide opportunities for children to engage with each other, their families, the community and to participate and enjoy a wide range of activities that cover the scope of the curriculum. For this reason each term we organise events across the year to reflect and support this ethos.
Our academic year starts with one of our favourite events – a Pet Service in which we invite parents, pets and children to an outdoor service that is led by a local vicar. This is a wonderful community event and brings the Pre-Prep together at the start of the academic year.
Other events include a Pyjama Day in November when we use the day to focus on mindfulness and wellbeing. The children enjoy activities such as yoga, art, reading and enjoying the outside environment – all in our pyjamas! Every year we find a different focus for this day which is always very popular with the children.
To enrich our French curriculum we hold French breakfasts for every year group throughout the year. The children love ordering their pain au chocolat and pain au raisin, and we are always joined by members of the Prep School French department for the occasions. In addition, one of the highlights of the year is our French assembly. Everyone is involved and Year 2 performs a French play in the form of a traditional tale – c’est magnifique!
Literacy is at the core of everything we do, so National Poetry Day and Book Week are celebrated with all sorts of activities such as book treasure hunts, quizzes and poetry workshops. The highlight of our Spring Term is World Book Day and the children love dressing up as their favourite book characters! Stories and poetry should be read and told aloud so we hold an annual Verse Speaking Competition and perform Nativity plays and a summer play to build up the children’s confidence in front of an audience.
next
Previous
Science and Maths are infused into our events and daily activities. We use our magnificent grounds for science investigations and have an annual boat race in the stream, for which the children prepare with experiments in floating and sinking, before building their own boats to send down the river. It’s not only the boats that get a little wet! We also hold an annual Maths Day during which the children apply their knowledge in activities that focus on time, shape, weighing, measuring and calculations.
Our musical curriculum is enhanced by our annual Spring Concert and various events throughout the year. One of the most special occasions is our Remembrance Service which involves the whole school gathering together in the Pre-Prep courtyard around a sea of poppies to listen to songs and prayers of remembrance. The uplifting sound of the trumpets playing the Last Post is a fitting tribute to those who gave their lives in war.
The aim of all our events is to ensure that the children have the opportunity to apply everything that they have worked on in the classroom, to involve members of our whole school community and to support and enhance learning. We create a curriculum that is rich and vibrant and that encourages children to be inspired by their educational journey.
