Building works

The summer holidays is the best time of year for getting work done on the school and we are certainly making the most of that. Work continues on the library and we have already completed the refurbishment of the visitors' loo. We have also started work on the refurbishment of the Army Hut, our theatre. This is another very exciting project and we are hopeful that work will be completed on time for the start of term in September.

End of Term

We are approaching the end of term and getting ready for the summer holiday. Sadly, the miserable weather which has plagued us all term continues and I am now very worried about Sports Day on Saturday. The forecast is not good and we will have to wait and see.

On Sunday evening we held a dinner for the Leavers and their parents. It was such fun and a good chance for us to say thank you to the parents for all the support they have given to the school. 

Update

With all the Common Entrance results in and all the candidates having done so well, the Leavers have now gone of to France for the week to camp and do all sorts of different activities. We will keep the website updated with their news.

The rest of the school are now fully ensconced in exams. This is an excellent opportunity for them to show what they have learned throughout the year and will help us decide which form they should go into next term.

Common Entrance Results

The Common Entrance results are in and once again we have had a 100% pass rate. This year's crop have performed extremely well achieving 97% A-C grades. They have worked so hard and I am so pleased for them that they have done so well.

Common Entrance

Common Entrance is well and truly underway. As I write this the boys
are sitting Chemistry on the second morning of exams. They all seem in
fairly good spirits after yesterday's papers so I hope that bodes
well.

Common Entrance is an excellent set of exams for most boys. There will
scarcely be another time when they are examined in such a wide range
of subjects and it brings their prep school academic life to a very
good conclusion. I know that they enjoy the focus that it gives them
and when they have finished their exams and hopefully done well, their
is a real sense of achievement.

There have been quite a few detractors of CE recently, most of whom
seem to be pushing for a dumbed down version. I cannot agree with
this. If we lower our expectations, we will lower the achievement of
most pupils. One only has to look at what has happened to public exams
in this country. Even the creators of the 'Prep School Baccalaureate'
state that it particularly suits the middle or lower ability pupils.
Is that really where we should be setting our sights?

e-Safety

This morning we had the good fortune to listen to Karl Hopwood, an expert on the subject of using the internet safely. We split the school into seniors and juniors and he adapted the talk accordingly. He was quite hard hitting with the senior boys and the message certainly got through. Karl then spoke to a small number of parents who had come to listen. All present agreed that it was an extremely valuable talk and I certainly learned a good deal. 

I think that every school should have a talk of this nature. The internet is everywhere and we cannot hide from it. We need to embrace it and all that it offers but make sure that we give today's children the skills to use it sensibly and safely.

Jubilee Weekend

What a wonderful weekend that was. It made me very proud to be British and very proud of our Queen!!