Weekly Round Up 12th September

Dear Parents

I hope you are all well.

The first week back has certainly been busy.  Well done to all our pupils who sat the Kent 11+ yesterday; I know how hard you have worked towards the assessment and I hope you get some well-earned rest over the weekend.

Our first sports fixtures have taken place and huge congratulations to our teams who returned with an assortment of great results, medals and cups – a fantastic start to the season!  Tennis lessons, Chess Club and Gymnastics Club (to name but a few) have all started in earnest.  Choir and Orchestra are in full swing, and auditions for the Senior School Play, which will be performed at the end of this term, have taken place.  5L enjoyed a Science afternoon at Tonbridge School yesterday, with 5W looking forward to their turn next week. Years 7 and 8 will head off to the Isle of Wight for their residential trip.  We have had staff INSET on Adaptive Teaching and held welcome drinks for our new families last night. Family Day is just round the corner!

So, there is much to celebrate already and there are plenty of events and activities to look forward to over the coming weeks.  I just hope the rain stays at bay…

Best Wishes

Luke Harrison

Headmaster

Dear Parents and Carers,

A very warm welcome back to you all, including our new Nursery starters and families.  It has been a real pleasure to have a full week of teaching and to get to know the children in their new classes even better. Each day, I have seen the children engaged with their learning and taking part in conversations with new friends or talk partners. The children have come in with smiles each morning, growing a little more confident with their routines, and quickly learning where to put their bags and jackets. It really doesn’t take long before they begin to feel settled!

It hasn’t just been the children learning new things as we start this term. Our staff have also been busy with training, exploring ways to further develop our use of adaptive teaching techniques to ensure every child is both supported and challenged in the classroom. We were fortunate to take part in a session with Alex Quigley, a researcher with the Education Endowment Foundation and author of several books on adaptive teaching. The session was inspiring and informative, and the staff are already eager to try out some of the ideas in their teaching.   You can find out more about Alex Quigley’s work here: https://alexquigley.co.uk/

Next week, we look forward to inviting the parents of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children into school for a parent information session on how we teach phonics and maths. I do hope you can join us for these sessions which will be held on Tuesday evening and repeated on Thursday morning. Further details can be found in the Pre-Prep Friday News.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Warm regards,

Mrs Wake

Assistant Head Teacher, Pre-Prep