Message from the Head
Dear Parents
There have been some wonderful events in school recently as the end of term approaches.
It was a pleasure to be able to welcome so many parents, OAs and friends of the School to school last Friday for the Touch Rugby competition. There were certainly some silky skills on display from the parents and the whole competition was played in great spirit. I’m grateful to Mr Gold for organising the event and to everyone who took part.
The ABC (Anything But Classical) concert has become a firm favourite in the summer term calendar and last night we enjoyed music from bands from Abingdon and our partner schools on a stage in front of Big School; the OX14 equivalent to Glastonbury. It’s great to see so many pupils playing in bands and many of them writing their own music, though we heard lots of classics last night too, not least from the staff band, the Manic Street Teachers. Many thanks to Dr Preece and the Amey Theatre team for all their work on this event.
The ABC concert was a welcome warm-up for the final concert of term which takes place on Friday evening and which will feature a number of the School’s ensembles performing film music. Thanks to the technical wizardry of the Amey Theatre team (once again), the audience will be able to enjoy snippets of the films featured at the same time as listening to the music. It should be a great night and tickets are still available here.
The sporting programme is pretty packed too with our cricketers enjoying a great set of fixtures against MCS on Saturday with the 1st XI in particularly fine form after their win against the MCC mid-week. I wish the 1st XI all the very best for the Cricket Festival which we are hosting next week. Our tennis players have been competing at the MCS Tennis Festival this week and will be taking part in the Independent Schools’ Tennis Association annual competition next week. Finally, our oarsmen are working hard to prepare for the Henley Royal Regatta next week and I know we all wish them the very best.
Best wishes, Mike Windsor
WHOLE SCHOOL
- New Attendance Guidance:
- There has been new government guidance issued to schools with regard to attendance and the School policy has been updated accordingly and will apply from August 2024. This is linked to here for your information and reference. If you have any comments, queries or questions on this policy, please contact the Deputy Head Pastoral, Helen Keevil ([email protected]). As a reminder to parents, all school policies of relevance to pupils and parents are available on the School website.
- Safeguarding Bulletin:
- Here is this term’s safeguarding bulletin on ‘Supporting Bereaved Children’. This is shared with all of our staff and we hope parents & families will find it useful. Previous safeguarding bulletin topics include vaping, eating disorders, sharing nudes, sextortion, harmful but legal content, Andrew Tate and incel culture. If you would like a copy of previous bulletins, please email Natalie at [email protected]
- Music:
- Friday 28 June – Summer Concert. Our final concert of the year brings together all the larger ensembles in a celebration of Film Music. With accompanying cinematic footage as all ensembles play, this will be an audio-visual concert for all. Tickets can be booked at the usual place: https://www.abingdon.org.uk/sports-and-leisure/performance/summer-concert-a-night-at-the-movies/
- See other upcoming Music Events
- OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events
- News from the week
- Food menu for the following week – Week 2
- School calendar
- Second Hand Uniform Shop (SUS) opening dates for the following week: Saturday 29 & Wednesday 3 July
- Weekly mailing archive
- Box Office:
- Summer sports camps are now available to book:
- Development Level Tennis Camp: 9.00am – 4.00pm each day. Ages 11-15 years. Take part in what promises to be an enjoyable week full of skill development, gameplay, and tactical aspects. This camp is for players looking to develop fundamental techniques and competitive gameplay. Led by Martin Butler, Abingdon School’s Head Tennis Coach. Available dates: Monday 8 July – Friday 12 July; Monday 12 August – Friday 16 August
- Competition Level Tennis Camp: 9.00am – 4.00pm each day. Ages 11-15 years. Our competition level tennis camp is for players who are already playing at the highest level as juniors, representing their respective school or county, and looking to advance into the regional development pathway. Led by Abingdon School’s Head Tennis Coach, Martin Butler, the course will focus on competitive gameplay, advanced tactics, and technical analysis to help improve player performance and support the move into elite-level tennis. Available dates: Monday 5 August – Friday 9 August
- Strength and Conditioning Rugby Camp: 8.30am – 4.00pm each day. Ages 8-15 years. Join us for our popular Strength and Conditioning Rugby Camp, crafted to nurture young talents, aiding them in refining their existing rugby skills while imparting injury prevention techniques for a safe and enjoyable rugby journey. This camp is comprehensive, covering fundamental aspects such as passing, catching, and kicking, as well as advanced gameplay strategies encompassing attack, defense, breakdowns, and evasion. Available dates: Monday 22 – Thursday 25 July; Monday 19 – Thursday 22 August
- Abingdon parent discount for SuperCamps. SuperCamps returns to Abingdon during the summer holidays, offering a wide range of fun and engaging activities for children aged 4-12 years old. Abingdon parents are entitled to a 10% discount using the code PARENT24. For further information, please click here.
