Head’s Letters

Friday 24 May 2019

Dear Parents

It has been exam week this week for Years 3-6. This is a good opportunity for the boys to start getting used to the format of exams and to understand the importance of organised preparation when it comes to sitting them. Year 7 and 8 will have their turn after half term and I know that they have their own revision schedules set out and materials gathered together to support their revision.

On the games field it has been another busy week with six senior teams (1sts, 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 6ths and 7ths) playing cricket matches against Moulsford and Oratory Prep. Our boys performed well in the sunshine and I was lucky enough to be umpiring the 6th team in what proved to be a very close game which went down to the final over before Oratory Prep managed to take the win. Our other teams also had very competitive matches but sadly struggled to beat strong opposition. Some work is needed on spending time at the crease!

On Tuesday, 20 senior section boys took part in the athletics meet at Radley where they performed admirably in such a big event. A number of personal bests were achieved and the boys enjoyed testing themselves on the synthetic track.

Four Year 6 boys took part in an U11 Tennis tournament on Sunday, also at Radley, where they produced some superb tennis with our pairs combining to win most of their matches and almost making the top three in a very competitive field. The boys certainly enjoyed challenging themselves against some top opponents.

Yesterday saw 8R venturing out to Burford and Widford to investigate the medieval architecture and history of the area. The boys seemed fascinated by the buildings and the remnants of medieval society that are still so clearly visible in the landscape today. It was history coming alive in the best way possible.

The Year 5-8 swimming gala is taking place this afternoon and I am looking forward to seeing how our boys get on and cheering them all on as they race against each other in all four strokes and a series of relays.

Finally, I just wanted to take this opportunity to clear up any slight confusion that may have arisen from some of the boys about end of school day times for Years 3-8. The school day finish time has not changed, it is still 4.10pm. We have, however, had a slight reworking of timings during the day to allow for the boys to return to their classrooms at 4pm in order to ensure that they get themselves organised and take home all their prep and other important belongings.

I hope that you will all have a very enjoyable half-term break and fingers crossed for a continuation of the lovely weather we have been experiencing this week.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 17 May 2019

Dear Parents

I could only start my letter this week about the incredibly exciting flying visit from 845 Naval Air Command squadron. The enormous Merlin helicopter (the length of two double decker buses I am reliably informed), landed on Cox's Field after two low level overhead passes with two of the intrepid crew leaning out from the side and rear exit points waving at the boys. It really was a sight to behold. Every one of our boys got to listen to a talk about the aircraft from a crew member, ask questions and even go onto the helicopter, strapping themselves into the seats, with some trying on the helmets and others getting to sit in the cockpit. No matter what age, the boys (and staff) were all so excited to have the opportunity to step on board such an amazing aircraft and meet these four wonderful crew members who were quite brilliant ambassadors for our armed forces. As they flew off to their next mission, they even found time to do a double fly past over the playground as a farewell. Reception have been writing information sheets about the visit which I was lucky enough to see today. It has certainly inspired them. Who knows if any of the boys will go on to have a career in the Forces because they have been inspired by this brilliant experience?

On the cricket pitch this week our 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and U11A XIs all recorded impressive victories over Crosfields with some strong performances too in other matches. Our U8s took part in their first ever cricket matches on Thursday and they can be very proud of their performances. Our U9s played their first match of the season and we also had our first tennis fixtures against Chandlings and Cothill for U10, U11 and U13 teams. Our U11s performed extremely well in both matches and the other boys really enjoyed playing competitive tennis.

All year groups this week from Reception to Year 6 paid a visit to the Life Education Bus where a range of age appropriate themes were discussed, ranging from ‘Meet the brain’ to ‘It’s great to be me’. The boys really enjoyed the different themes and learnt a great deal.

I hope that many of you have been able to visit school this week and see the fantastic array or work on display from the Art and CDT departments. All the boys have some work out on show and as I walked round it this week, it struck me just how wide a range of work the boys produce in these incredibly important subjects. Hearing our tour guides explaining how certain items were produced and the different skills needed to do that was a real eye opener. All our boys should be very proud of their creative pieces which have helped make Artweeks such a success.

On Tuesday our Year 6s visited the JR Hospital for their IMPS visit. This stands for Injury Minimisation Program for Schools. The morning gives them strategies to allow them to take responsibility for managing their own risk and equips them with the skills to cope in an emergency. I know the boys learnt a great deal and hopefully are now better able to manage risk of injury.

8R travelled to Richmond Village Retirement home. There, they were fortunate enough to speak with the last surviving spitfire pilot from WW2, just one of the brilliant men and women who had so much wisdom to share with our boys. I know they really valued the time spent chatting and our boys were keen to share some of their musical talents with the residents as well.

Concert platform is taking place this afternoon and I know that the boys who have signed up are looking forward to sharing their pieces with a wider audience, some for the first time.

Tomorrow sees the next in our series of Art workshops. This time there is a sculpture focus for the day and I know that it has once again proved a real draw for the boys. I look forward to seeing what they are going to produce.

As you can probably tell, it has been a very busy week with our boys seizing the opportunities on offer with both hands!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 10 May 2019

Dear Parents

I hope you all had a very enjoyable bank holiday weekend. Unlike the previous bank holiday, the weather was not quite conducive to barbeques this time round but the extra day did enable our patio at home to be properly cleaned in preparation for the summer!

Our Reception class this week have been focusing on learning about the jungle. I was very fortunate to taste some of their stepping stone cookies and I learnt a huge amount about the Venus fly trap which they had studied and were writing facts about. The boys seemed captivated by this amazing plant and were all incredibly knowledgeable. The jungle topic is a great one for them to fully immerse themselves in and it had certainly grabbed their interest.

Sadly, the frequent heavy showers this week meant that all of our cricket matches had to be cancelled on Wednesday but at least the U8s and U9s avoided the worst of the downpours and were able to get their practice sessions in, preparing for their first matches next week. With the Cricket World Cup just around the corner, followed by an Ashes series, it is a great year to get involved in the sport!

This week Year 7 and Year 5 have been thoroughly enjoying themselves on adventure trips at Whitemead and PGL Liddington respectively. They are great opportunities to take on challenges that they will not have experienced before and where working as a team is so important for the success of the activity. Despite the wet weather, the boys have returned today in great spirits and having had a great time.

Year 6 performed playlets from ‘Macbeth’ yesterday evening. It was lovely to see them embracing their first taste of Shakespeare. The performances were terrific and it was so encouraging to hear from parents that many of the boys had been discussing Shakespeare at home and in the car on the way to school. It really is incredible to think that Shakepeare’s plays are as popular today as they were when first written back in the 1590’s. They truly have stood the test of time.

Next week is Artweeks at school and I would encourage as many of you as possible to come into school and see the boys’ fabulous work on display. The school is open to visitors on Tuesday from 08.30-10.30 and Wednesday from 15.00-18.00. There will also be refreshments available in the library courtesy of the JPA.

Also next week, on Wednesday, we are incredibly fortunate to be receiving a flying visit, quite literally, from a Naval Air Commando unit (845 Squadron). They will be landing their helicopter on Coxes field and the boys will get to meet the crew and hopefully even get a tour of the helicopter. We look forward to welcoming them to Abingdon Prep. If any parents would like to come and see this event, then you would be very welcome to attend. Expected landing time is 10.30.

Finally, I would like to congratulate all the boys who represented us last weekend at the IAPS National Table Tennis Championships. They all played very well and certainly enjoyed the day. The standard was, as always, incredibly high, but Todd excelled again and was crowned National Champion for the 3rd consecutive year. A fantastic achievement!

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 3 May 2019

Dear Parents

Term is well and truly underway and the April showers seem to have decided to move into May this year.

It was lovely to welcome a local Buddhist leader to school on Monday and he spoke at length with our Year 8 boys detailing the history and practices of Buddhism, complimenting their unit of study. I know that the boys were fascinated to hear firsthand about the practices that are undertaken. It will certainly have helped when it comes to answering questions on this topic in their exam later this term.

Open Morning took place on Wednesday and was a great opportunity to showcase Abingdon Prep to prospective parents. Many of them were here because of positive comments from friends of theirs with boys at our school so thank you to all of you for sharing such positive feedback with the wider community. Our Year 7 boys were, as always, terrific ambassadors for us, taking tours and talking about their experiences of life at Abingdon Prep.

Wednesday also saw our first cricket fixtures of the season, with an even split of wins and losses. I thoroughly enjoyed watching our 2nd XI win a great match with just a few balls to spare. There was also athletics at Tilsley Park in the first meet of the season and again a number of boys put in very impressive performances across both track and field.

One of the highlights of the performing arts calendar took place yesterday – the Year 5 Music and Drama Soiree. There were some superb individual instrumental performances set alongside group performance poetry – ‘The Highwayman’. A Victorian theme, linking to their English studies, shone through in their fabulous performances of a selection of songs from ‘Oliver’. We certainly have some talented singers and actors coming up through the school. I was also rather jealous of the lovely picnics being consumed around the room!

If you find yourselves in Oxford this Saturday, please do take the chance to visit the Ashmolean Museum. 21 of our boys have their artwork being exhibited in the Young Art Oxford competition, which takes place every year as part of the Oxfordshire Artweeks. It opened yesterday and one of our Year 8 boys was awarded 3rd place and we had another two boys receive commendations. It never ceases to amaze me how creative and artistic so many of our boys are. We are very much looking forward to celebrating Artweeks later on in term by opening up our doors to you all, and the general public, to see more of the work that our boys have produced this year.

Thank you too for all of the brilliant recycled paper projects that have been coming into school this week, alongside the final entries for ‘Bake Off’. Some very tasty ones this week!

Tomorrow sees seven of the boys venturing to Hertfordshire to compete in the National IAPS Table Tennis Championships. We have a good track record in this event and are hoping once again to bring back the trophy. Good luck to all of the boys competing.

I hope that you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend ahead. Baby Quinn is popping down to Glastonbury to watch his Mum run in the fun 10K race whilst I shall be venturing out onto the cricket pitch once again.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 26 April 2019

Dear Parents

It was lovely to welcome all of the boys back to school this week for the start of the summer term, especially our five new joiners. The school looked beautiful with the tulips out in full force and the blue skies setting a stunning backdrop for Josca’s House. I would like to say a big thank you to our grounds staff for all the work that they have put into making the school look so resplendent. As is so often the case, the beautiful sunshine gave way to April showers the moment that the boys stepped across the whitewash and onto the cricket pitch for the first time on Wednesday!

I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the boys’ exciting adventures during the break and judging by the fantastic photos that so many of you kindly sent in for Rachel’s assembly yesterday with the theme of ‘connecting with people’, the holidays have been time well spent. It is always important for the boys to recharge their batteries, and the teachers too, ready for what is a busy summer with exciting trips and examinations to be undertaken. I know that the Year 8s have been revising hard over the holidays in preparation for their AP+ exams.

Mr Windsor and I enjoyed popping into a number of lessons yesterday morning and it was very encouraging seeing all the boys fully focused and working hard on some adjectival agreements in French, undertaking difficult translations in Latin, significant figures in Maths, and microscopes and cells in Science. There was a real sense of purpose in all of the classrooms.

For the first time in a number of years, our Year 8s took part in a CCF demonstration yesterday afternoon. This was eagerly anticipated and the boys certainly seemed to have had a great time exploring camouflage paints, food preparation in the field and basher building. Thanks to the senior school boys and staff who came over to Abingdon Prep to give the boys a taste of the CCF they will be participating in next year.

I look forward to catching up with you all in the next few weeks and hopefully we will enjoy more of the lovely sunshine that Easter brought us.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 29 March 2019

Dear Parents

The warm spring weather has accompanied us to the end of another fabulous term at Abingdon Prep. As I watched the photos flick round on our Lent Term montage this morning (available on the website), it reminded me of just how many different activities have taken place this term across all the year groups. If I had to pick a few highlights they would certainly be the snow day in school, the penguins and both of the brilliant productions.

Despite it being the final week of term, the pace has not diminished. ‘Animal Farm’, our senior section production, took place on Thursday evening and was a delight to watch. The boys involved should be very proud of their performances and the hard work that they have been putting into it in the lead up.

Reception visited Cotswold Farm Park on Monday and came back full of excitement and tales of the animals they had seen. They, alongside Year 1 and 2, also took part in a lovely Easter Bonnet parade this week in front of the whole school showing off their creative sides.

Years 2, 4 and 6 had a spectacular architecture workshop on Tuesday where Year 6 created Viking boat structures from bamboo and elastic bands, Year 4 created bridges from similar materials and Year 2 created a range of tetrahedron shapes. The boys really enjoyed the creative problem solving elements of these workshops and will certainly have learnt a great deal from them.

The Science Week poster competition awards were given out too this week and I was lucky enough to be asked to adjudicate – a tough job with so many brilliant entries on the theme of journeys. The overall winner came from Year 4 and showed a stunning journey of an arctic tern migration.

The Easter Eggstravaganza on Saturday last week was a great success and the sunshine allowed for a lovely Easter egg hunt in the Pre-Prep play area to round off the event. The Easter Bunny was kind enough to join us despite being such a busy time of year. I was lucky and found a few stray eggs myself this year!

Dragon have managed to earn themselves a home clothes day next term by winning the house merit cup and as a school we managed to raise £412 for our Dragon House charity – ‘The Friends of Della and Don’. They will be putting the money towards part funding a teacher at the school they have set up in an area still struggling to recover from the tragic tsunami of 2004. Thank you to all the boys and parents who have kindly made Sri Lankan styles cakes and pastries which sold so well. This followed on from some wonderful ‘Bake Off’ cakes which certainly went down well and I am very much looking forward to the finals of the ‘Abingdon Prep Bake Off’ next term.

Our Easter Service today will round off the term and hopefully allow for a few moments of quiet reflection before we all enjoy the holiday break. I am personally looking forward to venturing down to the Gower Peninsula for a few days to walk with my family on the stunning beaches and beautiful coastline. If the weather allows, I will also be starting my cricket season too with a couple of pre-season matches. I hope that you all have a restful and enjoyable holidays, whether that is skiing in the Alps, jetting off somewhere exotic, pottering off to the South West or simply enjoying some family time at home. Fingers crossed for some more warm spring weather.

Best wishes and Happy Easter!

Craig

Friday 22 March 2019

Dear Parents

To start the week, a number of boys sat their Associated Board Music exams. I know that this is always a nerve wracking affair but the boys had been practising hard and I am sure they will have done themselves proud. I am always delighted to hear the boys play their instruments and slightly jealous of the talent they possess!

On Tuesday, our whole school photograph took place outside the front of Josca’s House this week. It really is quite a feat for the photographers to organise 261 boys on the scaffolding to get such a lovely image.

On Wednesday, four of our Year 8 boys joined 20 other schools from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire for a day of Chemistry in the Salters Chemistry challenge at Oxford University. The boys took part in two challenges and were awarded first prize in the ‘University Challenge’ seeing them race against the clock to react different concentrations of Sulphuric Acid with Magnesium ribbon. The boys had a great day out and came back buzzing about the chemistry they had undertaken.

After some excellent results and performances from our A teams at Cokethorpe on Saturday, matches continued this week with our seniors playing football against Abingdon School. A late winning goal for the U13As capped a fine season for them. 25 boys from the senior section went across to St Edward's to play New College at hockey and our mixed U12/13 team came away with a very impressive 1-1 draw. Our U10s were also in action and our A team completed their second consecutive unbeaten season – a great achievement. St Hugh’s were the opposition for our U9A, B and C teams this week and they all played extremely well, ending with two wins and a draw.

The British Biathlon championships took place last Sunday where all our teams and individual competitors can be very proud of their performances. Our U9s raced incredibly well, leading them to finish 2nd in this national competition – a superb performance.

It was lovely to see a number of you at Coffee and Catch up this morning. I always enjoy chatting with parents and hearing your thoughts on how the boys are doing, and of course about the upcoming holidays!

The Pre-Prep Spring Celebration took place this afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the boys showcase some of their work and sing the songs that they have been learning. It is always a lovely way to reflect on the brilliant things that the boys have been working on over the course of the term.

Tomorrow, the Easter Eggstravaganza takes place alongside a full rehearsal for the senior production of ‘Animal Farm’. We are hoping for a flying visit from the Easter Bunny too! This is a busy weekend which leads us into the final week of term.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and enjoy the warmer spring weather.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 15 March 2019

Dear Parents

After the triumph of the penguin visit last week, we have this week received delivery of six ducklings into the Year 1 classroom. They have all hatched successfully and the gorgeous fluffy yellow bundles are growing beautifully and are certainly the star attraction down in Pre-Prep. The boys have named them all and are taking great care of them.

This week has seen numerous trips take place across a range of year groups. Year 1 started the week with a fantastic visit to Hill End where they got fully stuck into some outdoor learning and furthered their forest school skills. They were certainly very excited to tell me about the things they had learned whilst there. Year 2 visited Warwick Castle (a quite breathtaking place and well worth a visit if you have never been) and enjoyed finding out about medieval life, especially the jousting and weaponry used at the time. Year 5 are currently out at the Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers in Oxford, learning about a real cross curricular set of scientific and historical information. 8R have been invited to a leadership skills workshop with a range of guest speakers and many other local preps too and the boys were certainly looking forward to a very interesting set of talks. As you can probably see, it has been a great week for trips.

Science Week has been taking place too, with a range of different activities (hence the ducklings) and Helen and Rebecca gave a fascinating assembly, with some amazing video footage of the Tacoma Bridge collapse in 1940, which certainly got the boys full attention as they saw how a lack of scientific understanding had led to such an incredible collapse – do google the footage of this if you have never seen it before.

Another absolute highlight this week has been the House Music Festival. Congratulations should be given to all the boys who auditioned and the standard in both the junior and senior events was quite superb. We are truly spoilt with the number of talented musicians we have at Abingdon Prep and the enjoyment displayed by the participants was great to witness.

Last Sunday 12 boys represented Abingdon Prep at the National Cross-Country Championships at Malvern College. All of the boys ran brilliantly despite the strong winds and difficult terrain and our U13 team came 3rd with our U11 team coming 7th. There were over 200 runners in each event from 46 schools so these were great results. Quinn (Year 8) is now national champion having won the U13 race with a stunning performance.

This week saw football and hockey matches against Pinewood, Cothill and Chandlings, and there were some very strong results for our B, C and D teams. Matches continue at Cokethorpe tomorrow morning and the British Biathlon Finals take place on Sunday at Crystal Palace, so it is a busy weekend of sport for many of our boys.

All of our scholarship results have now come in and I would like to thank all of the boys and the staff for their efforts in preparing for them. It is a huge commitment for the boys to undertake. This year we have managed to achieve 17 awards across all of the different areas of the curriculum.

Thank you to our fabulous JPA representatives who are running the Scalextric Night tonight. I am very much looking forward to dusting off my Scalextric skills from 30 years ago and seeing how the world of miniature car racing has changed. I am not sure I will be much competition for the boys, who, judging by last year, have some amazing skills around the tracks!

I hope you all have a great weekend and I hope to see some of you this evening at Scalextrics or on the touchline tomorrow.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 8 March 2019

Dear Parents

What a busy week it has been. I cannot tell you how excited I was on Monday knowing that I would get to meet a couple of penguins at close quarters. Two Dots and Tick were the stars of the show (quite literally as they have been in a number of films) and our boys in Reception, Year 1, 2 and 3 all got to meet them and learn about the lives of Humboldt penguins. The two penguins were clearly fascinated with the children, almost as much as the children were fascinated with them. They got to see them splash around in their pool and be fed, whilst waddling round their enclosure. It was an incredible learning experience for the boys and certainly gave them an appreciation of the beauty and intelligence of these creatures.

World Book Day took place yesterday and I do hope that you have seen some of the photos of the boys’ in costume on the website. A huge amount of effort had clearly gone into creating the costumes of historical characters and it is at this point that I should certainly thank the parents who had been helping out with the brilliant creations. My personal favourite was Margaret Thatcher, whose clothing, jewellery and general mannerisms had all been recreated with incredible accuracy. I am less certain about my fake beard’s authenticity in my homage to W.G. Grace!

This led into our Year 7 Victorian Waxworks Exhibition. This was a first for Abingdon Prep where the boys had been researching key Victorian characters that they then brought to life when a button was pressed. The ‘characters’ then explained to you why they should not be melted down because of how much they had contributed to society and been able to change the world for the better. We had Disraeli, Fry, Cook, Lister and Babbage to name but a few. The boys presented their achievements with genuine knowledge and passion and it was a pleasure to see them taking on these personas and sharing their knowledge of Victorian achievements, linking closely to their work in English lessons this term.

All of our football matches this week were against Moulsford and our boys can be very proud of their endeavours on the pitch, with some notable victories in the Senior Section and strong results in other areas too. The boys have certainly improved their skills dramatically this term. On the hockey pitch, all the boys in Year 6 represented us in some very closely fought matches, with a 1-0 victory for the U11 A team being a particular highlight. More importantly, the boys all enjoyed the chance to play a different sport against another school.

Our busy week continues into the weekend with another Saturday Art workshop, this time specialising in painting, and the National Cross Country championships taking place at Malvern College on Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing our boys represent Abingdon Prep at this event, especially after our own inter house races last week and the Oratory School’s Greyhound run yesterday where our boys acquitted themselves very well.

The scholarship season has now ended and I would like to congratulate all of our boys who have worked so hard in their different respective fields to sit these exams. They are all very talented young men.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing some of you in the Malvern Hills on Sunday.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 1 March 2019

Dear Parents

I hope you all had a lovely half term and were able to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather which has continued into this week.

On Tuesday we had our Spring Term Open Morning. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our brilliant Year 7 tour guides and our two Year 8 boys who each gave a speech to the prospective parents. The boys continue to be the very best selling point for Abingdon Prep.

In our football matches this week we played a mixture of games against Christ Church Cathedral and Bruern Abbey. Our senior teams came away with some very strong wins whilst our U10s and U11s had some very close games with an even mix of wins and losses. The U8s and U9s showed what they are really capable of with some excellent performances leading to a number of good wins. Good luck to our senior teams in action against the Dragon this Saturday and also to our swimmers who will be taking on the strongest swimmers in the county at the IAPS regional qualifiers.

On Thursday, Paul Gooding, Head of Wellbeing at Abingdon School gave all of the boys an assembly on resilience, encouraging them to think upwards, think forwards, think outwards. This is such an important message for our boys to hear and hopefully put into action in their everyday lives, both at school and at home.

This morning, the boys in Unicorn enjoyed their home clothes day in recognition of winning the House merit cup for the first half of term. It was a very close run affair with just 15 merits separating Dragon House in second place.

This afternoon sees the running of our annual inter-house cross country event for all of the boys. There has been much excitement and anticipation all day, and a little trepidation too for some of the boys who are running it for the first time. I know our Reception boys are really looking forward to competing in their first whole school sporting event. The races are always hotly contested and brilliantly supported by the onlookers. Encouraging every boy around the course is a huge part of the event and always brings out the house spirit.

Have a good weekend.

Best wishes

Craig