Head’s Letters

Thursday 2 October 2025

Dear Parents

The children were treated this week to a fantastic assembly delivered by three visually impaired people from our school charity, ‘MyVision Oxfordshire’. Not only did they outline the difficulties of everyday life for those with a visual impairment, but they also explained how smart glasses could be used to help them shop, and how different types of cane can be used to help keep them safe as they walk along streets or around shops. However, it did seem that ‘Grover’ and ‘Maisie’ were the stars of the show – the two guide dogs who were so incredibly well behaved in the hall and who demonstrated exactly how they helped their owners to navigate their way around a full hall. It was terrific to see how engaged the children were in the talk and how keen they were afterwards to raise money for the charity.

This week and next see a wide range of trips taking place, with Year 8s out at the Natural History Museum in Oxford yesterday, and going down to Dorset for their geography fieldwork on Friday. Educational visits play such a key role in bringing learning to life and I know that all the children going on trips in the upcoming weeks will get a great deal out of them.

The first House meetings of term also took place today with some of the children presenting to the rest of their house about a charity close to their hearts that they would like us to support. I look forward to hearing which of the charities have been chosen by each house.

On the football pitch this week, our U9s performed strongly in their matches against Chandlings, and there was a clean sweep of victories for our colts and senior teams against New College, with both schools demonstrating a wonderful level of sportsmanship alongside some impressive football. Six of our Year 8s joined their counterparts at Abingdon School on Wednesday to play their first game of rugby this season and it was good to hear how well they had performed too.

Finally, good luck to our U11 rugby team who have an amazing opportunity to play at Twickenham for their first rugby of the season, followed by watching South Africa against Argentina. An amazing day ahead for those involved.

I hope that the winds of Storm Amy, the first named storm of the season, are not too strong and don’t spoil anyone’s weekend.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 25 September 2025

Dear Parents

I hope that everyone has had a good week and enjoyed the early Autumn sunshine. I read this week that yesterday was the last day of 2025 when the sun sets after 7pm, so the colder, darker months are definitely well on their way.

The children have continued to work hard in lessons and I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing from Year 5 about their English and Science work this week. In English, they have been focusing on non chronological reports; they are about to create their own based on the fictional yellow spotted lizard from their class reader, ‘Holes’. In their Science lessons they were experimenting on rates of dissolving different substances, whilst ensuring that the control factors were in place and changing factors such as temperature and stirring. I know they are looking forward to creating graphs from the data and seeing whether their hypotheses were correct.

Our school charities have taken centre stage this week with an assembly from Flexicare, explaining what they do and how they support children and families in the local area with particular needs, and our Thursday assembly was about volunteering and giving up your own time to support others. The children listened intently to both talks and it was great to see how keen they were to get involved in the coming year with Flexicare and My Vision.

Natalie Hunt, the Head of Wellbeing at Abingdon School, delivered important workshops to the children in Years 3-8 on the topic of consent this week. It was brilliant to see the children so engaged and willingly responding to questions put to them, as well as asking questions of their own.

On the football pitch this week we have seen some terrific performances from children across all year groups. Our U8s and U9s scored their first goals of the season whilst our 1st XI, U11B and U11C teams came away with very impressive victories against Cothill. It was a super afternoon of football on Wednesday with all games being very close contests. Good luck to our 1st XI footballers who compete in the IAPS regional qualifiers this Saturday, and also to our athletes who compete in their first cross country event of the year at the Abingdon Relays.

The first Open Morning of the year takes place on Friday and I am looking forward to showcasing our school to the visitors that are coming along. It would be hugely appreciated if the children came in looking neat and tidy and ready to show our visitors all they are learning. I know our Year 8s will do a brilliant job as tour guides, showing the families around and telling them all about the school and quite how much takes place at APS in a normal school week.

Finally, I hope that you all enjoy the weekend ahead.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 18 September 2025

Dear Parents

I hope you have all had an enjoyable week and managed to dodge the torrential downpours that seem to be a regular occurrence this September.

Year 5 are having a terrific time on their PGL trip to Liddington, near Swindon. They have been bravely taking on high ropes courses and giant swings, alongside archery and orienteering. Perhaps just as valuable, though, are the opportunities for teamwork, challenges and further developing friendships both old and new. I look forward to hearing all about their adventures when they return on Friday.

In the classroom this week, Year 4 have been studying classification of animals, with a focus on minibeats. They were working out dichotomous and branching keys for 6 different invertebrates and it was brilliant to see them in animated discussion about categorising the different minibeasts accurately into the keys, alongside researching their own choice of creepy crawlies!

Year 6 were also fully engrossed in their science lessons this week on the topic of forces. They were using a newtonmeter to measure the force exerted on a spring by different weights, recording all the data and producing a series of graphs, helping them to ascertain whether their hypotheses were correct.

Year 8 pupils have been learning to critically analyse poems on the theme of conflict and are now honing their creative writing skills.

In Pre-Prep, the children continue to impress with their ever increasing confidence, happily volunteering their thoughts in assemblies, lessons and around school generally. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they make progress both in and out of the classroom.

On the football pitch this week, our U8s played their first ever set of matches and our U8C team produced a nerve wracking and very enjoyable goalless draw. Our older pupils have
trained extremely hard all week, working on skills and patterns of play: they are looking forward to getting back to matches next week.

A busy end to the week lies ahead with wellbeing workshops for many of the children, an important part of learning today, and our first concert platform of the term, giving a chance to a number of our keen musicians to perform in front of a small audience to build confidence and showcase the pieces they are learning.

I hope you all enjoy the weekend when it arrives.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 11 September 2025

Dear Parents

Thank you so much to those of you who were able to join us at the welcome drinks last Friday night. I know the teachers enjoyed meeting parents from their new classes and hearing more about their new pupils.

Around school it has been great to see how quickly our new children have settled into life at APS and developed budding friendships. The Other Half activities have been busy as ever and it is lovely to hear the children talking about trying something new, and really enjoying it too.

In the classroom, Reception pupils have continued to shine with their focus and enthusiatic approach to their learning, whilst the Year 1s and 2s are busy impressing their new teachers with their knowledge and understanding across the subjects.

Year 3 pupils have been writing about their holidays and have hit the ground running with their mental maths challenges whilst Year 4 has been taking on their first ‘Big Write’, based around their class reader, ‘Iron Man’, and it was great to read their work, focusing on powerful, descriptive adjectives, incorporating similes and carefully checking and editing their text.

I very much enjoyed hearing Year 8 talk so knowledgeably in their History lesson about the English Reformation and The Dissolution of the Monasteries, showcasing their historical knowledge and impressing with their source work skills. This was followed by investigating different coastal landforms from across the country, and indeed worldwide, in their Geography lesson, in preparation for their upcoming field trip to Lulworth Cove.

This week has seen the first football matches of the season take place. The fine weather of the cricket season seems a distant memory as the children braved the heavy rain showers taking on our friends from Moulsford. There were a series of strong performances and close matches across the age groups but particularly impressive were the U11C team who drew a 4-4 thriller and the U11A team who lost 3-4 in a high quality match. Perhaps the best part of the matches though was the spirit in which they were played by both teams.

As always seems to be the case, the children have thrown themselves into everything school has to offer and continue to impress me with their manners and acts of kindness.

I hope that everyone enjoys the weekend when it arrives.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 4 September 2025

Dear Parents

It has been a wonderful start to the term and such a great pleasure to welcome so many new children to school, alongside our returning pupils. I have very much enjoyed hearing about all the exciting activities and places they have visited over the summer holidays, and seeing so many new friendships starting to develop.

Our youngest joiners in Reception have settled into school life seamlessly, impressing all of the staff that they have interacted with. It has been lovely to see them smiling away as they start their exciting school journeys, throwing themselves into each and every activity on offer. Year 3 have also started their time in the middle section with great enthusiasm, especially enjoying their French, Music and games lessons.

As I walked around the classrooms this week, I was hugely encouraged to see how focused the children were on the task in hand, quickly getting into positive routines and giving their best efforts with the work in front of them. It was no different in the Other Half clubs where the children were thoroughly enjoying trying new experiences or reigniting their passion for something they have previously enjoyed.

It was brilliant to have more than 50 children attend our pre-season football training before the start of term. All of the children have now undergone their first training sessions and I must say they showed great resilience continuing through the short downpours that have been a feature of the weather in games lessons at the start of term. I know many of them are genuinely looking forward to the matches which start next week.

Rachael Freese, our Year 2 class teacher and acting Head of Pre-Prep starts her maternity leave at the end of next week and we wish her all the very best. Caroline Luckcraft, a hugely experienced KS1 and EYFS teacher will be taking over both aspects of Rachael’s role and I know she is very excited to meet all of the children in Pre-Prep and parents too. Caroline will be in next week for a couple of days to work alongside Rachael and the Pre-Prep team and get to know the children so that she is fully up to speed when she starts.

I hope to see many of you at the welcome drinks on Friday evening and I know the staff are looking forward to chatting with you as well. I hope you all have a good weekend when it arrives.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 28 August 2025

Dear Parents

I hope that you have all enjoyed a lovely summer break, spending lots of time with your families and friends and enjoying the fine weather we have had. The start of a new academic year is always an exciting time and this year we welcome 50 new joiners across all sections of the school. We are very much looking forward to getting to know all of our new pupils and of course, seeing our returning students and hearing about what they have been getting up to during the break.

Today, we have welcomed back to school our new teachers for the first of our three INSET days. It has been great to catch up with everyone and be able to prepare ourselves to welcome back all of the children on Tuesday. I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome Becky Robinson-Slater, our new Year 4 class teacher, and Fern Skidmore, our new Year 3 class teacher, and Barney Church, our new Gap Year Assistant. I know they are all very much looking forward to meeting the children and getting to know them during these first few weeks of term. Welcome back to Aimee from her maternity leave as she rejoins Year 1, with Louise Batho teaching Y1 on a Wednesday.

As I am sure you are aware, our form teachers will be speaking with you on zoom tomorrow evening to share key information about the year ahead and school routines which may be new for many of the children. You should receive the zoom links tomorrow morning which will enable you to dial in for these meetings.

It was wonderful to see so many of our Year 5-8s join us on Cox’s Field this morning for their pre-season football session, with more than 50 attending. Elliot reports that everyone was very enthusiastic and from what he has seen this morning, APS look set to have a very successful football season this term.

Please may I take this opportunity to encourage you to read the weekly mailing every Thursday as there is important information included. This week specifically, there is detailed information about drop off and pick up, as well as the start of other half activities.

We are really looking forward to welcoming all the children back to school on Tuesday morning and cannot wait to get started. I hope to catch up with many of you in the car park during the week or if not, at our welcome drinks event on Friday 5 September at 6.45pm.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 3 July 2025

Dear Parents

It has been an exciting final week at APS for our Year 8s who have spent time across at Abingdon School familiarising themselves with the campus. On Monday they had a morning of sports, where they could choose to try out different options, such as squash, climbing, volleyball and ergos (indoor rowing machines). On Tuesday they were back over at Abingdon School for masterclasses taught by AS staff in both Science and English, and also were given a tour of the school and some sage advice from current sixth formers. I know that the children are hugely excited about starting their senior school careers in September.

On Monday, it was lovely to welcome more than 40 new children into school, to join with our current pupils to meet their new form teachers and get to know each other. Thanks to all those who acted as buddies to support the new children as they navigated their way around school for the first time.

Our assemblies this week have been a mixture of farewells and celebration. We said our goodbyes to our pupils and staff who are leaving APS at the end of this term and wished them all the very best for the future. Today we celebrated our Cups and Colours assembly, recognising many of the children for their efforts and achievements across the creative arts and sports. Tomorrow, we are very much looking forward to welcoming our Year 8 parents into school to celebrate, for one final time, their children who leave us to start the next step of their educational journey. We will miss them all.

Our final cricket matches of the term took place on Wednesday with a block fixture against our friends at Cothill. There were some impressive individual and team performances and it has been great to see the improvement made by the children over the course of the season.

It is hard to believe that we have now reached the end of this academic year and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your amazing support of the school this year. We are incredibly fortunate to have such terrific children, and parents, at Abingdon Prep.

I hope that you all have a fantastic summer holiday, whether staying at home, going further afield in the UK or indeed abroad.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 26 June 2025

Dear Parents

It was a fantastic turnout to support the children on Sports Day last Saturday and huge congratulations to Griffin House on their win. All the pupils competing deserve great credit for their efforts in the warm weather and the camaraderie they showed for their friends; it was wonderful to witness them encouraging each other in every event. Meanwhile the Pre-Prep Sports day was won by Unicorn House. We are getting near the point where we add up all the final merits and house competition points for the overall yearly trophy so every point really does count at this stage of term.

Our Year 8s are all having a brilliant time in Dorset on their outdoor adventure trip. They have been paddle boarding, taking on the high ropes course, and the very tough water based assault course. It is a great way for them to be celebrating the end of their time at APS and making memories that will last a lifetime.

Our Year 4s have had a lovely day of activities based around school, and their tents are up ready for their campout tonight and their fire roasted smores. I think there is a strong possibility of a midnight feast or two. Given that I too am camping out tonight with them, I am rather hoping that there is a midnight feast!

Year 3 has spent the day out in Oxford at The Ashmolean, seeing first hand their amazing Egyptian Collection to support their studies in History. They are acting as detectives, trying to uncover the mystery behind the curse of Tutankhamun.

Pre-Prep have been busy this week rehearsing for their Summer Concert, with the theme of Animals. I know that it will be a lovely way to celebrate all of their achievements over the course of the year and, having heard small snippets of the rehearsals, it promises to be a terrific afternoon of music, followed by picnics outside afterwards – all with their favourite Teddy Bears of course!

Finally, I wanted to say an enormous thank you and farewell to our amazing Chair of Governors, Professor Mike Stevens, who relinquishes his tenure at the end of this term after serving for 10 years on the board. Mike has been a wonderful Chair, putting the children of the foundation at the forefront of all decision making. I have valued his counsel enormously since joining Abingdon Prep eight years ago and he will be greatly missed by everyone. We look forward to welcoming James Sporle as the new Chair of Governors, someone who many of you will already know as a current APS parent.

I hope you have a good weekend ahead and, hard though it is to believe, it is the final weekend before the end of this school year.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 19 June 2025

Dear Parents

With the hot weather we are having this week, it has been great to be able to move to short sleeve order and the children have really enjoyed being outside, especially with a number of teachers using our wonderful grounds to undertake some outdoor learning with them.

I must start by mentioning the brilliant performance of ‘The Lion King JR’ last week from our Year 7 and 8 pupils. It was great for them to be playing to an enthusiastic full house at The Amey Theatre and I know how much everyone enjoyed watching them on stage, and also how much the children enjoyed being a part of it.

Our Year 8 pupils were treated to a fantastic careers event on Tuesday, with 10 very kind parents coming in and running a carousel where our pupils could go and talk to them to find out more about certain careers, such as architecture, medicine, dentistry, and forensic toxicology. Afterwards, the children were genuinely excited about what they had heard and it has given them so much more food for thought about their futures.

Pre-Prep have been enjoying their week with Reception and Year 1 undertaking a ‘Wheels Day’ at school today, bringing in bicycles or scooters to practise their skills on these and also to develop their all round knowledge and understanding of how to keep themselves safe on roads and when out and about. They had great fun with this and have certainly developed their confidence, whether on two or three wheels. Tomorrow, they are all off to Cotswold Wildlife Park, and having very recently been there myself, I know they are in for a spectacular day of wildlife spotting.

Year 2 have spent today in the woods at The Earth Trust site in Wittenham Clumps, undertaking a series of forest school based activities, whilst also developing their teamwork and generally having a brilliant time exploring and making dens, alongside memories. It was great for them to be in the shade of the woods too given the warm weather.

Cricket, athletics meets and tennis matches were played in great spirit this week and there were numerous strong individual performances alongside fabulous team efforts. Very unusually, two of the cricket matches were lost on the final ball by just a single run, but these are the types of matches where so much can be learned and taken forward into future games.

Finally, after Pre-Prep’s hugely enjoyable Sports Day at the end of last week, we are looking forward to the Year 3-8s having their turn and competing at Tilsey Park in their Sports Day on Saturday morning. I very much look forward to seeing many of you there, supporting all the children and getting right behind the four houses. In line with Elliot’s letter earlier today, with the hot weather predicted, please do bring water, hats and suncream.

I hope to see many of you on the playing fields after school on Friday for the summer JPA picnic. Last year was a very relaxed and enjoyable event, with children playing and parents chatting, very much enjoying each others’ company.

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend ahead.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head

Thursday 12 June 2025

Dear Parents

As always in the summer term, every week seems to be full to bursting with exciting events and activities, but this one seems busier than ever.

Excitement is building for tonight’s performance of ‘The Lion King Jr’ by our Year 7 and 8 pupils at The Amey Theatre. Rehearsals have been going well all week so I am hugely looking forward to the performance. I know the children will do themselves proud and the costumes and masks, created and made by both staff and pupils, are a sight to behold. I look forward to seeing many of you there tonight to watch.

Year 5 is today at one of my favourite venues for a trip, HMS Victory at Portsmouth Historic Dockyards. They will be exploring Nelson’s flagship and continuing their study of the British Navy in the prime of its life. It is an inspiring venue and well worth a visit in the summer holidays if you find yourself near Portsmouth.

Year 6 spent Tuesday at Oxford’s Botanical Gardens on an Art trip where they not only learnt a huge amount about plants, but also produced some wonderful drawings from real life specimens in front of them. What a great way to develop their Art and Biology whilst out on a trip.

Some terrific improvement has been shown in cricket matches this week by our U8s and U9s who performed very strongly despite succumbing to narrow defeats, with particularly impressive bowling throughout. Our U10 and U11 teams also acquitted themselves very well in their matches too.

I also wanted to update everyone on our sponsored swim from half term. We have now raised over £4000 for Down’s Syndrome Oxford which is fantastic and thank you so much to all of those who kindly sponsored the pupils swimming.

Our Pre-Prep children will take centre stage on Friday afternoon as they come together for their Sports Day. We have made a number of changes to the format this year and all the children will be competing for their houses in a broad range of events, and I know they will receive a huge amount of support from the spectators cheering on to the finish line.

Finally, thank you to those Year 7s who are acting as tour guides for our final Open Morning of the year on Friday morning. The children are our greatest asset and never fail to impress our guests as they tour them around school.

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend ahead.

Best wishes

Craig Williams
Head