8 Sep 2022

WEEKLY MAILING

Message from the Headmaster

Dear Parents

My colleagues and I have enjoyed welcoming everyone back to school this week and it’s been good to see students making a positive start to lessons and Other Half activities.

I was thrilled to be able to announce in the first assembly of the year that last year’s U15 cricketers had been crowned as national T20 champions the weekend before term started. They defeated Cheadle Hulme in the final, having enjoyed fine victories against the national one-day champions, Forest School, and Millfield in the semi- and quarter-finals respectively. This is a great team achievement and I hope it will inspire a sense of confidence and self-belief across the school community. The team has enjoyed passionate and loyal support from their families throughout the season, for which I am very grateful.

We enjoyed further national success in the English Schools’ Athletics Championships, with recent leaver Rowan Miell-Ingram winning the 1500m and Henry Channon winning the silver medal in the 400m.

At our first assembly of term, I looked out at a sea of smartly dressed students and took the opportunity to remind them of the standards of dress that we expect throughout the school year. We will of course monitor these standards in school but I would be grateful for parents’ support in getting this message across at home too.

Best wishes, Mike Windsor

 

UPPER SCHOOL

MIDDLE SCHOOL

LOWER SCHOOL

  • Personal Reading Books for 1st and 2nd Year, from Dr Gardner and Mr Coolin. From Monday 26 September, pupils in the 1st and 2nd Year will be expected to carry a personal reading book on them when in School. Please see this letter for more information, and this reading list for book recommendations.

WHOLE SCHOOL

  • Save the Date:  Abingdon Open Day will be held on Saturday 1 October.  All students, except first years, are expected to attend.  Any requests for absence should be made in writing to your child’s housemaster.  Further details to follow shortly.
  • Sporting – Welcome & Key Information.  All key information around the logistics for Sport & PE, including fixtures and team selection can be found here.   The link to the Sport section can be found here.
  • Drama – Other Half Opportunities 2022-23 Letter
  • Residential Trips for academic year 2022-2023 (As previously published on Friday 27 May 2022):
    Attached is the updated trips matrix, though it has more provisional information than in pre-covid times, and may be less exhaustive than in earlier end-of-term issues. As usual, regrettably, with a plethora of trips available, avoiding clashes between trips is not always possible for each student, as there are many constraints to work with. Enquiries should be addressed to [email protected] please.
  • Driving near the School.  Parents are reminded not to drop off or collect pupils from the Park Lodge area, or Lower Field car park, please. This is because the area is already busy with pedestrians, pupils and school traffic. We therefore ask that parents drop and collect pupils in Park Crescent, operating a one-way system travelling clockwise past the private housing to the west of Albert Park, and ending up near the boarding houses. The Crescent ends at a cross roads, where halting is obligatory on these private roads. Wheel clamping operates on Park Road and Park Crescent, so you are advised not to leave a car unattended.  Please also be reminded that there is a speed limit of 20mph along these roads.
  • Abingdon News – The latest issue is available here and looks back on the many accomplishments of, and activities enjoyed by, our students over the course of the Summer term.  It also includes articles on perseverance, the many benefits of our partnership programme and the renovation and development of our boarding facilities and our plans for a state-of-the-art dining pavilion – which will significantly enhance our offering to both day and boarding students.
  • Music: 
    • Joint Choral Society – Haydn’s Creation Parent Singers needed!  We hope that there will be a good number of parents keen to sing alongside students and teachers from Abingdon, Headington, St Helen’s and OX14 Partnership Schools in our forthcoming performance of Haydn’s magnificent oratorio, The Creation, which will take place on Friday 18 November in the Amey Theatre. We will rehearse for an hour each week on Wednesdays, 6-7pm. You do not have to be a skilled or experienced singer and there will be no auditions – enthusiasm to participate is all that is required! We start on Wednesday 14 September in the CMR, 6-7pm. Please email [email protected]
    • Alexander Technique lessons at Abingdon School. Our Alexander teacher, Cathie Kidger, comes in once a week to work with our musicians to develop their posture and awareness – and thereby enhance their sense of well-being and equilibrium, which will, in turn, enable them to develop as musicians. Please see here an information sheet about the benefits of Alexander Technique lessons (“Poise in Playing”) which are offered to individual pupils on the same basis as instrumental lessons. This is particularly recommended for our advanced performers, but is equally useful for sportsmen and all students. Again, please email [email protected]
    • Orchestra and Big Band Tour to France and Belgium Tuesday 4 – Thursday 13 July 2023. Next week, Mr Stinton will be extending an invitation to selected new students and their families to consider joining next year’s music tour to Abingdon’s twin towns, with concerts in Argentan, Colmar, Sint Niklaas and ending with a final concert in Paris at La Madeleine. This tour will be open to pupils in the School’s First Orchestra and Big Band.
    • See other upcoming Music events.
  • OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events.
    • Please could we also draw your attention to the Atom Society Lecture series. These lectures are held locally and include talks from a range of Scientists and experts in their field. Membership is free for under 18s. Find out more here.
  • News from the week
  • Food menu for the following week – Week 2
  • School calendar
  • Weekly mailing archive.
  • Box Office:
  • Changes to the Amey Theatre due to the Pavilion project – with the construction work now having started, events at the Amey Theatre will run slightly differently with the Foyer, Bar and Box Office located in a marquee at the front of the building. For more information about the changes, please click here.