22 September 2022 Abingdon Prep Investing in our youngsters This September will see the opening of our newly created music school, second science lab, purpose-built CDT room and new classrooms for our Year 5 and 6 pupils. We’ve also been able to transform our existing provision with improved facilities for Computing, Drama, Learning Support; and a double height library which will sit at the heart of the School and provide bright contemporary spaces for teaching, break out and quiet reading areas. Walk like an Egyptian Ancient Egypt was brought to life for Year 3 in early June when they enjoyed a guided tour of some authentic exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum. The children became detectives for the day, searching some of the ancient artefacts for clues of what life was like during the Egyptian era, and what the Ancient Egyptians believed in. Not only were the children amazed that they were viewing objects which had been used thousands of years ago; but they were then very gratified when our guide allowed them to handle some genuine Egyptian artefacts. What better way to get a handle on history?! Afternoon tea fit for a Queen The sun shone down on our Jubilee tea party held on the Friday before half-term. Bunting and flags made by the pupils gently flapped in the breeze, as families enjoyed a traditional and delicious English tea at tables decorated with red, white and blue flower displays specially created by the Gardening Club. The afternoon featured some fantastic performances including ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and ‘Let’s go fly a kite’, getting everyone into the celebratory spirit. Wonderfully poetic At the end of April, poet James Carter visited school to do poetry workshops with Years 1 to 4. Reading from his many poetry and non-fiction books, including ‘Zim, Zam, Zoom’ and ‘Weird, Wild and Wonderful’, each class wrote their own poems which were then shared at the end of the day. In the second half of term, the Drama and English departments worked on the poetry performance skills of children in Years 3 to 6. Every child learned a poem of their choice off-by-heart and performed it to their peers in a series of class heats. In the final of the competition, the best performances were given again for the whole school to watch. The performances were amazing and the standard was incredibly high. Two of our athletes - Arthur in Year 5 and Xavier in Year 7 - travelled to Monkton Combe Prep School in early May to compete in the IAPS National Triathlon Championships. Both pupils did themselves proud with Arthur finishing in 4th place and Xavier finishing 1st to be crowned the new IAPs National Triathlon Champion. Many congratulations to them both. Reaching for the top
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