Friday 20th March 2026

News from Upper Prep

With the Year 5 and 6 production of High School Musical taking centre stage this week, I am delighted to hand over the Upper Prep news to our very capable Head Boy and Head Girl. Dylan and Delilah, it’s over to you!

Hello! These last few weeks have been very busy indeed but very, very fun. To end last week, on Friday we had our non uniform day and I must say I think Year 8s outfits were very fashion forward, notably all their snazzy football kits. 

The STEM Fair at Charterhouse was very enjoyable and exciting as well! I think I can say on everyone’s behalf that we enjoyed doing the science challenge you could collect sweets from the most! Though I have to say all the other STEM projects were just as fun; there was a bull’s heart being dissected, a VR experience, a bubble explosion and loads of sound tests, one of which was making a tube shaped thing you blow into that made a huge sound very similar to an elephant and of course everyone had to make one of those.

News from Prep

Wow – what a busy but truly fantastic week it has been! The glorious sunshine has certainly helped; at times, I almost forgot we were in England!

We were pleased to complete our parent consultations this week, thank you to all the parents who came in to discuss the childrens’ progress and future goals.

A real highlight of the week was the much anticipated Year 5 and 6 production of High School Musical. On Tuesday, we took all of Prep and Upper Prep to King Edward’s School for the dress rehearsal, and the excitement and anticipation were palpable. It was lovely to see all the children supporting their friends and highlighted the sense of belonging and friendship that a Barrow Hills education is all about.

We then headed straight into two truly outstanding performances in front of a packed Charter Hall on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The children were absolutely phenomenal – full of energy, confidence, and talent. It was a joy to watch them bring the production to life and to see the results of so much hard work and dedication. A huge thank you must go to all the staff involved for their tireless efforts behind the scenes, as well as to our parent helpers. Most importantly, well done to the children themselves for their enthusiasm, commitment, and teamwork – it really was a cracking show!

As we head into the weekend, there is a real sense of pride in all that has been achieved this week. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Kind regards,
Miss Tyrrell, Head of Prep

News from Pre-Prep

As the weather warmed up and the sun made a welcome return, we were straight outdoors to take our Maths learning beyond the classroom as Year 2 explored capacity and poured different amounts of water to find out if their estimations for a range of different containers were accurate. Today they have travelled to Butser Ancient Farm for a day of immersive learning.  Meanwhile Year 1 enjoyed the opportunity to fully explore their  “Castles” topic through a special themed Castle Day yesterday. The children arrived dressed up in a beautiful range of costumes including princesses and knights, and they engaged in a range of fun, hands-on learning activities, including creating castle-inspired art and crafts, designing their own crowns, and experiencing a medieval-style banquet at lunch time. The children’s knowledge of castles was demonstrated at their fact filled class assembly last week in which each of the child spoke to the chapel’s audience about the different roles of people in a castle. If we have any castle related questions, we know who to ask!

Year 2’s class reader has been Dick King Smith’s The Hodgeheg, and the children have been researching hedgehogs on their chromebooks and recording facts before creating a fact file to organise the information they have gathered including details about their habitat and diet, as well as fun facts! Yesterday afternoon they began their DT project into design and building hedgehog boxes with Mr Hinds. 

Congratulations to Douglas (Kindy), Arnold (Rec), Annabelle (Year 1) and Alexander (Year 2) who received Work of the Week certificates this week. Well done, too, to Leo and Sophie in Year 1, and Alexander and Kit in Year 2, who achieved their Gold Awards.

A reminder that the children’s easter bonnets are due into school by Monday morning please. This is in preparation for Tuesday morning’s Easter bonnet parade which will follow the conclusion of the Spring Showcase which begins at 8:35am in Chapel. Refreshments will be served after usual morning drop off in the Refectory.

Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Barnett