Message From the Head 
Dear Parents,
The Year 6 production, supported by Year 5 as the chorus, was a true tour de force – a joyous experience for all who watched. We held a matinee performance for the pupils on Tuesday, followed by two evening shows. The teamwork, singing, dancing, voice work, and acting were simply outstanding, bringing many in the audience to happy tears. A huge well done to Mrs. Mason for leading the way in English and Drama.
Teachers are now into their third consecutive week of evening parent consultations – thank you to all for coming in to talk. Half-termly report cards, including pastoral comments, will be sent out to Prep and Upper Prep next week.
Looking ahead, we plan to get ahead with our co-curricular programme for the summer term, with a brochure and booking form set to go out next week. This is a key part of our core offering, featuring both new clubs and familiar favourites to extend the school day with real purpose.
The children have been working hard in preparation for our Summer Art Exhibition in April, and the quality of work this year has taken another leap forward. A special thank you to Ms Douse (Marley’s mum), who has generously volunteered her professional screen-printing skills to help raise the bar even further.
In the meantime, the extension of specialist teaching into Pre-Prep is bearing fruit. It was a delight to walk into Nursery and find Madame Early dancing and singing with the children in French – pure joie de vivre!
Have a great weekend.
Mr Towers, Head
News from Upper Prep
The sun has shone once again this week and as we head towards the end of term, it really does seem as if spring is in the air at long last!
Our House Music Competition took place on Monday morning and it was wonderful to see our Heads of Houses, George, Toby and Fletcher really taking the lead and supporting the younger children. The boys not only chose the songs for the competition but also sang their hearts out to encourage every member of their House. A special mention should also go to Emilia who played the piano and Delilah and George who sang solos.
I was also so pleased to see how the children in Upper Prep supported the cast of ‘Matilda’ at their dress rehearsal on Tuesday. It can be a daunting task to perform in front of your peers, yet the children in Year 7 and Year 8 loudly clapped for the cast and many took the trouble to congratulate the younger children in their performances. Our Drama Captains George and Delilah also stayed at school on Wednesday and Thursday to help with the production. Thank you both!
Our co-curricular clubs continue to be popular with the mountain bikers enjoying a sunny afternoon off road this week. Our new clubs brochure will be out before the end of term so don’t forget to sign up for the club you would like to do.
Finally, Year 7 enjoyed a fantastic trip to Battle Abbey on Friday. More about this next week!
Some dates for your diary for the final week of term include:
Monday March 24th : Swimming Gala 4.30pm
Wednesday March 26th : Bridwell Service 8.45am
Friday March 28th: The Bunny Run
School finishes at 12.00pm.
Have a lovely weekend everyone,
Mrs Mason, Head of Upper Prep
News from Prep
What an incredible week of activity we have had at Barrow Hills! The week began in style, with House Music taking place on Monday morning. This year, the theme was ‘Disney’ and we were wowed by some absolute classics, along with some newer songs. All the children took great pride in representing their Houses, and congratulations go to Murtough on being named the overall winner!
Houses were a focus of the week, with several House sporting competitions taking place. Congratulations go to McCormack, who took the trophies in Girls Netball and Boys Water Polo; Kean, who were victorious in Girls Football and Boys Hockey, and Murtough who were the winners of Boys Football.
The final Parent Consultations of the term took place on Tuesday – thank you to all the parents who came in to discuss their children’s journey – hopefully the feedback was productive.
Yesterday’s assembly was an absolute joy in every sense of the word, focussing on 20th March being the International Day of Happiness! Thank you, 5R, for your positive message.
Today, Years 3 and 4 had a “Book Look”, along with a presentation to Year 4 parents about the upcoming residential trip to Sayers Croft. For many, this will be the children’s first overnight trip away from home, and I know they are filled with excitement at the prospect.
Without a doubt, the highlights of the week were the two performances of ‘Matilda’, put on by Years 5 and 6. How such young children can perform with such poise, confidence, and composure, never ceases to amaze me. The songs were delivered with gusto, the comedy timing was exquisite, and the enthusiasm and professionalism were a wonder to behold. Congratulations to all those staff members and all the children involved – you should be beyond proud of your hard work – you all shone like stars!
There is still much to look forward to next week, with Years 3, 4 and 5 taking part in sponsored walks in aid of this year’s Lenten charity, Shooting Star Childrens’ Hospices (a link to our Just Giving page can be found here), and we also have the fun of the Bunny Run, taking place on the last day of term.
All that is left to say is good luck to all our ballet dancers taking their exam tomorrow.
Have a lovely weekend!
Miss Tyrrell, Head of Prep
News from Pre-Prep
On Monday morning Year 1 and Year 2 attended the House Music Competition with the rest of the school and sang their hearts out for their Houses. There were solos, actions and lots of smiling faces as all of the children from Kean, Murtough and McCormack performed two songs to the school. Well done to McCormack who won the trophy this year.
Mill Farm visited our Early Years children at the beginning of the week. This hands-on educational and recreational experience for the children included a variety of farm animals and other animals including guinea pigs and rabbits. The photos of the visit showed that a great time was had by all!
Pre-Prep were thrilled to be invited to watch the dress rehearsal of Year 5 and 6’s production of ‘Matilda’ this week. Every child in the school hall was completely captivated by the acting and singing of the cast and as many of the children knew songs from this well known musical, many of them, as well as staff, were singing the songs for the rest of the day.
Congratulations to Luca (Rec), Minty (1G) and Walter (2G) who received certificates for Work of the Week this morning in assembly. There has been excellent team working skills during model making and some superb accuracy with measurement in Maths this week.
Next Tuesday is our Spring Showcase at 8:40am which is certain to put a spring in your step after hearing Pre-Prep’s seasonal songs. Don’t forget to bring in Easter Bonnets on Monday 24th March as these will be worn after the Spring Showcase, when there will be a parade for parents past the Refectory.
On Friday we have our annual Bunny Run, the details of which are below.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Barnett, Head of Pre-Prep
BHCC
Bacon Butties were a welcome sight this morning, raising £186.16.
Thanks to our amazing team and the community for your support!
