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Barrow Hills Bulletin

17 October 2025

Friday 17th October 2025

Welcome to the Barrow Hills Bulletin, your weekly newsletter with a snapshot of life at School.

Message From the Head

Dear Parents

Last week, we enjoyed a thoughtful reflection on Harvest Festival and our role as a charity within the community. Thank you for your generous support with our food bank collection. This week, we made space for literacy with our annual House Poetry Competition, which again produced some engaging and creative pieces, as well as a chance to practise public speaking.

Continuing that theme, we are running another half-term reading challenge to keep the momentum going. Please see the message on the Tuesday Portal for details on how to take part. Please join the staff in role-modelling the reading habit for our children over the next couple of weeks.

Notable events this week included the Year 1 trip to Brooklands Museum, the U11 girls’ football tournament for the Surrey Cup (they went through to the next round), and Maths Night for parents.

Keeping things bright and cheery, our new Astro lights were up and running this week! This means we can make full use of this brilliant space for sports and extracurricular clubs right through the winter months—year-round action at last. Thank you to parents for your support in making this happen.

We close for the half term today and look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 3rd November. Looking ahead for that month, we have our Fireworks and Bonfire Display on 7th November and, amongst the usual cornucopia of events, our inaugural Christmas Crafts Fair on Saturday 29th November.

Kind regards

Mr Towers, Head

News from Upper Prep

It has been a busy but extremely productive half term in Upper Prep – and our final week has been no exception!

The children in Year 7 and Year 8 have tackled all areas of the curriculum with their usual energy and enthusiasm and I know they will all be ready for a good rest over half term.

The week began with my favourite house event: House Poetry. This was judged by Mrs Dudley and introduced by our drama captains, George M, Delilah and Thomas. I was so impressed with the high standard of poetry and Mrs Dudley had a very difficult job deciding upon just one winner in each year group. Well done to everyone who took part.

The Year 7 children enjoyed speaking to one of our Governors this week, ahead of their Admissions Day at King Edward’s, Witley on Friday to welcome all children to the Bridewell Royal Hospital Foundation.

The morning commenced with a Chapel service at 11.15am in the presence of Alderman Sir Peter Estlin, who represents our historic links with the City of London. Sir Peter is also a former pupil of King Edward’s, known as an “Old Witleian” . Mr Smith and I were so impressed with the behaviour of the children throughout the beautiful chapel service and we know they especially enjoyed the delicious lunch! Thank you also to Delilah and Dylan who also attended as Head Girl and Head Boy.

Both Year 7 and Year 8 enjoyed a book related treat this week for smashing the reading target, set by Mrs Dudley. As a group, they have read for 14,025 minutes over the past six weeks, which is a remarkable achievement! Reading is so important and can benefit all areas of the curriculum so please, please keep reading daily over half term everyone! It makes such a difference!

I wish you all a very peaceful and relaxing half term.

Best wishes,

Mrs Mason

News from Prep

It’s hard to believe we have already reached the final week of the half-term! It has certainly been a busy and vibrant few days here at Barrow Hills, filled with energy, enthusiasm, and a wonderful sense of achievement across the school.

We were delighted to welcome so many parents to our Maths Workshop earlier in the week. It was fantastic to see such engagement and curiosity as we explored ways to support the children’s mathematical understanding and confidence at home. A special thank you to Mr Pretorius for organising and leading such an informative and enjoyable session — it was greatly appreciated by all who attended.

The week has been bustling with activity, from lessons and rehearsals to clubs and fixtures, and I continue to be impressed by the focus and positivity shown by the children right through to the end of the half-term. Their commitment to their learning and to one another is a real credit to them.

A special mention must also go to our Musician of the Week, who treated us to a wonderful piano performance during assembly this morning. It was a real joy to listen to such talent and confidence on display, and a lovely way to bring the week — and indeed the half-term — to a close.

As we head into the half-term holiday, I want to thank all our children, staff, and families for their hard work and support over the past few weeks. It has been a truly productive and rewarding half-term, and everyone deserves a well-earned rest.

Wishing you all a happy, safe, and relaxing half-term holiday.

Miss Tyrell

News from Pre-Prep

Year 1 travelled to Brooklands Museum on Monday as part of their Sails, Rails, Wheels and Wings topic. From classic vehicles, buses and racing cars to motorcycles and historic aircraft, the children explored and boarded them all, including the world famous Concorde! Trips undoubtedly create emotions of excitement, curiosity, wonder, even surprise, all of which help back in the classroom to enthuse the children with their writing, making it more authentic and personal.

This afternoon was our Open Classroom event across Pre-Prep for parents to come and see their children’s classrooms and some of the hard work they have been doing since the beginning of September! This is always a proud moment for our youngsters as they can take real ownership of what they have produced, supporting their self esteem as well as communication skills. It also enhances home – school connections so families can see what and how the children are learning.

Congratulations to Annabelle (Year 1) who was presented with the Pre-Prep Playtime Award at assembly this morning. Annabelle always shows kindness, cooperation, and respect during playtime and each half term staff recognise an individual who contributes to creating a happy, safe, and inclusive place for everyone. Bronze Awards were achieved by Leo, Sophie and Alex in Year 1 and by India, Kit, Matthew and Mia in Year 2. Finally, this week’s Work of the Week recipients were Isla (Rec) for her concentration whilst creating her beautiful rangoli patter, Leo (Year 1) for his super writing in phonics and Matthew in Year 2, not only for his precisely drawn circuits using scientific symbols, but also for the imaginative similes, alliteration and adjectives used in his ‘play’ poetry. Very well done.

When we return from the half term break, we have Parent Consultations for children in Kindy, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 on Wednesday 5th November between 4.00pm and 6.00pm, and on Thursday 6th November between 3.45pm and 5.15pm. Please remember to book your child into ‘Club’ should you require this service on these days.

Wishing you all a lovely half term break.

Mrs Barnett

Wellbeing Over Half Term

As we approach the end of this wonderfully busy half term, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed our collective coffee consumption has steadily increased! It’s that time when a few yawns are spotted in the corridors – from staff and pupils alike – which is always the surest sign that a restful break is well-earned and very much needed. The children, however, have remained in fine fettle, and their youthful energy has continued to fill our school with essential zest. It’s safe to say we are all looking forward to recharging our batteries.

The holidays are an invaluable opportunity to step away from the routines of school life, and I do hope that all our families have a fantastic time. It is a chance to reconnect with friends and, importantly, to rediscover hobbies and interests away from the digital world. Fresh air and unstructured play are so important for your child’s wellbeing.

Naturally, with more free time, children may spend more of it online. As your children’s digital worlds are as real and important to them as their offline ones, the holidays present a good moment for a ‘digital check-in’. With that in mind, I would gently encourage you to take a few moments to review the privacy settings on their favourite apps and online platforms. It is also a good time to ensure that the videogames they are enjoying are appropriate for their age.

For many, video games and online platforms like YouTube can be an immensely creative and enjoyable part of their world. The rich, narrative worlds of games can be incredibly engaging, as can the communities built around their favourite online creators. Rather than simply monitoring screen time, I would encourage you to show an active interest in this part of their lives. Please do ask your child about what they have been doing in their game, or what videos they have been enjoying on YouTube; ask them to show you what they have built, what challenge they just overcame, or what they found interesting or funny in a video. Taking an interest not only opens up new lines of communication but also gives you a much clearer insight into their online experiences, interests, and friendships.

On behalf of the team here at Barrow Hills, I wish you all a superb, restful, and safe half-term break. We look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 3rd November, refreshed and ready for the remainder of the term.
All good wishes,

Zak Siva
Director of Safeguarding

School Notices

Barrow Hills Parents Association

Bacon Butties were a welcome treat this morning, and helped raise £159.95. The Bacon Butty stall runs every single Friday, serving a selection of delicious breakfast treats and hot drinks, and is a fabulous meeting point for everyone to catch up at the end of the school week.

Funds raised by the Barrow Hills Parents Association have enabled the purchase of floodlights for our Astro. We look forward to the additional the sports activities this lighting will enable, including the continuation of hockey club after half term.

Our recently relaunched Barrow Hills Parents Association will hold their inaugural meeting at 9am on Friday 14 November in the Refectory. All parents are warmly invited to come along and find out more about how to get involved with events and volunteering opportunities throughout the year. Whether you can spare an hour or a regular commitment it all helps and makes a difference to our school community!

Thanks to our amazing team and the community for your support!

Bonfire Night & Fireworks Display

The Barrow Hills Parents’ Association is delighted to invite you to our annual Bonfire Night Celebrations.

Tickets are available to purchase below or with cash at the Bacon Butties Stall on Friday mornings.

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/FJLR

Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair

We are excited to announce that we are hosting a Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair on 29th of November 11am-4 pm with over 20 high quality arts and crafts makers as well as food, drinks and carols. We have a few spaces left and as part of our community we would love to see staff, students, friends and family to have a stall or to attend and support our first Arts and Crafts fair.

Please contact our Head of Art – Mrs Waller at rsw@barrowhills.org for more information.