From Barrow Hills to Charterhouse: Emilia’s Journey

An Open Letter from Emilia: Reflections on Upper Prep and Life Beyond Barrow Hills

Good evening, I’m Emilia and some of you may recognise me as Head Girl last year at Barrow Hills. I joined Barrow Hills in Kindy so I have experienced everything the school has to offer, and I would love to tell you a bit more about my experience in upper prep, what I enjoyed and how those experiences have helped me settle into life at my new school.

I have now moved on to Charterhouse and am loving it. It’s been very easy to settle into the academic, sport and social life and a large part of this is due to the incredible help and support I received during my time in Upper Prep at Barrow Hills, preparing me for any challenges I may face at the start of a new senior school.

Academically, studying the Common Entrance syllabus during Upper Prep was hard work, but it has provided me with a really strong foundation across all subjects. The exams that we took during Year 7 and 8 have helped me learn how to revise and organise my time and have given me experience in sitting formal exams under time pressure and now I’m not worried about having to sit them in the future.

So far, all the work I have done at Charterhouse has been the topics we had covered at Barrow Hills which has made my transition into senior school much easier. The Common Entrance programme enabled us to push ourselves further, even covering some GCSE topics and as a result has given me more time to focus on extracurricular activities and forming close friendships as I start senior school.

The teachers at Barrow Hills are excellent – I miss my English teacher giving e a hug when I enter the classroom! It’s not quite the same at Charterhouse. And the smaller class sizes meant that we always got personal feedback and support, and built strong relationships with our teachers, meaning that we were all confident to seek help for whatever we may need. We had a year group of 8, but we were still streamed in some of our subjects meaning that lessons were tailored to each of our abilities.

I think that one of the greatest benefits of Upper Prep at Barrow Hills is the confidence you gain. If, at the start of Year 7, you had asked me to speak here tonight I would, of course, have agreed, but I would have been terrified. Now, public speaking is something I really enjoy and actively take part in at Charterhouse.

We are lucky enough at Barrow Hills to have a very tight-knit community with everyone there to support you and willing you to do well which makes it much easier to take a risk. From presenting to my class during lessons, to readings in whole school assemblies and finally making a speech in front of the whole school, and parents and governors at prize giving before the summer, my ability to speak confidently in public has greatly improved.
This has aided me greatly at Charterhouse as I have the confidence to speak up in lessons and I do so so frequently that some of my new teachers have started getting bored of me answering and asking questions.

In year 8, we all got appointed a captaincy role, meaning everyone gets responsibilities over an area of school life that interests them. As Head Girl last year, I thoroughly enjoyed representing the school and having responsibility over many aspects of school life.

I was also Music Captain, meaning I was able to perform at many concerts. Solo performances are always nerve wracking, but after a concert at Barrow Hills you are guaranteed multiple hugs and high-fives as you leave Chapel. I will never forget my last concert at Proms in the Park last year, the support and praise I received, despite learning that heat and cellos don’t mix very well, made it a joyous afternoon I will never forget.

All of us really enjoyed mentoring the younger children and took pride in being role models like the ones we looked up to when we were in Pre-Prep.

Sport has been fantastic throughout my time at Barrow Hills and I had some great experiences in Upper Prep. We were fortunate enough to be able to play hockey, netball, and cricket with the girls in years 7 and 8 at King Edward’s School, Witley. I still had the amazing coaching from the Barrow Hills sports staff as Mrs Burnett and Mrs Clarke came with us to coach weekly training sessions. This wasn’t just beneficial for my sport at school; it also helped me to learn how to integrate myself into a large group of girls, meaning that when I arrived at Charterhouse I felt hardly any nerves and, despite only knowing a few people, managed to make great friendships very quickly.

The excellent coaching I received has given me a really strong start at Charterhouse and has meant that I am currently playing in the A team for netball and the B team for hockey. The sports coaching at Barrow Hills is incredible, no matter how many players they have, they manage to spark a love for team sports in everyone. It was amazing to be able to play netball at a national level when I was in year 7. Something that has stood out to me as I have started playing at senior school is how Barrow Hills gives everyone a great understanding of team sports and good sportsmanship, especially as we get older.

There were so many amazing things about Upper Prep, so it was hard to choose just one highlight out of everything I mentioned before. However, the community at Barrow Hills is something that I will miss. In year 8 we had the opportunity to mix with all year groups. During break you might have found me playing tag with the year 3’s and 4’s, giving a year 6 advice for their upcoming entrance exams and interviews or just playing football with the boys.

Barrow Hills really helps to prepare you for senior school, you’re treated like a senior school student, whilst you also have the comforts of the prep school environment.

I feel very lucky to have spent the first 10 years of my education at Barrow Hills. The whole experience has been incredible, however my time in Upper Prep really helped to shape me into who I am today, a mature, confident, and responsible person.

Best wishes – Emilia