Friday 6th March 2026

News from Upper Prep

The sun has shone at Barrow Hills this week and I really feel that spring is on the way at long last after a wet and dreary winter!

World Book Week reminded us all of the magic of storytelling and I am so grateful to our wonderful librarian Mrs Withers who organised many fantastic activities to help the children embrace the joy of reading. Whether it was the Drama Captains, Tom, Delilah and George M, inspiring us in assembly or the Year 8 children sharing picture books with our youngest learners in Nursery and Kindy, there was a palpable sense of community, creativity and fun.

Our sporting stars also shone brightly this week. The U13 A Hockey team displayed incredible tenacity at the IAPS tournament at Brambletye. Reaching the quarter-finals is a fantastic feat, but even more impressive was the sportsmanship and resilience they showed throughout the day. I know Mr Mullins and Mr Smith were very proud of them all.

The literary theme continued on Thursday with a visit to KESW to meet author Helen Dennis. Our Year 7 and 8 students were fascinated by her tales of code-breaking and adventure and asked some very interesting questions. This spirit of engagement carried into Friday’s Open Morning, where our Year 8s acted as world-class tour guides, and our Year 7s brought our VR and cooking departments to life for our visitors.

Next Week: STEM Week! The excitement doesn’t stop. We have a fabulous schedule lined up, culminating in a special visit from Sacha Dench on Friday, March 13th. We look forward to seeing many parents there!

Have a lovely weekend everyone,
Mrs Mason, Head of Upper Prep

News from Prep

It has been a wonderful World Book Week, bringing a real sense of joy around reading and storytelling. Throughout the week, the children have had the opportunity to Drop Everything and Read, allowing them to pause during the school day and become fully immersed in a good book. Moments like these are a lovely reminder of the enjoyment reading can bring!

The children were also fortunate to meet a visiting fantastic author, Tamsyn Murray, who inspired them with stories about their writing journeys and sparked plenty of creative thinking. It was wonderful to see how engaged the pupils were, asking thoughtful questions and clearly feeling motivated to explore their own ideas through reading and writing.

Another highlight of the week was seeing pupils spend time reading together across the school, with older and younger children sharing books within their Houses. These moments of collaboration and encouragement are always special and reflect the strong sense of community we value so highly.

Of course, Thursday’s dress-up day was a particular highlight, with the school filled with an array of imaginative and colourful literary characters. The creativity on display was fantastic, and it was clear how much thought and enthusiasm had gone into many of the costumes.

Today the school has been in full flourish with our Open Morning, and it has been a pleasure to welcome families into the school. This afternoon we were also delighted to invite parents to our Come and See What We Do afternoon, where we were able to showcase a sneak peak of what the children get up to in the classroom and beyond. Opportunities like this are always so valuable, helping bring to life the learning, creativity, and energy that fills the school each day.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support, and I wish you all a very restful weekend.

News from Pre-Prep

What a week! We have thoroughly enjoyed celebrating World Book Week, sharing everyone’s love of reading and exploring lots of fantastic stories together. First thing on Monday morning, Reception to Year 7 attended World Book Week’s Launch Assembly led by Year 8. Our Year 8’s detailed the activities everyone would be involved in over the course of this week before the children split into their different houses, with Middle and Upper Prep sharing stories with the younger children. A real highlight was our exciting author visit from Tamsyn Murray. All of the children had the chance to hear all about her writing process and ask some brilliant questions. She had a captive audience as she shared her stories of how she got her inspiration! 

We were so proud of Year 2 who introduced World Book Day for their class assembly. The asked a number of staff members who they had chosen to dress up as, and explained to our audience which book their characters were from. The children spoke with such confidence and clarity in front of the school community. The bell rang out twice this week which signalled Drop Everything and Read, and all children (and staff) did exactly that, immersing themselves in a book of their choice. It has been lovely to see so much enthusiasm, creativity, and teamwork throughout the week.

On Tuesday afternoon we had our Spring Concert with Pre-Prep were represented by the Pre-Prep Choir, “the Larks”. We thoroughly enjoyed their performances, including their enthusiastic actions. 

STEM Week – Flight of The Swans

STEM Week is fast approaching and we have a very exciting week lined up! Sacha Dench (aka The Human Swan), is an internationally recognised conservationist, pilot, documentary filmmaker and Ambassador for the UN’s Convention on Migratory Species and CEO and founder of Conservation Without Borders. If you would like to hear Sacha’s talk, please book your tickets here!