A leading independent prep school in Somerset, offering excellence in education for 2-13 year olds
Years 3 and 4 have been working hard in Forest School this term, using their sawing, weaving and whittling skills to create some excellent Christmas decorations. On Thursday, they used the bow saws and hand drills to make mini Christmas tree decorations. One group honed their fire-lighting skills and made baked chocolate bananas, which were delicious. Thanks, Ms Bresland!
Our Reception children enjoyed a range of activities last week, with lots of reading, handwriting, phonics, numeracy and plenty of learning through play. We were delighted to welcome one of our governors, Paul Brewster, into Pre-Prep too – the Nursery children loved his reading of ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell.
Prep pupils came together for a poignant Remembrance Service in St Martin’s Church in North Perrott on Thursday, before Mr McCullough laid our school wreath at the war memorial on the village green. Our sincere thanks to Perrott parent and former Captain in the Scots Dragoon Guards, Charlie MacDermot-Roe L.V.O., gave a thoughtful and inspiring address on what remembrance means to him. He spoke eloquently about two key themes – luck and courage – and left the children with these three key messages: to be grateful for all that you have, to judge others by their deeds rather than the way they look, speak or dress, and to challenge yourself to be the best you can be. Many thanks, too, to our senior choir and instrumentalists, to those staff and pupils who delivered readings and, of course, to the wonderful Reverend Jonathan Morris. After 15 years in the parish, it was his final school service and he will be very much missed. With heartfelt thanks from all of us, Jonathan.
Our Nursery children have created an amazing and colourful fireworks display this week. They’ve also enjoyed playing with a range of materials from the practical life area of the classroom! Huge thanks to the wonderful Miss Becky and Miss Sarah for a great week of learning.
Years 5 and 6 have been working on their entries to the Mary Fedden OBE Commemorative Art Competition hosted by Badminton School. This year’s theme is ‘Roots or Routes’, with pupils being asked to explore these words through art. Our pupils, under the superb guidance and direction of Head of Art, Mrs Palmer, are exploring both – depicting visually where they come from (their roots) and the directions their lives have taken them since (their routes). As part of this project, they have also looked at the art of migrants and refugees, thinking about how different routes are taken for different reasons. They particularly enjoyed learning about The Walk– a travelling festival of art and hope in support of refugees, with artistic direction from Amir Nizar Zuabi (check out ‘Little Amal’ – a 3.5 metre tall puppet of a young refugee girl, created by the Handspring Puppet Company). A brilliant example of art bringing communities together, and we look forward to seeing the final ‘Roots or Routes’ exhibition later this month.
Year 2 have been learning about the Great Fire of London in history this term. As well as making their very own replica of Pudding Lane (which they set alight in Forest School this week), they also tested their knowledge with a game of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ – scooping the top prize, no less! A great way of bringing learning to life – thanks, Ms Williams.
Very well done to those pupils who took part in Pupils’ Party Pieces before half term. From Frankie in Year 3 to Rosie and Kaitlin in Year 8 (and all the years in between!), it was an absolute joy to be back together and performing in front of friends, parents and grandparents. It was also a treat to hear the individual performances from Le Courgette Quartet’s recent trip to Hardy’s Cottage. Very well done to you all.
We are delighted to see our Headmaster, Mr McCullough, in the latest edition of the brilliant Absolutely Education. From the close-knit community we have here to the subject specialist teaching throughout the school (including our littlest Perrott Hillians in Nursery), Mr McCullough talks through the many benefits of small schools and why they’re emerging from the pandemic even stronger than before. Bravo, Headmaster!
What a joy to see many happy little faces in our school library last week. ‘Boris Babysits’ by Sam Lloyd was a particular hit with the Nursery children and Mrs Layove’s class loved hearing her read ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak. on Friday, Mrs McCullough’s class are read ‘The Rainbow Fish’ by Marcus Pfister, a lovely story about the importance of sharing and one which fits in beautifully with this week’s rainbow artwork!
Year 6 looked at cells in science last week. On Friday, they finished their clay models of specialised cells and got to explore a range of slides on these new microscopes (which go to x400 magnification), donated by Wadham School. Thank you, Wadham!
