Head of Lower Prep, Clair Foster, is thrilled both by the return of Prep pupils to school this term and by their renewed delight in playing and working together
It’s been a long, hard wait but what a pleasure – and relief – it is to have all our Prep pupils back at school. For me, summertime is when Harrodian’s wonderful riverside site truly comes alive. So, over the past two weeks I have been thrilled to witness prep pupils taking full advantage of the sunshine that’s been on offer to make the most of our wide, green spaces. From football and frisbee, to tennis, swimming sessions or their own particular playtime take on hide and seek, it’s been lovely to see the children simply radiating the joy that comes of playing together again.
It’s been lovely to see the children simply radiating the joy that comes of playing together again. And this joy in companionship and co-operation is just as evident in their work.
This joy in companionship and co-operation in play is just as evident in their work. Freed from the confines of computers, Prep pupils have seized the chance to participate in shared learning with both hands. The relish they brought to the activities of Lower Prep Science week – which took place last week – illustrates this perfectly.
Each year group had its own special task set for them by our Lower Prep Head of Science Ms Morrow (with the help of Harrodian’s Head of Science Taryn Oldacre). 8s (year four) were asked to build bridges using spaghetti and marshmallows, 9s (year five) were set the task of making their own pulley-driven elevators and 10s (year six) were challenged to create a mechanism which would protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a first-floor window. The pleasure they took from working in groups to engage with and solve these tricky problems was tangible, and shines through in the pictures we took during the week.
To see our Lower Prep Science Week gallery, please follow the link
Ms Morrow has been rather busy. Alongside her Science role, as Head of PSHE in the Lower Prep, she is also responsible for managing our programme focusing on ‘educating the whole child’, and in the first weeks of term she has overseen no less than three visits to the Prep by experts focusing on different aspects of children’s personal development. In Week 1 we welcomed Rob Higgs, author of Bullying: What Have I Ever Done to You who provided advice to the 9s and 11s about how to empower themselves against bullying; this week saw a visit by PC Phil Simmonds who provided the police view of topics such as ‘sexting’ and phone use to the 11s and 12s; next week will see the welcome return of Amy Forbes Robertson who will spend two days discussing everything from puberty changes to relationship problems with our 9s, 10s and 11s (as well as the 13s and 15s).
I think you’ll agree that this all adds up to a positive launch into summer and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s just the start. As lockdown continues to ease, we’re hoping that we’ll be able to offer more of the extra-curricular ingredients that make the summer term so special. Harrodian's first sports fixture for over a year – an Under 18s tennis match – took place this week and we're keen to add more matches at every level, along with sports days and swimming galas, as the term goes on. As part of this drive we have just rescheduled the 10s annual Bushcraft trip to Oxfordshire (long a much-loved Year Six ‘rite of passage’), so it can take place in June and will be confirming the dates and details with parents soon.
As lockdown continues to ease, we hope to offer more of the extra-curricular ingredients – the fixtures, the sports days the Swimming galas – that make the summer term so special.
The only ingredient missing so far in the summer mix is you! It’s frustrating that, for now, the charms of a Harrodian summer still remain out of the reach of our parents but, with luck, it won’t be too long until we’re able to welcome you back inside the school gates. In the meantime, if you have any comments or questions about this blog, please do feel free to use the link below to get in touch.
Ms Foster welcomes feedback on this blog to: website@harrodian.com