Our special Prep news round up features news and pictures of 8s, 10s and 11s celebrating the climax of the current school year and sampling the possibilities offered by the next one
Summer sunshine has arrived at the perfect time to mark the arrival of sturdy and handsome new addition to Harrodian’s outdoor furnishings. Christened The Shara Dillon Friendship Bench the seat was presented to the school by the Parents’ Association to mark the first anniversary of the passing of our much loved Head of Pre-Prep Sport. It sits bang opposite the back door of the main building and it has quickly attracted a host of Prep pupils who appreciate its cosy two-seater charms, among them 8s (Year 4s) and some 11s (year 7s) who are old enough to remember ‘Sharky’ with fondness.
June is the month when Prep classes of different ages begin starting to prepare to move up to new school age groups. In September our PP3s will make the transition to Harrodian Prep, for example. That’s why every year, Harrodian stages a Transition Week when our PP3s share time and classes with the 8s. As well as providing children with the chance to sample classes such as English, Maths, Science and Humanities they also enjoy sharing a fun morning with the 8s involving dancing, plasticine modelling, Lego building, computer coding and a 'wonderful words’ quiz.
Pupils may feel daunted by the prospect of moving up. The idea of Transition Week is to alleviate fears and concerns as well as giving a taster of changes ahead
Ruth Hitchcock, Head of 8s (Year 4)
See more pictures of PP3/8s Prep Transition Week
‘Pupils may feel daunted by the prospect of moving up’, explains Ruth Hitchcock Head of 8s (Year 4). ‘The idea is to alleviate fears and concerns as well as giving a taster of changes ahead. The week culminated in our fantastic activity morning where the confidence of the current 8s shone through as they guided and shared experiences with the younger pupils.’
Our 10s (Year 6) are also on the brink of their own big move up, in this case from the Lower to the Upper Prep. Last week they enjoyed a first taste of Senior Science by sampling a first lesson in the Lab with Ms Oldacre and Mr Whelan, above.
See Gallery 1 of 10s Bushcraft Trip
See Gallery 2 of 10s Bushcraft Trip
As well as sampling a little of the new, the group were also able to celebrate promotion to the 11s by joining our much-loved Bushcraft trip. The two-day camping trip to Oxfordshire is back to its best after lockdown and includes all the country challenges Senior Harrodians went through in their time, among them shelter building, camouflaging, fish preparing and campfire lighting.
Sadly the 11s missed out on their usual Coastal Craft trip to Dorset last September. But reward for a hard year’s work did arrive in June in the form of two enjoyable local teambuilding days out for the year group in succession, the first to Liquid Leisure, the second to the ever-popular Chessington theme park.
See more pics of 11s Teambuilding days
The 12s also enjoyed a final Prep hurrah before they move up to the senior this week in the form of a trip to Ride Leisure in Cambridge. This included exciting land and water- based activities ranging from stand-up paddleboarding to archery.