PREP SCHOOL

I am always amazed at how easily we accept the irregular as normal. Who would think that ‘bubbles’, red stripes on the floor two metres apart, hand sanitiser, Victorian style desk plans, segregated playgrounds, webcams, remote learning, TEAMs (but not of the sporting kind), PPE no longer referring to Politics, Philosophy and Economics, would all seem normal?

To paraphrase a famous saying, this year has been a game of two thirds, finishing with a final flourish and hurrah. We said goodbye to Miss Parker-Hill and welcomed Mr Rogers in her stead.

In a world where we couldn’t go anywhere, what could we do? Plenty, as it turns out, and if there were obstacles then we would work around them. In the Autumn Term, there are always the usual suspects that come around: Harvest, Remembrance, Children in Need, LAMDA exams, children-designed Christmas cards, Reverse Advent, the Nativity and the Carol Service to finish off with. Yes, we did them all!

Admittedly, we couldn’t invite friends and families, but we could film them and send off the evidence. Our famous Friday Assemblies carried on, with each class performing one. We tried live streaming (look how the new phrases come out), but that didn’t work, and then the power of the iPhone (other makes are available) came to the fore and film we did.

Harvest came around and there was no auction, but we held a raffle instead. All the donations came in and some wonderful raffle prizes were made, raising £1000! Next came the Book Fair, where there was great excitement about shopping - and not just from the children. We even managed Parents’ Evenings, with me busy sanitising chairs between visits. It was rather strange as everyone was in masks and visors; still, we managed. We had Remembrance and, although distanced, the School paid its respects. The Children in Need Cake sale went ahead, as ever, with Mrs Rogers in full PPE busy selling to bubbles. Reverse Advent was a great success and then we filmed the Nativity. Term finished with carols sung to parents in the playground. We also waved Mrs Wall au revoir as she went on maternity leave, and we looked forward to meeting Mrs Leonard. We could still carry on with sports and swimming at school, so we made life as normal as possible. One thing that we all did change was what we wore inside. With doors and windows open, it necessitated hats and scarves whilst learning. I have to say that the children seemed inured against the cold; whilst us adults were putting on more layers, they seemed happy in shirts!

Summer rolled around. Mr and Mrs Wall came in with their son Iolo and with this new beginning, we started the term with restrictions being relaxed. We could actually imagine an Aquathlon, a sports day, the production and even Speech Day happening. And they did! We even managed to have Fetch Theatre come and visit with their fabulous Insect Safari.

None of these fantastic things could have happened without the Prep Team working as hard as ever and taking every restriction in their stride. It equally couldn’t have happened without the parents being very strict themselves. So, perhaps not a game of two thirds, but certainly one to remember!

January was to be the same until, with impeccable timing that gave schools about a day’s notice, the country was instructed to go into lockdown – again. However, this time there were differences: more children came in and the wonderful magic of webcams led to simultaneous learning for those at home. Friday Assemblies changed, with all the children in their classrooms whilst I Zoomed (another new meaning) an assembly from my office. We even managed to celebrate birthdays!

“In a world where we couldn’t go anywhere, what could we do? Plenty, as it turns out, and if there were obstacles then we would work around them. ”

Mr Bicker-Caarten Head of Prep School

Reception

What a year for Reception! Embracing the joys and challenges of school life with gusto, the 2020-21 class were a joy from the off, playing a full part in their bubble and learning with infectious enthusiasm. Unable to welcome parents in, as in previous years, Teams was invaluable in bridging the gap. There was Harvest Festival, an entertaining Kitchen Disco … then Jesus was Born in a Barn! Christmas was celebrated and the term ended with a wonderful carousel of activities.

In the New Year, the children travelled back to prehistoric times, embracing the topic of dinosaurs. Then spring came, we enjoyed the wonders of the changing season and our focus was very much outside. We joined in the school’s Red Nose challenge, walking 2km each day for the second half term and we put on a funny face, singing joyfully in Lucton’s Got Laughs.

One of the high points of the summer was the children’s wonderful retelling of The Three Billy Goats Gruff in their final class assembly of the year. Other highlights were their very first aquathlon (where else but Lucton!), a glorious sports day with cheering onlookers and a captivating Insect Safari courtesy of the Fetch Theatre… all on top of the regular learning and fun! It has been a delight to be your teacher, Reception. You are going to be an amazing Year 1.

Year 1 had a year full of fun, hard work, challenge and adventure both in and out of the classroom. In the Autumn Term, our Food and Farming topic inspired everyone, with real farmers visiting our class. We sang our hearts out for the Harvest Festival, then harvested our own apples to create exciting flavoured breads. We visited the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, finding out about farms through the ages and made our own soup, bread and butter. Then, one day, a huge tractor appeared in the playground, for us to explore and ask questions about.

In the second half of the term, we whittled our own marshmallow toasting sticks to enjoy a campfire treat in the woods and performed a very thought provoking assembly about children’s rights on International Children’s Day. We learnt about celebrations in different faiths, investigating Diwali and The Nativity. We learnt new songs, rehearsed long and hard, and put on our costumes to perform the rousing Pre-Prep Nativity, Born in a Barn, for an audience of friends and relations.

Despite the Spring Term Lockdown, we forged ahead online and in the classroom with what proved to be a wonderfully popular topic - The Victorians, which caught everyone’s imagination. We got planting, at home during our science topic, sowing carrots, beans, potatoes and

sunflowers. We had fun dressing up as our favourite literary characters for World Book Day and welcomed all the children back into the classroom.

Finally, we started our amazing Lucton Book Bingo Challenge. Everyone got into character when we all became Victorians for an afternoon and Mrs. Chapman got quite strict! In the Summer Term we explored the Solar System in our Space topic, learning about The Space Race and building 3D models of the planets. We had enormous fun jumping into our favourite books for our class assembly, which welcomed in the Book Fair.

I enjoyed every moment with this determined and enthusiastic class. I wish them all well and can’t wait to see what they do next as they continue their education journey into Year 2.

This has been a year of change but the Year 2 classes showed adaptability and resilience.

The classes were full of stars who were not afraid to don a costume and get up on stage. At the start of the year, they enjoyed retelling the stories of ‘Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book’ and ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’ for their assemblies and performed a super song in the Harvest festival. There were also some really amazing results in the LAMDA examinations.

The children learnt about famous nurses, seaside resorts and the Great Fire of London. Highlights for the classes include planting seeds and bulbs, going to Mrs Rogers’ farm, creating their own Lowry cityscapes, performing in the Nativity, whittling sticks, having a virtual meeting with Florence Nightingale and a midwife, completing a word problem trail and writing their own paper doll adventure stories.

During the Autumn term, the Pre-Prep children took part in the Nativity, where the Year 2 classes got to shine and took on the leading roles. The Spring Term brought story writing and outdoor learning and we finished the year off with our first Aquathlon and a trip to Mrs Rogers’ farm where we learnt more about different farm animals, as well as harvesting silage.

The children coped extremely well with lockdowns and online learning. It was a real pleasure to be a part of such an amazing learning journey with the children, and we wish them all the very best as they continue to succeed in Year 3.

Year 3

Following a strange end to Summer 2020, it was so lovely to welcome the children back at the start of the new school year. This Year 3 cohort were a class full of personalities and performers!

We began the term by performing our version of ‘Little Beaver and the Echo’ in our class assembly. The children threw themselves into making props and were keen to do the story justice with full-on costumes, make-up and sound effects.

As the term progressed, the class created pieces of poetry, developing their rhyming skills and using their senses, got to grips with larger numbers and, with the help of ‘Bob’, learnt many of the scientific names for the bones in the human skeleton. Many children also completed LAMDA examinations, achieving some fantastic results!

We were also fortunate to visit ‘The Discovery Centre’, linked to our study of the Stone Age. Our visit was packed with hands-on activities, including cave art painting, bowdrilling, developing our spear throwing skills and learning the techniques of hunting and capturing prey. The Spring Term saw many children working online from home; however, we soon got to grips and even set up “online rooms” in order to work collaboratively. Following our work on Roald Dahl during the Autumn Term, we were soon engrossed in our class book, ‘The BFG’. The children enjoyed creating their own characters, writing descriptive passages, and producing their dream jars.

An official return to the classroom in the Summer Term saw science lessons become hands-on and investigative once again. We conducted investigations linked to our work on friction and designed and tested our own parachutes. We explored the medium of clay, making beakers linked to our history topic and made model butterflies to add to our rainforest display after learning an excellent way of creating symmetrical pictures.

The end of term was packed full of activities and events, including watching an “Insect Safari” performance, sports day, completing their first aquathlon, and of course, performing in their first end of year production, “Peter Pan”.

Despite the challenges, it was a pleasure to teach Year 3 and to watch them grow in confidence and independence.

The year began with a beautiful trip to Carding Mill Valley in order to acquaint themselves with map reading and explore the landscape.

Simply being outdoors in such glorious surroundings was wonderful and the local hill fort of Bodbury Ring became possibly the most scenic lunch spot ever. The traverse across the fort and then up to Haddon Hill saw the children greeted by wild horses! As the day progressed and we re-enacted a decision-making scenario and took part in a discussion on first aid and route selection. After returning to base there was time to play across the river, balancing on the tree branches above the water.

Back in class, DT lessons focussed on building bridges and considering the future of towns and cities with regards to climate change. By the time the children in this class are 25, they will only be using electric/ hydrogen cars.

During the Spring Term we welcomed Elias to our friendly class! We carried out descriptive writing and published our work. We also conducted science experiments to inform our knowledge of solids, liquids and gases including how evaporation works.

Towards the end of term, the students were introduced to the Prep School garden; working with the soil and planting and growing vegetables. Working outside in groups was enjoyed by all and quite a few plants went home…. some of them even survived! The Summer Term included our second class assembly, themed around Ascension Day and how we maintain friendships even when people leave. We were joined by Ethan and sadly said goodbye to Ellouisa. The children again had the chance to influence the script and stage directions and the use of popcorn and dressing up all came to the fore. A particularly beautiful moment was a rendition of ‘Wild World’ by Cat Stevens.

In science, we made electrical circuits using batteries, motors, switches and lights, and learnt that we need conductors and insulators. Again, we found ourselves discussing clean sources of energy to fuel our demand for electricity.

We thoroughly enjoyed our ‘Being a Roman’ day and fully embraced all things Roman. A full day of cross-curricular activities were enjoyed and the costumes were fabulous! This was then followed, a few days later by a battle reenactment of the Roman Legion versus the Celts and the Iceni tribe. Joyful!

The class were an absolute delight to teach; so kind and enthusiastic and I count myself very lucky to have spent my last year in school teaching with them.

This year was definitely a rollercoaster but the children coped very well indeed. Year 5 began with a trip to Carding Mill Valley. We spent the morning investigating the river and taking width, depth and speed measurements before scrambling our way to the source of the river, taking in a beautiful waterfall as we went.

It was an excellent opportunity for teamwork and applying classroom knowledge to a real-life setting as we enjoyed our walk. We were also very lucky with the weather, as it was the only dry day in a very wet week!

With COVID restrictions making trips less viable, in November we enjoyed an alternative: a Virtual Classroom session linked to their work in Geography. Via the Teams platform, we met with Max, who works for Kando, a technology company specialising in making sure waste water is properly clean before it goes back into the water cycle. The children prepared questions in advance, and listened carefully to the answers, learning a lot in the process. We also learnt that people with all sorts of different skills can work in science and technology companies; indeed, they need people with different strengths, including writing, graphic design, and even social media skills!

Spring Term began with some children working remotely whilst others joined us in the classroom. Children wrote some lovely character descriptions as well as planning and producing their very own narrative; fabulous imaginations and definitely some future authors in the making! In Art, a favourite was creating life-size Roman shields to finish off their topic from the Autumn Term.

The Summer started to see a hint of normality. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to book Red Ridge, but we did manage a one-night stay at Oaker Wood where they enjoyed a variety of activities, including low ropes, high ropes, team building games and rafting; a favourite with everyone ending up in the water! They toasted marshmallows around the campfire and played games in the woods, it was just a shame we couldn’t have gone for longer.

As the term drew to a close, the children took part in the end of year play, ‘Peter Pan’. It was wonderful to see all of the children come to life and really take ownership of their character. They performed brilliantly, learning their lines and understanding their stage directions; there are definitely some budding actors and actresses amongst the group!