Dear Parents, Welcome to our upgraded Evolution publication. I am pleased to be able to highlight some of the many events and noteworthy performances from both within the school and our pupils in the wider community. As a proud preparatory school, I hope you will note the breadth of experience and opportunity from 3 to 13. We have successfully negotiated entrance examinations and procedures for over twenty different senior schools, and we are incredibly proud of our pupils’ success. Once again, our Year 8 pupils show just how much value is added in the final two years at Stroud: over one third of pupils have received offers of scholarships to their chosen senior schools. They continue to be excellent ambassadors for Stroud and fantastic role models for the younger pupils. As ever, the intent of the School’s syllabus is to complement an enhanced academic rigour with a wider curriculum that provides the awe and wonder to really engage our pupils. Events and initiatives such as the STEAM week, World Book Day, Civic Club, and performances like the Prepared Talks and Public Speaking finals, all provide the sort of learning opportunities that simply cannot be achieved in a classroom. In a national educational environment that appears to be predisposed to adding further tests and assessments to even the youngest pupils we remain steadfast in the belief that excessive testing does not improve understanding: this can only be achieved with teaching; our progress data and senior school entrance success are unequivocally in support of this. I have been very pleased to see a range of sporting fixtures over the term and note in particular the U10 and U11 girls who, following a very successful hockey season, have shown a similar aptitude on the netball court. It is wonderful to see the uptake for the IAPS National Sailing Regatta and participation by Stroud pupils at national level fencing, trampolining, skiing and martial arts. It is little wonder that, as we approach the last days of term, the pupils are starting to look weary! They are richly deserving of the break and I wish you all a happy Easter. Joel Worrall Headmaster
Stroud School Highwood House, Highwood Lane, Romsey SO51 9ZH 01794 513231 www.stroud-kes.org.uk
In memoriam
Forever Undaunted: Elizabeth Sanger-Davies by Judy Gregory It is with great sadness that I shall remember this year, marked by the death of my dear mother Elizabeth Sanger-Davies. Elizabeth nurtured and cared for the school for over 50 years, initially with my father and then, after his death, on her own as Principal between 1984-1994. During this time she became a member of IAPS in her own right and an ISI Inspector. With a strong background in education herself, when Elizabeth took up the role as Headmaster’s wife in 1959 there was much to be done. The school had just under sixty pupils, most of whom were boarders. She worked very hard at all the new roles she now found herself responsible for: housekeeping, catering, looking after the boarders’ pastoral needs, teaching French and even cooking breakfast on the cook’s day off. In 1973, Elizabeth re-established and became Head of the new Pre-Preparatory School. Elizabeth’s interest in the Arts led her to introduce the Eisteddfod Competition in 1961. All pupils took part and gained points for their Sections with the aim of winning the Eisteddfod Section Cup. It included poetry recitals, science lectures, music, art projects, creative writing; and continued to run until 1996. Elizabeth brought both her skill and love of theatre to the fabulous annual School musicals. These were always of the highest quality and produced and directed by her. If asked what they remember most about Mrs Sanger- Davies, many of her ex- pupils might reply ‘dancing on the stage with us’ or ‘trying to teach us how to sing during rehearsals’. Their excellence will not be forgotten. Elizabeth took the lead when the school was at its most vulnerable after my father’s death, and at a time when education itself was undergoing radical change with the introduction of the National Curriculum. It was due to her courage and determination when she took over in 1984 that Stroud flourished where others failed. Then came a period of growth. In 1988 Elizabeth’s new house in the grounds was completed, enabling the release of new rooms within the school for spacious new classrooms. A new science laboratory and classroom were also built over the existing changing rooms. The Elizabeth Sanger-Davies Early Years’ Department was opened in new purpose-built classrooms, complete with garden, play area and wonderful views over the countryside from the windows. Elizabeth still owned the school on her retirement and continued to attend board meetings. It was her greatest wish to hand Stroud over as a happy, prosperous and successful school and for it to survive into the future. This she achieved through strong management and insistence on excellence in all areas; guiding the school and keeping abreast of the latest educational developments. She created a school which was, and still is, alive with activity, where there is a buzz and vibrancy that is unique to Stroud. A safe place where pupils enjoy their learning and are proud of their achievements. Elizabeth certainly lived by the school motto ‘forever undaunted’ and it was her belief and determination which helped to shape the school as it exists today.
The exciting building work taking place on site this term will replace classrooms and facilities for our Key Stage One pupils. We were delighted to get full support from the planning committee and immediately pushed ahead with this latest part of our multi-million pound investment in the school. When completed, pupils will have access to four new classrooms, a library, toilets and resource storage. The classrooms have been designed with interconnecting sliding walls, enabling us to look closely at how the children learn and arrange the space to suit. This is a conscious challenge to the notion that all children should be taught in exactly the same way: with rows of tables and a teacher standing in front of a board. It is a very exciting phase of educational reform and we are pleased to be amongst the front-runners. As we are not increasing the number of classrooms, there will be no impact on capacity at the school, ensuring a continuation of the family feel and values-driven ethos of the school. Our relationship as the prep school for King Edwards VI Southampton enables us to grow the school organically over time and maintain the highest standards of individual, academic, skill-based development. The modular building is being constructed off-site and will take just two weeks to erect. This will allow us to utilise school holidays and non-school days to minimise disruption. The buildings will be linked to our biomass boiler and district heating system, reducing the need for oil or gas services. The cedar cladding matches other buildings on site but also improves the overall sustainability of the school. As a Green-Flag school, considering the impact on the environment was an integral part of the planning process. We look forward to a grand opening in September 2018. At the start of the project, every child planted their own tree, working alongside pupils from across the school community. Many children were surprised by how small a tree is when it’s only a year old! Their task was to dig a hole, fill it with compost, pop the roots in and then support it with a cane and plastic tube to stop our friendly rabbits munching the trees’ leaves. In total, we planted 420 saplings, which will (hopefully!) grow into hazel, elder, silver birch, dogwood, hawthorn and rowan trees, and form mini hedges and features around our school.
Latest news
Investing for the Future
Early Years A Snowy Start Our trip to the Mayflower Theatre to see The Snowman didn’t bring any real snow but inspired the children to create their own. We explored ice, looked at storytelling and set up a theatre area in the classroom where the children put on their own wonderful performances.
Exploring Following the children’s own creativity is at the heart of what we do. Dragonflies have been busy making maps following a walk around the school grounds and Bees class were invaded by aliens, so watch this space to see where the children take us next.
Early Years
Let’s Pretend Role-play is always a favourite activity for children in their early years. The Butterflies have had fun pretending in our doctor’s surgery. They have loved using different apparatus to examine and treat patients. The Caterpillars have been learning how to care for babies in their classroom baby clinic.
Mothering Sunday Tea We were delighted to host gorgeous mummies and grannies from across PrePrep for tea and scones, surrounded by portaits painted by the pupils.
Language Skills The Caterpillars continue to develop their language and listening skills. This included making their own toast: using a knife to spread the butter and jam, then eating it for a delicious morning snack!
Dads’ Breakfast A highlight of this half-term was the Dads’ breakfast. It was lovely to see so many fathers arriving at school with their children to enjoy a ‘Full English’ kindly prepared by Mr Brooker and his wonderful catering team. It definitely set everyone up for the day ahead.
Both classes are spending time learning to recognise the letters in their names. The Butterflies are beginning to form the letters and are encouraged to label their own drawings and paintings. They are working hard to hold and manage their pencils.
Pre-Prep
Everday Heroes Year 1 had a busy start learning about their new topic, with lots of fantastic visitors including a vet, policeman, optician, chef and a doctor. During a visit to Southampton Airport, they had special access to the airport’s fire station to learn all about the fire service and even use the hoses! The children have been so inspired and the resulting class work has been spectacular.
Space Exploration Year 2 has been full of budding astronauts with children ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and learning all about outer space. They have loved this topic and there has been a real buzz in the classes. We received a special delivery of astronaut food; from grapes, peaches and bananas, to mint choc chip ice cream, which all the children tried. Some hated the food so much it may have made them reconsider becoming astronauts! They then researched, designed and made their own moon buggies in DT.
Year 1 learnt about famous pirates and different pirate ships. They made treasure maps, went on a treasure hunt to find the hidden treasure, and sang and danced to pirate songs.
Pre-Prep
Walk the Plank...
Year 2 had great fun exploring the Sealife Centre, studying different animals. They also prepared their own meals and drinks at Wagamamas.
Rising Stars Year 2 enjoyed filming speeches on topics of their own choice in front of the green screens, and creating wonderful space poetry and stories. After reading ‘How to Catch a Star’ by Oliver Jeffers, the children were asked to think of their own ways of capturing stars. A favourite suggestion was “lassoing a doughnut around a star” but “unfortunately it was sliced in two by the sharp arm of the star.”
Middle School
Maths Competition Success Year 4 proudly represented Stroud at the Byanston School Maths Competition in January. Eddie and Hugo achieved 5th place out of 18 schools competing, whilst William and Charlie secured 11th place. All four pupils demonstrated an excellent attitude throughout.e day and thoroughly enjoyed
Winchester Science Museum Year 4 had a fantastic day exploring the museum and planetarium. They enjoyed an incredible trip into outer space, visiting different planets and even leaving our galaxy! They learnt a great deal across all areas of the Science curriculum. “It was totally awesome. I really like the planetarium - it felt like you were in space!” Elsa commented.
Taming the Barbarians Year 3’s classroom was invaded by an Ancient Greek. This despicable Mediterranean marauder was intent on “learning us barbarians some real important knowings.”
Middle School
The Victorians Year 5 stepped back in time to immerse themselves in Victorian life. They discovered what it was like to be a Victorian child, ranging from a typical school day through to life as a servant. One of the highlights was their trip to Beaulieu National Motor Museum.
Creative Technology Completing our work looking at the book “Until I met Dudley...”, the Year 4 children have been writing their own explanation texts. Some children even created iBooks detailing how the fictional “shirt machine” works. Their books included images, narration, videos and text to explain how this funky machine functions. Eddie said, “I really enjoyed making the iBooks. I liked using the different tools the iPads have to make the book.”
Who Lives in a Hobbit Hole Like This? This term, Year 3 have started reading The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. We have been pretending that we are hosting Through the Keyhole and described what it is like inside the Hobbit hole.
Senior School
Starry, Starry Night Pupils were treated to a delightfully clear sky for the first Stroud Stargazing of 2018. We were spoilt with an incredible view of the moon and enjoyed hunting for constellations and using torches to make our own.
Girls Take On Gravity in Egg Drop The challenge was to construct a vessel for an egg to be dropped from a height of 5 metres and land in the slowest time. Teams had only paper, sellotape, string and art straws. After an hour of thinking, designing, making and testing, eggs were loaded up and then dropped to the floor from the Godolphin theatre gantry. Some eggs landed safely, some didn’t! The slowest time was 4.7 seconds and relied on a large parachute to slow down the rate of descent. Our teams all used the parachute idea and constructed very different baskets to carry their eggs. Well done to everyone on their team efforts, showing brilliant collaborative skills.
Rising Maths Stars Raaghav and Grayson achieved 4th place out of 25 schools competing in the Bryanston Maths Challenge. Benjamin and Isobel secured 10th place. The pupils worked really hard on a variety of creative maths challenges and enjoyed the competition. Benjamin in Year 6 got a Bronze Award in the Primary Mathematics Challenge 2017/2018 Bonus Round. In Year 7, Alex sat the National Intermediate Maths Challenge Paper, which is designed for the top 30% of students in years 9-11. Alex was awarded a bronze medal. Congratulations to all our pupils on these impressive achievements!
Parents were invited to bring interesting vehicles into Stroud and the response was staggering. Our school’s family ethos shone through as parents pulled out all the stops to share their cars with the school community and make it a special day for pupils. Lessons moved outside to cover everything from aesthetics in design to aerodynamics as pupils admired the incredibly exciting range of cars, including a Sinclair C5, Jaguar xk120 1952, BMW i3 (electric), Tesla Model X, McLaren 570 Spider, 1937 Jaguar SS100 and a Morgan Plus 4.
Senior School
Cool Cars Launch STEAM Week
The Need For Speed As part of STEAM 2018, focusing on motion, we were lucky enough to be visited by the BLOODHOUND SSC Education Team. The BLOODHOUND Project is a global Engineering Adventure, using a 1,000mph World Land Speed Record attempt to inspire the next generation to enjoy, explore and get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The children worked in small groups to create and develop their own jet-powered cars.
KES Sounds Amazing Year 6 were entertained by a team of ten Upper 6th students from King Edward’s as they launched their Science Roadshow.
Sports Shooting goals In March, the U11 netball team competed in the BCS U11 Netball Tournament. There were seven schools involved and Stroud secured 2nd place, losing only one match all afternoon. The U10A netball team has also enjoyed a great term, with a bronze medal at Walhampton. They also competed in a netball tournament at Canford. After winning matches in their pool rounds, Stroud were placed into the cup competition. We lost the semi-final to Durlston Court, but had a great day playing some exceptional netball.
En garde! Congratulations to our épée masters. Grayson (pictured) secured a bronze medal, whilst Tom won gold! Both will compete in the IAPS regional tournament, representing Stroud.
Let’s Dance Congratulations to Fergus in Year 6 who has been invited to represent Great Britain in Germany this June. Fergus is passionate about Latin and Ballroom Dancing and has travelled Europe to attend competitions. We wish him every success on this next adventure.
Sports
Stroud’s Lions Following trials for the Prep Schools’ Lions teams, Arthur, Archie, Oliver, Isaac, Max, Oliver, Samuel, Hugo, Henry and Thomas were all selected for the Development Squad. The boys will attend a training camp in the Easter holidays and the prestigious Gothia World Youth Cup in Gothenberg, Sweden in July. It will be an amazing experience for them all and one that is bound to develop both their football skills and confidence. In addition, Arthur was selected for the ‘A’ Squad. This squad is for the most talented 16 players in each age group and they will play academies and other district representative teams during the term. With over 500 children nominated for the trials, tremendous congratulations to all the boys on this excellent achievement.
A Perfect Try Very well done to our U11 boys who took part in a 7-a-side rugby tournament at Boundary Oak School. The boys showed brilliant collaboration and courage throughout the afternoon. The team came away with a fantastic result and won the shield for their group. Well played and a wonderful show of sportsmanship.
Events
Public Speaking Competition February saw our much-anticipated Public Speaking Competition for Senior School. Having been successful in their yeargroup heats, finalists from Years 6, 7 and 8 competed for the coveted trophies. Mrs Mason-Campbell, our Academic Deputy Head, judged the event and began by giving the children some tips to stay calm and engage their audience. The competition, watched by pupils and invited parents, began with our Year 6 finalists speaking confidently and informatively about environmental issues that they are passionate about. From fracking to overpopulation and the ‘impossible burger’, the speeches were enjoyed by all and it was a very tricky job for our judge. All the finalists performed brilliantly but particular congratulations go to Clara (3rd), Frankie (2nd), and Harry (1st). Year 7 speeches were completed in pairs. Students had researched current affairs issues they were interested in to debate.
Our five finalist pairs spoke convincingly and their indepth preparation shone through as they performed on the stage. Speeches ranged from smoking to screen-time and children challenged assumptions with interesting facts and persuasive techniques. Congratulations to Hugo and Oliver (3rd), India and Quinn (2nd), Maya and Caspar (1st). To add greater challenge to the Year 8 speeches, our pairs also had to do Q & A, testing their research and knowledge to the full. The pairs worked collaboratively to argue some very mature issues including torture, euthanasia and social media. Congratulations to Leyth and Luca (3rd), Charlie and Archie (2nd), and Klara and Thomas (1st).
SSA Update A highlight from 2017 was the deliciously tempting Stroud Family Cook Book (£10). Copies are still available if you have foodie friends who might enjoy discovering some new recipes. The Spring Term saw the return of two perennial favourites: the Curry and Comedy Evening on Friday 23rd and the Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday 25th March. The SSA relies on the tremendous and enthusiastic help given by parents to organise and run events. Please contact your year rep to get involved. Dates for your diary: 30th June - Highwood Hoedown Barn Dance Join us for a glass of Pimms at the Stroud Sports Days
Community
Community Connections The school donated the bowl of the font to St Swithun’s Church, as part of a fundraising effort by the ‘Terriers’ section – led by Mr Van Zyl. There were 11 members of the Stroud community at the church for the blessing of the font, including pupils, parents and staff. The Church was built with the support and assistance of the Suckling family, who were the original owners of Highwood House. We are delighted to be able to continue this association; the font is a work of art in itself and will welcome children and newcomers to the Church for generations to come.
School Ski Trip In February half term Stroud had a very successful ski trip to Serre Chevalier. We were very fortunate to have great snow and blue skies, with three ESF instructors between beginner and intermediate skiiers. Staying within 100m of the main lift up the mountain meant access to the piste was quick and easy for all. We were spoilt with an extensive ski area and efficient chair lifts allowing the more able skiers to travel further afield but still come back for a sociable lunch. We enjoyed bowling during the week and the games room was popular with tired children in the evenings! It was a delight to see the children receive their medals at the end of the week and the four hours of lessons daily certainly meant the beginners progressed quickly. Thank you to everyone for a fantastic week. We’re already looking forward to our next trip in February 2020!
Stroud Spirit World Book Day 2018 From our opening assembly with a book raffle and staff production of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes version of Cinderella, the day was full of excitement and laughter. Every child had the opportunity to see Falconry UK’s talk about birds, including some very rare and extraordinary falcons and owls. The pupils particularly enjoyed getting the chance to hold these beautiful animals. Seeing the birds up close gave them plenty of inspiration for their sessions with author and illustrator Martin Bradley. He taught an interesting and practical lesson about drawing birds and shared his own books with the children. The day also included writing, filming and, of course, plenty of reading together. It was a pleasure to see the children’s creative responses to these experiences. Huge thanks to all of the staff for their patience, time and good humour; to the parents who helped provide the costumes; and to the children for being such a pleasure to work with. Yet again, a truly wonderful whole school experience.
CALLING ALL TIDDLERS! We have a lovely group of under 3s and their parents, who come to play every Wednesday afternoon, 2 - 3:15pm. There is no charge and a snack is provided. Do join us and tell your friends! Stroud School Highwood House, Highwood Lane, Romsey SO51 9ZH 01794 513231 www.stroud-kes.org.uk