The Spring and Summer Terms have passed by in a blur of activity with the pupils making huge strides in their individual and collective accomplishments and the whole school community enjoying notable success in a wide range of areas.
Whilst we battled a cold and wet spring, seeds were nurtured, green shoots of growth appeared, and award-winning results were achieved! We were thrilled to have received ‘Highly Commended’ in the category of Brilliant Boarding School, as part of the Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards 2024, we were a Finalist for Independent School of the Year in the Worcestershire Education Awards and we have just found out that for the second year running, we have been shortlisted for the ‘Small Independent School of the Year’ award in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards. This external recognition of the school’s excellence is encouraging for the whole community and great validation of all the hard work that the staff and pupils put in.
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Welcome from the Head continued...
The school has benefitted from the support of a wide community with the Friends of The Downs continuing to provide entertainment and events for parents and pupils whilst raising funds for the development of the school’s resources. The volunteers of the Downs Light Railway have been working hard to improve the track and infrastructure and it was fantastic to see the engines once again racing around Brock Meadow and providing rides for families at the Summer Celebration.
The classroom and common room have been a hive of activity with the teaching staff welcoming Paul Main to our beginning of term INSET, where the staff received training on ‘structural learning’ which will become an increasing feature of lessons throughout the school from Nursery to Year 8. Alongside the development of
Pre-Prep
As we reflect on the past term, I am delighted to share with you some wonderful events that have taken place in Pre-Prep. At the beginning of term, excitement filled the air as our Pre-Prep children proudly showcased their work to beaming parents at our termly Sharing Morning. A fantastic way for our families to see firsthand the progress their children are making and to celebrate their efforts, fostering an even closer connection between home and school.
The Summer Term has been filled to the brim with creativity. Our youngest musical maestros from Reception to Year 2 showcased their individual talents in our Pre-Prep Performing Arts Showcase. Recorder players, violinists, drummers and pianists all took to the stage to serenade us with their individual talents and the excitement did not stop there. We even had our first-ever LAMDA performer. Our very own thespian wowed us with her dramatic flair. It is an absolute pleasure to witness the growth and confidence
our new Nursery provision, the future of the academic life of the school is in excellent hands and continuing to evolve.
As another academic year comes to a close, we are very much looking forward to welcoming the children back in September, after what promises to be a summer full of building works, holiday camps and development of the school site ready for new learning adventures in the Autumn Term.
Andy Nuttall Headmaster
of our little performers. Their dedication and hard work are paying off and we could not be prouder of each and every one of them.
Continuing with creativity, our Pre-Prep Soiree, ‘Billy No Buzz’, was a resounding success, with all Pre-Prep children dancing, singing and acting, surrounded by beautiful artwork adorning the lawn. I must commend the incredible efforts and dedication shown by both the staff and the children in the lead-up to the event. The energy and enthusiasm of everyone involved made the evening even more special. The atmosphere was electric, buzzing with excitement under the warm glow of the early evening sun. It was a marvellous opportunity for our school community to come together and celebrate the talents of our youngest stars.
As always, Sports Day did not disappoint, and there were plenty of exhausted little ones leaving at the end of the afternoon. Families mingling, picnics aplenty, and the
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Pre-Prep continued...
sound of children’s laughter filling the air. There was ice cream, tree climbing, and of course the highly anticipated races that had us all on the edge of our seats (or picnic blankets!). From ‘quoits on heads’ to ‘three-legged’ races, and of course the classic ‘spud and spoon’ race, our Sports Day truly had something for everyone. However, it seems we may need to work on the concept of competitive racing with the little ones – some were more interested in stopping to wait for their friends to catch up than crossing the finish line first!
In our final whole school assembly of the year, Year 2 children took a trip down Memory Lane. It was heartwarming to hear them reminiscing about their best
moments in Pre-Prep and expressing their eagerness for the adventures that await them in the Prep School. They have been busy gathering intel from the older children and are armed with all the knowledge they need to tackle new challenges and adventures with confidence. Their Year 8 buddies are poised and ready to swoop in and show them the ropes. It is like having their very own superhero squad on standby! As we bid farewell to our Year 2s, the Pre-Prep staff cannot help feeling a twinge of pride watching them spread their wings and prepare to soar to new heights. We have every confidence that they will flourish in their new environment and continue to shine brightly.
Alex Sigley
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Boarding
The Boarding community at The Downs continues to be filled with fun, friendship and countless opportunities for boys and girls throughout the Prep school. Our full boarders have led the way, engaging in the wide variety of events and activities with enthusiasm and good humour, and the Year 8s have led excellently by example, being caring and supportive to younger and less experienced boarders. It has been wonderful to welcome lots of new pupils from Italy and Spain into the House in the Summer Term, and they have all brought lots of enthusiasm and laughter as well as contributing to the cultural and social diversity that makes our boarding community so vibrant and inclusive.
Sunday trips continue to be popular; recent excursions to the climbing centre in Gloucester and Aztec aqua park have been complemented with new activities on our grounds, including laser tag in the woods and pottery painting. In addition to the weekend programme of events, our weeknight themed nights have gone from strength to strength. Aquatastic was particularly popular with hoses and dozens of water pistols, and the Cricket Blast night saw boys and girls competing fiercely on Brock meadow in a T20-style game after supper. There were plenty of opportunities for calmer activities too: the senior Spa and Wellbeing evening with guided meditation and pamper treatments were just what was needed during mock exam week, and jewellery making was mindful and creative in equal measure. Flexi boarding continues to be very popular with most
children in Years 3-8 having experienced boarding at some stage this year, whether as a regular fixture or by staying for a night to join in with friends
As we look forward to next academic year, there is much to be excited about. New full boarders are joining in Years 3-8 from the UK, Japan, Spain, America and China and the house promises to be busy! It was also lovely to have been recognised by Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards 2024 as Highly Commended in the Brilliant Boarding School category. As ever, much of the success of the boarding community at The Downs comes down to the staff who provide such excellence and consistency of care for our boarders. We are very grateful to Miss Black and Miss Hope who move on as Graduate Assistants, and we will all miss their contributions to the House. We look forward to welcoming Miss Furlong into the role in September. Final thanks go to Mailin and Cedric who were excellent Boarding House Prefects, and to all of our Boarding Staff who bring so much energy, care, patience and professionalism to this central element of school life.
John Warlow
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Creative Arts
Drama
Drama at The Downs Malvern continues to surprise and thrill. The Grimm Tales, performed by Years 7 and 8 was a departure from recent musicals, instead we chose four tales from Phillip Pullman’s adaptation of the Grimm Brothers’ original stories. The pupils bravely set forth, taking on new theatre skills: including physical theatre, soundscapes and performing in the round. The Memo Hall was made magical by Mr Mellor and his art pupils’ fantastical set, with the audience all around our promontory stage.
With confidences high and the curtain barely closed on the last performance of Grimm Tales, our drama pupils took to the stage at the Worcester Arts Festival. We had pupils performing in many categories from Poetry Recital to Devised Theatre, Acting Monologues and Group Devising. It was a fantastic day with all our pupils preparing well and delivering amazing performances. Taking home trophies is the cherry on the cake, so congratulations must go to Henry T and Jack T, Charlie A, Otto F, Toby C, Isabelle B, Ava T-B and Mailin R. Special mention too, to Ben S for an excellent overall 2nd place in the Solo Acting category.
This term, we also created a LAMDA showcase based on the emotional similarities between playing sport and being on stage. Devising a piece for 34 children to rehearse individually across 5 verses of a poem, themed: the Beautiful Game, the Roar of the Crowd, Victory, Defeat
and Passion – to finish, we created a LAMDA Haka which enabled us all to come together as an Ensemble. It was quite a sight!
Kirsty Cubberley
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Design and Technology
The DT department has been buzzing with enthusiasm and industry this year. The children have enjoyed a new curriculum from Y3-8, with greater emphasis being placed on engineering and the iterative design process, collaborative group projects and technology in the form of robotics, along with traditionally popular projects using resistant materials and food technology.
Examples of pair work – which involve dynamic problemsolving and collaboration – include designing and making a model of a new playground (Year 5), designing a product that solves a specific need in society e.g. a device to help children travel to and from school more safely, or a product to help pet owners to care for their pets while they are away from home, (Year 8), cooking various sweet and savoury dishes in our upgraded classroom kitchen (Years 6 and 7) and building and coding Lego Spike robots (all years). Group project work was also undertaken by Year 7: they had to design a survival box for a community that had suffered a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tsunami. This project was judged by members of staff from the Malvern College DT Department, and we are very grateful for their increasing involvement and collaboration. Individual projects using resistant materials included making a clock (Year 5), an automata moving toy (Year 6) and a wooden gravity dragster car (Year 7).
It has also been fantastic to see the DT department so busy during activities for robotics and cooking, and during Saturday hobbies for TinkerLab – an opportunity for aspiring designers to be creative and work alone or with a partner on a project of their choice. Examples of successful projects this year have included a guinea pig house, a tabletop crazy golf game, a desk tidy, a wooden boat and a rubber band shooter!
Particular mention should go to Emilia who was awarded a DT Exhibition to Malvern College for her fantastic textiles project using flowers as inspiration.
John Warlow
Music
As the last notes from the Senior Choir and the Rock Band resound around the Sports Hall, bringing to a close another Speech Day, one can’t help but take a moment to reflect on the last ten weeks of this very busy year.
The Summer Term began with the final touches being added to this year’s Junior Production, which featured pupils from Year 2 to Year 6. This was performed on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd May and lived up to everyone’s expectations. ‘Yanomamo’, is a vibrant and powerful ecological musical, delivering a powerful message through fantastic songs and narrations. The children’s performances really resonated with the audience. This colourful event was a feast for the eyes and ears and the wonderful set, designed by Mr Mellor and created by so many of our pupils, really brought the story to life.
Just two weeks later, nine talented pupils, journeyed to Malvern College to sit their ABRSM music exams. Their hard work paid off as all passed with high marks, a testament to their dedication and skill.
Wednesday 22nd May saw our youngest pupils take their moment in the spotlight during the Pre-Prep Summer Showcase Concert. The audience was treated to charming solos on piano, saxophone, and violin, along with a delightful performance from our Year 2 pupils, who played recorders and sang songs that they had diligently learned in class. A lovely evening, well done to all who took part.
Following the half-term break, three pupils took their Trinity digital exams, achieving impressive results once again. Their success added to the growing list of musical achievements this term.
On Monday 17th June, pupils from Year 3 to Year 7 shone in the Summer Informal Concert, an evening that highlighted the very best of our young soloists. Once again, the audience was entertained with a wonderful variety of music, performed on a wide range of instruments and covering many different genres. A real testament to both our pupils and their instrumental teachers.
THE BADGER Summer Edition
The following day, 14 of our Year 6 and 7 pupils participated in a Choral Day at Malvern College. The event culminated in a beautiful Evensong Service, held in the Chapel at Malvern College. Under the expert guidance of Jonathan Brown (Director of Music) we performed a number of choral songs including Howard Goodall’s exquisite setting of ‘Love Divine’. The service was led by Reverand David Ibbotson and attended by parents and friends.
The musical highlight of the year; the Summer Concert, took place on 26th June. This grand celebration featured every pupil from Year 3 to Year 8, showcasing their musical prowess. The concert included solo performances by our
scholarship pupils and came to a rousing end with a mass sing of a medley of World War 2 songs, making it a real night to remember.
The term concluded with Speech Day, where the Senior Choir performed a medley from ‘The Sound of Music’ and the Rock Band, once again captivated the audience, with ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’. It was a fitting end to a fabulous term of music, rounding off an incredibly busy year for the Music department. We cannot wait to see what musical delights next year will bring. Watch this space!
Lesley Hunter
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Art
A few highlights - Art Hobbies and Activities have proved as popular as ever and provide an opportunity for the pupils to explore and experiment with their own ideas. These are some acrylic paintings to put us in the mood for holidays!
Anthony B’s Camel Estuary-inspired seascape and Malvern Hills with sunbeams and shadows, Jessica R’s gorgeous puppy in a summer meadow, and Iphigea’s sunset solitude and grass-snake basking in early morning sun.
Since the last edition of The Badger, successes were announced at the Malvern St James Junior Schools’ Art Exhibition. Congratulations to Edward B for gaining ‘Overall Best in Show’ and Max HP for his Highly Commended painting in the Senior category.
Also, a second tranche of Senior Art Colours were awarded in assembly to the following for their artistic endeavour, progress and contribution: Vivienne K, Delphine P, Max H-P, Raffie R, Carla G, William B. Well done!
During our end-of-year Prize-Giving, Iphigea C (Yr 8) was
awarded the Senior Art Cup, Anthony B (Yr 8) gained the Skills to Thrive prize for Creativity and Motivation in Art, and Michael R (Yr 6), the Junior Art Prize. We are proud of all our budding young artists, of which there are many throughout the school. They are an inspiration!
Art & Literature Competition - A Celebration of Words
THE BADGER Summer Edition
We were asked to make musical notes to display in the school garden at the RHS Spring Show. Pupils in Years 3 & 4 used wire, Modroc and acrylic paints to respond to the challenge. Bravo!
Charcoal sketches done in situ at Geevor Tin Mine by Scarlett A & Maita T, and Bedruthan Steps by Mr M, during our annual Year 7 Geography/Art residential trip to Cornwall in June:
TDM artists have had another busy year supporting Music and Drama performances. The stage set for the Senior Production of The Grimm Tales incorporated a castle entrance. This was inspired by Modroc models of architectural ruins based on a visit to Tintagel Castle.
Afterwards, the castle transformed to a rainforest scene for the Junior Production of Yanomamo. The gothic arched doorway became a natural arch of tree trunks and branches!
Every pupil in the Prep School helped make and paint the stage scenery for Yanomamo during Art lessons. The backdrop represented the dense rainforest with hidden creatures, behind bushes of colourful leaves and bamboo.
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Art continued...
Our musical maestro, Mrs Hunter, chose her favourite motifs from the children’s own ink designs to have printed onto T-Shirts, to complete the vibrant aesthetic. On stage, the children’s brushstrokes shimmered under Mr Vaughan’s atmospheric lighting. For many years, the Visual and Performing Arts have worked in synergy to stage memorable productions, and this was no exception.
The theme of the Summer Holiday Art Competition is ‘Movement and Motion’. Hopefully, this will prove as inspirational as previous years. The competition is open to all from Pre-Prep to Year 8. All who enter will receive a certificate and two stars/merits and, as always, there will be some super main prizes for different year groups. Please explore the poster to find out more and good luck with your ideas!
Mr Mellor
The Downs Malvern Summer Art Competition - 2024
Entries to Mr Mellor or the School Office, please, first week of term
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Academic Report
Academics at The Downs Malvern continue to go from strength to strength, incorporating a balance of researchbased initiatives and enhancement of our current provision.
This year was the inaugural year for The Downs Malvern Baccalaureate. Our Year 8s did us proud. Their success, as in the past, was dependent on their academic performance over the two-year cycle, with additional input from what we term, the ‘Personal Development’ area, which includes Creative Arts, Sport and Enrichment Activities. Thus, allowing us to reward and recognise pupils’ strengths across the spectrum of their school developmental experience. Once again, I pay equal homage to our Year 8s and their teachers, whose expert guidance allowed and encouraged pupils to achieve their very best. Of the cohort, three pupils achieved the prestigious and aspirational Platinum Award with a further eleven achieving a superb Gold Award. As we had hoped, pupils recognised the importance of endeavour across the whole curriculum, making the most of every opportunity on offer.
The Leaning Support Department, often the unsung hero for a number of pupils, also deserves significant recognition, with Mrs Ainsworth guiding her team, including Mrs Detheridge, Mrs Charters and Mrs Grant to ensure that each child is offered the additional support and enhancement in both the classroom and exams.
In addition to the usual exam preparation for the Summer Term, here are a few highlights from some of our Departments:
36 of our Year 7 and 8 pupils took part in the nationwide UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, with 250,000 children from the UK taking part. All the children did very well with 14 Bronze, 6 Silver and 6 Gold certificates awarded. Max H scored the top mark in Year 7 and Jason achieved the top mark in Year 8. Both Jason and Max, as well as Hannah and Danai did so well that they were invited through to the next round, called, ‘The Kangaroo Round’!
A plea from Mr Cleaver: The summer holidays are long, and, without practice, our memories can fade. Therefore, it is helpful if you can practise some Mathematics at some point. Atom Learning or the Schofield and Sims Mental Arithmetic books are useful for this. Alternatively, numeracy-based games, such as Suduko or Kenken are great ways to give the brain a maths work out!
Unusually for the Science Department, the term started with the postponed Great Egg Launch. With the usual plethora of engineering expertise combined with a sprinkling of grit and determination, it was a terrific way to b’egg’in the Summer Term! We said goodbye to some stalwarts and welcomed new entries – a fantastic sp’egg’tacle, as ever!
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Academic Report continued...
The department also hosted a further Science experience for a local primary school with the children experiencing the added value of being in a Prep School such as ours. They experienced the wonders of static electricity with Mr Nuttall; Bunsen burner use and flame Tests with Mr Lamberton and the reaction of metals and acids with Mr Thomas. All the children went away feeling excited and enthused about Science.
Trips included a Year 4 trip to Batsford Arboretum, where pupils were guided around the magnificent grounds, exploring aspects of habitats, adaptation and plant reproduction. Year 6 visited Malvern College for the Magic of Science, experiencing Biology, Chemistry and Physics in the wonderfully resourced laboratories. Year 7 visited the inspirational Cheltenham Festival of Science where they explored the very forefront of scientific research, undertook a workshop on gene therapy, including the extraction of DNA from a banana, and met a real-life spy from GCHQ!
The Summer Term has been an exhilarating and productive period for the Languages department, marked by outstanding achievements, collaborative efforts, and enriching activities for our pupils.
The Year 8 students approached their final exams with diligence and enthusiasm, and we are delighted to announce that they performed outstandingly. Their hard work and dedication have paid off, with several pupils securing scholarships to prestigious senior schools earlier in the year. These scholarships are a testament to their commitment to language learning and overall academic excellence, making us immensely proud of their achievements.
In a commendable collaborative effort, the Languages department partnered with senior pupils from Malvern College. Year 10 students visited us to share their knowledge and passion for languages. They conducted engaging and interactive lessons in German, Spanish, and Chinese for our Year 3, Year 4, and Year 6 pupils. This initiative provided our younger pupils with a unique
opportunity to learn new languages from older peers, fostering a spirit of camaraderie across the two sites and inspiring them to pursue language studies with greater interest and enthusiasm.
One of the highlights of the term was the fantastic Languages Day organised by our Year 8 pupils. This event was a vibrant celebration of linguistic diversity and cultural richness. Stalls were set up featuring activities and food tastings representing Latin, German, Spanish and French. The pupils took great pride in preparing and managing these stalls, offering a delightful experience for all children. The entire Prep School had a fabulous afternoon exploring different languages and cultures, engaging in fun activities, and tasting a variety of delicious foods.
The enthusiasm and effort put in by the Year 8 pupils were evident in the excellent planning and execution of the event. Their leadership and organisational skills were on full display.
The Languages department remains committed to providing our pupils with diverse and immersive language learning opportunities. We are excited about the new academic year ahead and confident that our pupils will continue to excel and develop a lifelong love for languages.
It has been a ‘tempus mirabilis’ (a wonderful time) in the Latin department. In the Autumn Term, we started with traditional learning of verbs and conjugations but quickly moved on to studying Roman cultural and bathing habits prior to our fascinating visit to the Roman Baths in Bath. Here we walked on Latin pavements and looked upon the awesome face of the Celtic/Romano Goddess Sulis Minerva. Back in school, we carried on with learning vocabulary and, by Christmas, everyone was able to follow the Latin in the Christmas Story. ‘Christus natus est!’
In the Spring Term we persevered with diligence, and I was delighted with the enthusiasm of all our super students. Everyone was very keen to learn the poem by Catullus, ‘Passer deliciae meae puellae’ (My Girlfriend’s Pet Sparrow) and this became our favourite way of ending the lesson.
THE BADGER Summer Edition
The Summer Term has been a time of consolidation for the Year 8s and plenty of new learning for the Year 7s. Year 8 ran many popular language games on Languages Day which ranged from olive tasting to gladiator fighting! Year 7 pupils have developed a variety of special movements and dances including their own Rap poems to aid the chanting of Latin. Kinaesthetic learning is alive and well in the Classics department!
In summa (no marks for guessing what that means!) – it has been a great year!
It has been an extremely productive year for the RS and TPR department. The children have been learning about different religions, and considering the role they play in today’s society. They have learned about the life of Jesus and the biblical stories that he told, which have helped them to develop their empathetic and reflective skills. Acceptance and understanding are key to respect and inclusivity, and this is the department’s key objective for the children to understand and appreciate. Pupils in Year 7 have been introduced to ethics and debated various contemporary issues, such as the environment and punishment, which has helped to develop their analytical and thinking skills. Our Year 8s have taken this knowledge one step further to focus on a topic of their choice and present their findings to the class. The topics were varied and included issues such as animal rights and social justice. Working on and presenting their IPQs has proven to be a thoroughly rewarding experience, and this has enabled the children to develop their critical thinking and evaluative skills, which will stand them in good stead next year. They have also had the opportunity to experience the world of philosophy and learn about some key philosophical ideas and debate them, which they have done so voraciously! Overall, an extremely busy and rewarding year!
The History department has introduced Archaeology as a new module in Year 7, with great success, creating opportunities to deepen pupils’ appreciation of world
cultures and investigative skills. The pupils learnt about stratigraphy; preservation conditions in different environments; and archaeological techniques, such as compiling a Harris Matrix to put contexts in order. Eyes were opened to the wonder of China’s Terracotta Army, and the importance of the invention of Cuneiform writing tablets in Ancient Mesopotamia – millions of which still await discovery. This all built to a detective case-study of the 1920s archaeological excavation of the mysterious Egyptian tomb of Queen Hetepheres I. It has been an enthralling introduction to an important subject, both for the children, and the former archaeologist delivering it. It is hoped that the pupils will continue to consider what we should preserve from our own (increasingly digital and transitory) 21st century culture for the future, and how we might preserve it.
And finally, from a whole-school perspective, academic and pedagogical advancement is at the fore of all TDM teachers’ minds. A very well received INSET from the founder of Structural Learning, Paul Main, gave insight into how providing a more cohesive and structured approach with a consistency in the language of learning, alongside the individuality and flair of each of our teachers will only improve the educational experience and long-term learning of our pupils. It truly is a wonderful time to teach and be taught at The Downs Malvern.
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Scholarship Success
Congratulations to these Year 8 pupils who, between them, earned a total of 23 awards including Scholarships and Exhibitions in Academia, Sport, Art and Design, Drama and Music to Malvern College, Millfield, The King’s School, Worcester, RGS Worcester, Malvern St James, Dean Close and Shrewsbury School.
Florence C
Sports Scholarship
Malvern College
Sports Scholarship Millfield School
Mailin R
Sports Scholarship
Sebastian S
Sports Scholarship
Albie S
Emilia C
Art & Design Exhibition Malvern College
Otto K
Academic & Drama Exhibition Malvern College
All Rounder Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Guilio Di G
Academic & Art Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Charles G
Academic Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Academic Scholarship RGS Worcester
Delphine P
Academic & Music Scholarship Malvern College
Academic & Music Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Rudi T
Academic Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Howard H
Music Scholarship Malvern College
Music Scholarship Shrewsbury School
Malvern College
Malvern College
Sports Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Sports Exhibition Malvern College
Iphigea C
Art & Design Scholarship
Verity B
Art & Design Exhibition
Malvern College
Malvern College
Raphael R
Music Exhibition Malvern College
Effinia S-T
Sports Scholarship King’s School, Worcester
Beatrix B
Academic Scholarship Malvern St James
Maximilian T
Sports Scholarship Dean Close
Steve Thomas
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Forest School
We have had a fantastic summer of Forest School activities in our wonderful woodland setting on Brockhill Road. As part of their weekly timetable, from Early Years through to Year 4, the children are always excited to walk up to Forest School through the long swishy summer grasses, passing the pigs and guinea fowl on the way and finding all sorts of natural treasures on their journey! As the leaves have grown on the trees, the children have explored and discovered new inhabitants in the woodland; bugs and butterflies enjoying the new growth. The children have enjoyed playing in the stream, building dams and log bridges to cross over. The Year 3 and 4 children have planted willow whips in the design of a dome. As this grows, we will weave it together to create a little den to play in. Using their bushcraft skills and small tools, the children have created some wonderful items. They made pencils using willow charcoal burnt on the fire and they cut and drilled elder wood to make beads for bracelets and necklaces. We have also enjoyed using the new Forest School shelter and look forward to further developments to our wonderful forest area in the coming months. The children have loved spending time with their friends in the woodland and learning all about the world around them.
Sarah Tsiquaye
Eco Team
This year the Eco Team have continued to be a proactive and productive force at TDM. The pupils have met weekly to organise events, create posters, as well as research and discuss current environmental issues facing today’s everchanging world.
One of our annual highlights, is the TDM Earth Week. This year, we chose to celebrate at the start of the Summer Term, alongside the globally acclaimed World Earth Day. Our focus was initially the dangers of climate change, however the team, all very passionate about ocean pollution, decided to raise money specifically for Marine Conservation. Raising a tremendous sum of over £2000
from our whole school sponsored 3K run. As always, the TDM school community was hugely supportive and generous in their efforts.
We also welcomed a new speaker to school, parent and environmental enthusiast, Mr Andy Allen. Mr Allen talked to the children in assembly about global warming, fossil fuels and renewable energy. An excellent assembly, and we very much look forward to hearing from him again in the future. The Eco Team are always looking for new speakers who wish to share their environmental knowledge, please do get in touch if you would like to volunteer.
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Summer Edition
Eco Team continued...
The week involved our usual Swap Shop, dressing-up day, Eco quiz, whole school vegetarian day, and much more! Mr Dixon, with other keen staff members and 21 pupils, ran to school from the top of British Camp and he is keen to keep this healthy tradition going throughout the school year. Watch out for more information about weekly morning runs, for the Autumn Term.
More recently, the children have been researching and investigating the arrival of the Asian Hornet in Britain. Mr Nuttall shared his own knowledge and attended one of our meetings, showing the children our very own TDM Asian Hornet trap, explaining how it works and why they are so important. The Eco Team, in conjunction with the children in our Junior Art activity have been busy drawing Asian Hornets for a new informative display in the White House.
The Colwall Orchard Group continue to look after our trees and with 26 new fruit trees having been planted (which our Pre-Prep and Prep school gardening team helped with); plans are now afoot to provide irrigation to help them thrive. We are also fortunate to be hosting some beehives belonging to members of the Malvern and Upton Beekeeping Society, adding to the biodiversity of the site as well as providing much needed pollination services for our trees.
Thank you to the Eco Team for being a brilliant group this year and hopefully you will again volunteer to be part of the team next year. Pupils wishing to be involved in the new academic year are warmly invited to our first meeting in September. Any keen pupils looking for an extra challenge over the summer months, could research an environmental issue of their own choice and prepare a short presentation to show the team on their return to school.
Sarah McDonnell & Polly Nuttall
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Sport
As another sporting innings at The Downs ends, it gives us all time to reflect upon an incredibly busy, and importantly, successful year on the sports field.
The last two terms have gone by in a flash, but all the children have accomplished a great deal, and every single one of them should feel immensely proud of the effort and dedication they have put into their sport. Invariably, some individuals and teams have enjoyed more success than others, and that is the beauty of sport, but win or lose, all our children have ultimately been successful at one point or other. Sometimes the biggest success is being able to pick oneself up from a fall, dust oneself down and carry on.
Back in the Spring Term, the 1st Netball team won the Malvern District Tournament for the eighth consecutive year, and the squad also performed well at the IAPS Small Schools’ Festival at St George’s Ascot. Our footballers and hockey players also played some excellent matches, but sadly the weather beat us in the lead up to the National Cross-Country event at Malvern College, which was eventually cancelled.
We also hosted two hugely successful Under 9 Primary Schools’ Festivals, in Football and Netball, where it was fantastic to see so many young children from a number of schools, enjoying their sport.
This term, the Under 12 Girls’ Cricket Team continued our dominance of the Malvern College Eight8s festival, winning the trophy for the fifth successive year! The Senior 1st VI aside team played very well at our very own Sixes Festival, and only lost out on a higher placed finish, on net run rate!
Some notable individual performances this season include:
» Zayaan E taking 5 wickets against Beaudesert Park
» Effinia S-T with 5 wickets against Winterfold House
» Sebastian S smashing a rapid 50 not out, against Malvern College
» Charlie A scored a fine 50 not out, against Monmouth
Another highlight of the term, was the tenth The Downs Malvern Aquathlon, hosted at Malvern College, where our U11 and U13 girls and boys showcased their talent against 9 other schools.
The competition began with the children swimming 4 lengths of the pool, before quickly changing into their tops and shoes for a lap around the stunning Malvern College grounds.
All the children who participated did extremely well and a special mention to Rory for securing 2nd place and Charlie for achieving 3rd in the U11 Boys’ races! It was a fantastic day filled with incredible achievements and memories.
Our annual Sports Day, which already seems like a distant memory, was a fantastic day of athletics, where resilience, collaboration and motivation were high on the agenda. There were some exciting races, with the relays in particular proving very tense, with several races being decided in the final 50 metres. At the end of the day, Cadbury House proved simply too strong for the other Houses and were able to retain the trophy.
Sports Day Champions 2024 – Cadbury House
At the end of June, 34 of our athletes competed at the Mercia Prep Schools’ Athletics Championships held at Stourport.
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Sport
continued...
With over 900 athletes from all over the region competing, it was great to see two of our athletes, Sebastian S (Under 14 Shot Put and Javelin) and Arianna M (U13 70m hurdles) both qualifying for the Nationals being held at The Alexander Stadium in Birmingham in July. Congratulations to them both, and we wish Sebastian well (Arianna will have flown home to Spain by the time of the Nationals). Sebastian’s winning Shot at the Mercia event was the longest by an Under 14 in the UK this year!
To all our children, if you are looking for some sporting inspiration this summer to help pass the time, then look no further than watching some of the Summer Olympics in Paris; you never know, we may just have a future Olympian in our ranks!
I would like to personally thank our amazing Grounds team for all the magnificent pitches they prepare for us every week, and the Catering staff for their hard work preparing our match teas. Finally, may I sign off for the summer by thanking all the children and our parents for their neverending commitment and support of sport at The Downs Malvern, and wish you all a very well-deserved rest over the summer.
It has been another memorable year, and I very much look forward to more successes next term.
Mr
Strong
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Community Outreach
Once again, we have enjoyed opening our doors to the community on many occasions throughout the past year. We have been working closely with the Malvern Hills NCT branch and have hosted three Paediatric First Aid Courses in our Music Room, led by Mini First Aid, which welcomed over 40 parents to complete the important training. We also led a ‘Welly Tots’ Walk for over 15 young families who enjoyed playing and discovering our grounds, picking and eating spinach and radishes from our raised beds, feeding the pigs and sheep and ending up in Forest School playing in the mud kitchen! The children in Year 5 from Ashperton Primary School enjoyed a morning in our Science Labs, taking part in a variety of exciting science experiments. We have also continued our close links with the regular community groups who use our sports facilities and music room on a weekly basis such as Colwall Community Choir (every Thursday evening – do come along, if you’d like to join!).
We have been at the Three Counties Showground for three events in the past few months, Countrytastic in March, where Mrs Hannis worked tirelessly all day, painting over 400 children’s faces! In May, we attended
the RHS Malvern Spring Festival, building our very own, ‘Octopus’s Garden’ for the School Gardens Challenge. We were absolutely delighted to have been awarded, ‘Best Wildlife Garden’ by the RHS judges and I would like to thank all our children and parents who supported and contributed to the design and build of our garden. It was an absolute highlight to feature on an episode of television’s Gardeners’ World, with the presenter, Joe Swift sitting on our Seed Library, bashing away at our Rock ‘n’ Roll Rockery with a pair of salad servers! In June we were at the Royal Three Counties Show, representing the school and providing a range of fun activities for children. Friday mornings have continued to host babies and toddlers from the community for Hoot playgroup. We continue to enjoy all our close links with the community and are lucky to be situated on Brockhill Road where members of the public can buy our chicken and quail eggs – constantly restocked by the pupils and more recently, our young gardeners also sold cucumber and chilli plants to interested passers-by!
Polly Nuttall
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Alumni
We have enjoyed welcoming many Old Downians back to The Downs Malvern over the past academic year, some of whom have not been back for more than 60 years! Whether dropping by to collect younger siblings, or simply walking on the Malvern Hills and deciding to take an impromptu trip down Memory Lane/Brockhill Road, it has been a real pleasure to hear their stories and fond memories of their time here. We hope to strengthen our bond with all Old Downians wishing to keep in touch, so if you have any news that you would like shared in our Alumni section in the publication of The Badger, do let us know. Please follow the Downian Society Facebook Page to keep up to date with their news as well as The Downs Malvern social media sites for current school news and events.
Claudia W, from the Class of 2006 shares some memories:
“Here’s a photograph of the olden days (2006) in which our Year 8 leavers’ class recorded a song to remember forever, our time spent at the school.
Music was a huge part of our experience here - many a break time spent in the music block perfecting The White Stripes on our electric guitars to name but one memory!
Friends of The Downs
The last few months have flown by! At our AGM, in February, we reported on the funds raised over the last 12 months and the investments we have made for school. A huge thank you, to you all, for your generous support to our events so we can do that. We also said farewell to a few of our committee and welcomed some new faces. Our first event, in the Spring Term, was Quiz Night. Mr Lamberton and Mr Griffiths were again superb co-hosts and made us laugh and groan in equal measure with their questions and commentary! The Friends of The Downs bar has been spotted several times this year too. Making a welcome new addition to the Junior Production and Sports Day. Our main event was the Summer Celebration. This
Shout outs to Mrs Forecast and Mrs Blunn, who were our music teachers during those years, and to Mrs Ramsey, our Headmistress that produced many a great school play including Bugsy Malone - the 1920s inspiration behind this photo.”
year we went ‘all out’. The weather was fantastic, the Downs Light Railway ran, and we were entertained by live music, Team Super Sports, inflatables, slushies, popcorn, strawberries, sweets and our fabulous bar. You may have noticed that school-branded merchandise is now looked after by Friends of The Downs. With a few additions and upgrades, we now offer more robust large umbrellas, new compact umbrellas, bobble hats with a fleece lining and new school branded water bottles plus some beautiful mugs. All merchandise is available for sale in the SecondHand Shop. We also supported the move from Monkhouse (as a supplier of school uniform) to Schoolblazer and our Second-Hand Shop is selling discounted new
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Friends of The Downs continued...
Monkhouse uniform (which can continue to be worn) and examples of the new sport training tops, blazers and bags which can be ordered online. Our volunteers in the SecondHand Shop have worked incredibly hard to manage the change of stock and be ready for you to access over the holidays for all your uniform needs.
We’ve seen our investments come to fruition, over this period, with the basketball hoops and mobile cricket nets fully in use. The giant wall maps are up and on the sides of our Pre-Prep and Prep buildings too. This term, we bought 3 LEGO coding express kits for Pre-Prep, which has led to a new Pre-Prep coding club. Designed to introduce coding at an early age and spark curiosity and collaboration. Feedback has been fabulous and our enthusiastic Pre-Prep children are loving these!
A heartfelt thank you to you all for your support, we couldn’t do this without you. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers too who willingly give up their time on the committee and/or support our events. Please get in touch if you would like to join the committee, help at any of our events, or in the Second-Hand Shop.
Future events:
Fri 27 Sept: Macmillan Cake Sale
Fri 18 Oct: A Ladies’ Fashion Show at St Eds, Malvern College, run by ‘Colours’ and selling high street brands you’ll know, at discounted prices (current seasonal stock and not seconds!), along with cashmere from Italy and beautiful leather goods. Tickets on sale soon!
Fri 8 Nov: Bonfire Night. Our improved format will include Pyrotex, one of the UK’s best firework companies (regular participant at the Eastnor Castle Fireworks Competition) and a Hog Roast.
Saturday 16 Nov: We’ll also see you at the Christmas Fair for our Tombola and Cake Stand!
Such a busy period in which we’ve achieved a wonderful amount of money for the children. Lots to look forward to in the next 6 months too. Thank you all, again, for your wonderful contributions and for generously giving up your time to support our events.
Have a restful break and see you soon!
Anita Tomany
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
House Competition
This term’s House Competition was won by Cadbury
The 2023/2024 academic year was won by Sanger
Year 8 Leavers’ Experience
Despite this year’s programme being a few days shorter than previous years, the Leavers’ Experience really packed a punch and was full of exciting and memorable activities.
After the infamous Slip ‘N’ Slide and BBQ on the first afternoon after their final exam, the group headed to Cheltenham for ‘Strongy’s Stumble’, following the Cotswold Way down into Cheltenham, with a refreshing swim in Sandford Lido.
The highlight of the Leavers’ Experience for many of our Year 8s, is often the residential, and this year, the pupils spent four amazing days in Polzeath and Rock in Cornwall. They took part in surfing and body boarding, Stand Up Paddleboarding, they rode bikes along part of the Camel Trail, and enjoyed a rather topsy-turvy boat trip along the North Cornwall coast from Padstow!
THE BADGER Summer Edition
Year 8 Leavers’ Experience
continued...
Other activities in the programme included Stage Combat training, a day at Drayton Manor Theme Park, and Languages Day.
The whole Experience passed by in a flash, but all of the Year 8s had an amazing time with plenty of memories being made. All of the teachers who accompanied them on the various activities said they were great company and a lot of fun!
Heads of School Speeches – June 2024
Head Girl Speech – Effie S-T
I still remember the moment my mum broke the news to me.
“You’re moving to a new school”. To say I was not very happy about this, would be a huge understatement, in fact I was devastated. My mum promised me I would love it, and so we made a deal. I had to stay for a term, and if at the end of the term, I really didn’t like it, I would be allowed to go back to my old school.
Fast forward 5 years. I am now standing here as Head Girl, and there are 3 things that I would like to share with you that have made life at The Downs unforgettable: the teachers, the experiences, and the friendships. Teachers:
Firstly, the teachers at The Downs are one of a kind, every single one of them has helped me during my time here. There have been so many memorable moments, but far too many to mention. Thank you to all of the teachers for putting up with us for all these years, I know we aren’t as
Thank you to all our Class of 2024 for a wonderful time, and good luck for all your future endeavours!
It has been a huge privilege to witness your collective journeys over the years during your time at TDM. As you change from being Downians to Old Downians, you must know that you are forever part of this school’s history and an enduring community. You will be forever welcome at The Downs.
Michael Strong
cute as we used to be, and are mostly grumpy teenagers, but we are still grateful for all of your support.
Experiences:
The experiences I have had over the last 7 years have been amazing. The productions, sports tours, campouts, boarding, school trips, Christmas Feasts and so much more. They all have one thing in common. They all created memories that I will hold onto for years to come. Sport has been a big part of my life at The Downs.
It is something I enjoy very much. Reaching 3rd place in the National Finals in hockey has been one of the fondest memories I will remember from this school. I have loved competing in hockey, cricket, netball and more. Not only have I enjoyed playing in the matches, but also travelling to and from fixtures on minibuses and, having a laugh with my friends has been priceless, which leads me on to my last point, friendships.
Friendships:
From my very first day here, I felt so welcome and knew I was going to be ok. My buddies looked after me and made me feel like I wasn’t the new girl. What I have realised over the years is that we may all have different close friends or different best friends, but we are all friends, and we all look out for each other.
THE BADGER
Summer Edition
Head Girl Speech – Effie S-T continued...
This is very much the ethos here at The Downs, where everyone looks after each other. Year 8s, I feel very lucky to know that even though we are all leaving - the bonds will never be broken between us, and we have all made some special friends for life.
My advice to all of the pupils here is, do not wish your time away, say yes to every opportunity, join the choir, be in the productions, enter the art competitions, do as much as you can, but most importantly, look out for each other, have as much fun as possible, and always be yourself.
Although I am looking forward to moving onto my new school in September, I will miss The Downs very much. I tried to think of the one thing that makes The Downs so special, but it’s not just one or two things, it’s everything added together that makes it so magical and I hope that by the time you all leave, you feel the same way I do.
So let me take you back to that deal I made with my mum. At the end of my first term, she asked me, “So, what do you think? If you really aren’t happy here, you can go back to your old school”.
I didn’t need time to think about it, it was a no-brainer, I didn’t look back. Thank you.
Head Boy Speech June 2024 – Otto K
As Year 8 Leavers, some of us have been here since Nursery and others have joined us along the way. Without a doubt we have all learnt a number of life lessons that we will take with us to our future schools. I joined The Downs in September 2019. As with any new school, I was pretty nervous, but I quickly made many friends and my life at TDM began.
My memories of Year 4 are of Brock wars on Brock Meadow. You wouldn’t believe how valuable a stick was on Brock Meadow! It was a lot of fun.
Then came Covid-19. I still remember sitting in Mr Lamberton’s classroom and seeing a video about a disease that had started in Wuhan, and thought nothing about it until a month later, when suddenly, I found myself home on a video call with my entire form. Covid had its pluses and minuses though - getting up later, comfy clothes, home cooking were all good. On the other hand, I missed my friends and I had to get my mother to video me doing laps of the garden to prove I had done my PE! It was a funny old experience.
Important life lesson learnt from Year 4 — hide your sticks well on Brock Meadow! But seriously:
Lesson 1:
The value of Community. We all recognised the importance of the TDM family as we pulled together in this difficult time.
In Year 5, we were back in lockdown for part of the Spring Term, and back on video calls, this time with Miss Clarke who was a really fun Form Teacher. I remember in one maths lesson, I forgot to turn off my microphone
THE BADGER Summer Edition
and proceeded to sing half of ‘California Dreamin’ as the entirety of 5EC listened in to my not-so-immaculate singing skills! To this day, I’m still not sure why it took my Form so long to step in and say something.
Important life lesson learnt from Year 5 — learn how to mute yourself on Teams!
Lesson 2:
The importance of being positive even when times are challenging.
In Year 6, I became a regular boarder. I’ve boarded most weeks ever since and enjoyed it very much, so thank you to the boarding staff for making it such a fun and welcoming house. Year 6 was the first year we had to sit exams - this was a very big change from the occasional tests we had during lessons. My parents ‘encouraged’ me to do some revision, but I was terrified! It turned out on the day that they weren’t as scary as I thought. I still seem to forget that lesson, every time I have exams!
The high point of Year 6 was the camp out at Cwm Llwch. My mother had stored most of my spare clothes in a secret section of my new rucksack which I didn’t know about.
Lesson 3:
The value of Friendship. You know who your friends are, when they lend you their spare pants — a big thank you to that person — who know who you are!
A big highlight of Year 7 was the school production of Mary Poppins Jnr. I enjoyed being one of Bert’s four chimney sweeps. I’d like to apologise for all the cues I missed, of which there were many!
When I was in Year 7, we had a weekly raffle. To earn a raffle ticket, we simply had to do one good thing. This could be achieving an above-average attitude grade, being exceptionally kind to others or getting a high amount of Merits. It was safe to say that a lot of good things got done in Year 7!
Lesson 4:
a little bit of bribery never hurts! However, the true lesson learned was the importance of kindness and recognising how one small act of kindness can make such a difference to someone’s day.
Year 8 felt a bit like exams, exams, exams, followed by 2 great weeks on our Leavers’ Experience! Scholarship exams were definitely a big step up. Mrs Jager-Jones has been a great Form Teacher and given me lots of support throughout the year. I’d especially like to thank all of my teachers for directing me through my Scholarship journey, helping me to plan revision schedules, telling me what to expect and really encouraging me to do my best when it came to the exams.
Lesson 5:
If I can offer any advice to future scholarship candidates, and in fact any of you taking exams, it would be start revising as early as possible and avoid the last-minute panic approach! That is speaking from experience!
I am sure that my fellow Year 8s will have more life lessons that they could share with you. I would like to take this opportunity to speak on their behalf to say that The Downs Malvern is a great school that we will all miss. The location is fantastic, the facilities are brilliant, and I can’t think of any other schools that have their own railway! Thank you to Mr Nuttall, all the Governors, teachers and staff, and pupils, who make this such a special place.
Interesting Facts
» The Downs Malvern is located on a 55-acre site on the western edge of the Malvern Hills.
» Designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
» The M5 motorway is easily accessible within 20 minutes.
» Colwall railway station has direct routes to London Paddington and Birmingham New Street.
» A choice of three local airports: Birmingham International, Bristol and East Midlands.
» There are 7 morning bus routes and 4 evening bus routes. Our buses travel to those more remote catchment areas, passing and collecting from local pick-up destinations around the surrounding counties. If you’d like to see the routes please visit the link below: https://www.thedownsmalvern.org.uk/ parent-hub/day-pupil-transport/
