EDUCATION

ALL THE NEWS FROM YOUR LOCAL SCHOOLS Manor House School, Centenary Picnic & Garden Party Saturday 11th September 2021

again”. Cherry Trees, another local charity who provide short breaks for children and young adults with complex disabilities, hosted their own stall selling beautifully hand made gifts.

The afternoon of live music was kicked off by three of the school’s senior girls, Beth and Emily and Asha, who sang and played the guitar, Director of Music Mrs Harman performed songs from the 40s including “Cheek to Cheek” and “A Sentimental Journey”, and Manor House School’s groundsman Rob Smith and his singing partner Bill Boyse, known as “The Decades”, headlined with a number of rousing songs to end the day’s celebrations.

“I know that lady, excuse me a moment!” might have been the most overhead comment during Manor House School’s Centenary Picnic this past September, as teams of old girls and staff spotted each other across the front lawn and embarked on an afternoon of reminiscing.

The event, re-scheduled from last September, brought together school families, alumnae, local residents, community groups and Heritage Open day visitors, all in the name of marking 100 years of Manor House School. Amongst the many visitors, Mrs Joan Findlay, Headmistress between 1985 and 1989, settled down to her picnic with another three generations of her family, her daughter Ailsa was a parent governor, her daughter Fritha belongs to the class of 1995, and Fritha’s baby daughter, quietly enjoying the hubbub from her comfort of her pushchair. Fritha and her partner Olaf had not been sure that they would make it to the event, having recently completed their self build home in Sussex, the subject of a Grand Designs episode in its current series on Channel 4. Meanwhile, in the main house, a guided tour for a group 1966 leavers produced complaints that the walls had moved since they were last at Manor House! They had been most keen to revisit their boarding rooms and stories of games and pranks came flooding back as they moved through the upper floors.

Over in the Food Court, the Great Bookham Belles WI were on hand to provide teas, coffees and cakes in exchange for donations towards their chosen local charities, reflecting “it’s good to be able to start fundraising for our causes Bringing an event of this size together is always a team effort and friends of the school gave their time generously including Dan Smith from DS lighting (@ dslighting952) who was on hand to help with lighting and sound for the day’s performers.

Despite the village of Bookham being a hive of activity with other events taking place on the same day, Manor House School was thrilled to welcome just under 800 visitors on the day, a fitting celebration for a momentous birthday. Here’s to the next 100 years!

Manor House School is an independent girls’ school (2-16 years) in Bookham, Surrey. Est. in 1920. ‘To Love is to Live.’

Learning in the Forest

Forest School lessons enhance all aspects of the national curriculum while allowing children to develop their own sense of adventure, taking responsibility for their own choices and learning. Attending Forest School gives children a cherished love of the outdoors, a sense of awe and wonder and hopefully a respect for nature that will last a lifetime. Climate change has shown the need for us all to be aware of and to take ethical responsibility for the planet, not just now but into the future.

At Barrow Hills, we are lucky to have a designated Pre-Prep Forest School area, set in the school’s impressive 33-acre grounds, allowing even the youngest children to explore independently within safe, unmarked boundaries. We recognise the importance of getting out of the classroom and escaping the pull of the screen. Every child is given the opportunity to attend at least one Forest School lesson per week, led by our fully qualified Forest School Leader, Nikki Wilson. The children, dressed in appropriate clothing, are taken out throughout the year in all types of weather. As Wainwright famously said, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”.

When asked about Forest School, the children enthuse, “we splash in puddles, build dams in the rain, catch snowflakes on our tongues and feel the wind against our faces!”

At Barrow Hills we aim to provide real life opportunities to create independent learners, to nurture self esteem and enhance communication skills. Leading to resilience in risk taking and a ‘can do’ attitude. prepare them for the world beyond their Prep school.

One of the greatest attractions of Forest School is that, unlike timetabled lessons, plans can be adapted to suit the mood or conditions. The children can, to a degree, influence the activities, all of which offer subliminal learning, which will We welcome families to visit throughout the year at Open Mornings and for private tours. Our upcoming Music and Storytime Morning for preschool aged children will take place on 25th February with sessions from 9.30 to 11am.

Learn to Swim Properly with Angela’s Swim School

Make room for swimming in your life. It’s the essential water safety life skill that’s highly inclusive and gives a total body workout, building muscle tone and improving breathing and circulation.

Angela’s Swim School offers lessons to children from 4 months old, plus adult classes for all abilities. Learning to swim from a young age really helps children build in confidence, strength and stamina.

To help children learn to swim the right way, Angela’s Swim School has developed the Swimstylers, who are at the heart of the school’s teaching programme. These inspirational characters break down how to become a strong, independent swimmer into clearly defined targets, which step-by- step show children how to progress their swimming with confidence and strong technique.

The six Swimstylers characters feature on class names and awards so charting progress is really easy - that’s from non-swimmers up to a 1500m swim.

The swim school’s founder swam competitively at the highest levels. Angela’s insight and winning techniques have been the basis of her swim teaching career for over 25 years and made Angela’s Swim School a major provider of lessons in the Southeast, with pools nearby in Cobham and E ast Horsley.

Give them the gift of swimming today. Join Angela’s Swim School. Visit www.angelasswimschool.co.uk for more information.

Developing Potential for Life

St. Andrew’s School was founded in 1937 and is a respected and thriving co-educational Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School, set in 11 acres of grounds near Woking town centre. St. Andrew’s creates a nurturing and happy environment in which all pupils are encouraged and enabled to develop their potential to the full.

At St. Andrew’s children feel secure and confident and are highly motivated to perform to the best of their ability in all aspects of school life. Children are prepared for entrance and scholarship exams to a wide range of independent senior schools and there are specialist teaching facilities for all subjects including science, ICT, music, food technology and art. The curriculum is broad and the school places great emphasis on music, sport and the arts. In our latest ISI Inspection, (January 2016), we were extremely proud to be rated ‘excellent’ in all areas.

St. Andrew’s has excellent on-site facilities and our latest building development project has provided us with a fantastic tiered seating theatre, food technology room, library, changing rooms and classrooms. Our impressive outdoor facilities include an all weather sports surface, sports pitches, tennis courts, cricket nets and a swimming pool.

Don’t just take our word for it, come and visit the school to see for yourself! We have three open days, one per term, but you are also welcome to visit the school at other times. We currently have scholarship opportunities available for September 2022. See our website for further details: www.st-andrews.woking.sch.uk

MagiKats puts the fun into learning!

Helping children develop confidence and skills in core subjects is something MagiKats Maths and English has been successfully doing across the UK for almost 20 years. We are discovering, as students are settling back into school, that our individual approach is desperately needed to help every student achieve their full potential.

All students in primary and secondary school are welcome to experience the MagiKats effect, which offers individually designed programmes and support for students of all abilities. Students attend weekly workshops where they can extend their knowledge, consolidate skills or get extra help.

Our workshops are the heart of the MagiKats programme and are planned to give each individual the maximum benefit through a range of approaches, including written and practical activities. Workshops are supported with the development of core skills. Our friendly learning environment promotes confidence and a love of learning. Students work individually or in small groups, with 1-2-1 support when needed. Topics are grouped to support the school curriculum.

It’s not just about maths and English though! Our Reasoning programme helps students not only prepare for 11+, grammar school or private school exams, but helps any student improve their ability to apply learning to other areas of their life.

Whether studying English or maths, all MagiKats students also work on thinking skills, problem-solving skills and social skills. We don’t just aim to improve a subject, we aim to help the whole child.

To find out more about MagiKats please visit www.magikats.co.uk or call 01483 667795.